In the quiet corners of forests (beneath the fallen leaves and rotting logs) is where most mushrooms grow. Fascinating fungi are vital to our planet, yet remain shrouded in mystery. England has thousands of types of mushrooms, and you really have to know what you’re doing to eat wild ones. We know button mushrooms but wild mushrooms can look strange and exotic.
Keep all fungi away from pets on walks. If growing your own mushrooms, use no-dig gardening to protect wildlife. Learn how to create pet-safe gardens (use humane slug/snail deterrents). Avoid facing indoor foliage to gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
What Are Fungi?
Fungi are neither plants nor animals. They belong to their own kingdom, with over 144,000 species documented. Unlike plants, they cannot produce their food through photosynthesis. Instead, they break down organic matter and reproduce through spores (tiny particles that spread through air and water). The main types of fungi are:
- Mushrooms: From button murhsooms to puffballs (that release spores).
- Yeasts: Microscopic but mighty, yeasts are essential for baking and brewing.
- Moulds: Often uninvited guests in our homes, they can spoil food or produce antibiotics.
The Role of Fungi in Ecosystems
Fungi are unmatched recyclers. They break down tough organic materials like wood, cycling nutrients back into the soil. This process makes them essential for plant growth. Moreover, fungi form symbiotic relationships with many plants, aiding in water and nutrient absorption. Without fungi, forests would lose their vibrancy, and dead matter would choke the undergrowth.
Common Edible vs. Poisonous Mushrooms
Mushroom foraging requires caution. Some mushrooms are perfectly safe, but others are eye-catching but toxic (all mushrooms are toxic to pets). Always consult an expert when learning to forage.
Ethical foraging respects nature. Always seek permission before collecting mushrooms on private land and follow local regulations. Take only what you need, leaving some mushrooms to ensure future growth and ecosystem health.
The golden rule of mushroom foraging: if unsure, don’t consume. Many mushrooms look similar, and misidentification can have severe consequences.
The deathcap has even been used as a murder weapon! And worryingly, it looks like an edible mushroom, which is why it’s so important to know what you’re doing, before mushroom-picking. Often found growing under beech and oak trees, although a small amount of wildlife species can eat them, but they are responsible for 80% of all mushroom deaths to humans.
Some claim Charles VI died from being poisoned with this mushroom and the Roman Emperor Claudius was allegedly killed by his wife Agrippina who mixed the juice from this mushroom with his food. But most people die accidentally.
The Little Book of Mushrooms is a beautiful little pocket guide, for the extraordinary organisms found in nature. Some can cure and others can poison. Learn of mushroom folklore and identify wild mushrooms and learn those to avoid.
Cooking and Enjoying Mushrooms
Mushrooms are tasty and also low in calories and high in fibre. They are packed with B vitamins and selenium, and often are used in place of meat for veggie recipes.
Mushroom Soup (Rainbow Plant Life) is a warming recipe to use mushrooms. Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods including mushrooms, onion and garlic are toxic to animal friends).
What are Toadstools?
Toadstools are fruiting bodies of fungi, these appear above the ground in summer and autumn (usually when it’s warm and damp) and should be removed around pets and children, due to being toxic.
They do elsewhere play an important role in feeding off dead plants, to release nutrients back in the soil. Some believe they are so-called as flies like them, and toads feed on flies!
Why Do Mushrooms Grow on your Lawn?
Often you’ll find large easy-to-remove mushrooms on your lawn. This is actually a sign that you have good fertile soil as they love carbon-rich earth.
If you are not a mushroom expert, never eat them, just pull them out from the base (easy to do) and this will stop them spreading. You can compost them or bin them, where they will naturally break down.
If using composted mushrooms, ensure they are broken down before using, to avoid mushrooms going back in your garden. Fresh compost should be avoided near pets anyway, as it contains mould.
Another way to stop mushrooms growing on your lawn is to regularly dethatch a lawn by gently raking upwards to loosen build-up and mow your lawn regularly, limiting water applied to the soil, to decrease moisture and increase drainage.
Although you need shady areas in the garden for people, pets and wildlife, remove areas of over-shade (cut back branches that hang over areas that restrict sunlight etc). Using a nitrogen lawn feed (like alfalfa meal) may help.
Removing artificial grass is also good (this is not good for pollinators and over-heats in summer) as this does not drain water, so you could find mushrooms growing.
The Little Book of Fungi is a beautiful informative and illustrated guide, written by mushrooms experts! It fits an astonishing amount of information into a small books, including the differences between fungi and mushrooms (and the different kinds of mushrooms). Along with habitat, ecology, evolution, lifestyle and reproduction.