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Do not be too ambitious. Confine your efforts to those larger fungi which can be examined easily with the naked eye.
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Do not be too concerned with naming individual species. Concentrate on identifying the main families and then increase your repertoire of individuals gradually.
Nevertheless, with around 3,500 larger fungi in Britain the task is a daunting one. Most field guides do not make the task any easier as the beginner is confronted with page after page of seemingly similar fungi! So what do you do when you confront your first fungus?
Begin by looking under the cap and decide whether it has gills, pores (like a sponge) or neither.
GILLS
This is by far the largest group. The more important families are distinguished by using a combination of features such as cap shape, gill colour, and gill shape when seen in profile. It is important to realise that cap shape and gill colour can vary considerably with age and that gill shape is not always as obvious as books would have you believe.
With this in mind, the following guidelines should help to identify the key families.
| Family |
Features |
| Amanita |
Without doubt the most dangerous family, usually (but not always) characterised by a cap with detachable patches, a swollen base which is sometimes enclosed in an egg-like sac, a prominent ring on the stem, and white gills. |
| Lepiota |
This family has some features in common with Amanitas: principally a cap with scales, often a swollen base, a ring on the stem and white gills. The main difference is that in Lepiotas the scales are firmly attached to the cap but in Amanitas they are easily removed. |
| Agaricus |
The family to which the common mushroom belongs and sometimes confused with Amenitas which they resemble having a ring on the stem and sometimes a bulbous stem. The gills, however, are only briefly white, quickly becoming pink and finally dark brown. |
| Russula |
One of the largest and most brightly-coloured families. Many are red but purple, yellow and grey are not uncommon. They have white or cream stems and gills but never a ring on the stem. For confirmation run a finger gently over the gills: they should break away freely, resembling flaked almonds. |
| Lactarius |
Resembling dull Russulas to which they are related, Lactarius is one of the easiest families to recognise as the fungi in this group exude an abundant 'milk' when the gills are broken. |
| Clitocybe |
A fairly large group characterised by a more-or-less funnel-shaped cap, emphasised by white gills which run down the stem (decurrent) and often a depressed centre to the cap. The caps of several Lactarius have a depressed centre and turn up with age giving the impression of decurrent gills, but Clitocybes never exude 'milk'. |
| Cortinarius |
A dauntingly large family which is extremely difficult to narrow down. Usually they have sleek buff caps which are sticky when wet, gills that are powdered cinnamon and in younger specimens a cobweb-like veil covering the gills. The stem is often tinged lilac and/or flushes lilac when cut. |
| Inocybe |
Probably the most dangerous family after the Amenitas. The cap (often oily brown) has a distinctive central hump (umbonate) and hair-like fibres which radiate from the centre to the edge. The gills are usually greyish at first becoming brown. |
Pluteus
Entoloma
Nolanea |
Three of only a handful of families with pink gills. Those of Pluteus species are not attached to the stem (free), while those of Entolomas and Nolaneas are narrowly attached at the top (adnexed-emarginate/sinuate), Entolomas and Nolaneas are closely related and difficult to tell apart. |
PORES
If it has pores you can be fairly confident that it belongs to the Boletus family. This small, but common, family is sub-divided into three main groups: Boletus, Suillus and Leccinium. They are fairly easy to distinguish from one another mainly by cap and pore colour, whether the cap is sticky when wet, and any colour when the flesh is bruised or cut.
NO GILLS OR PORES
Although there are a large number that fall into this very broad category, they are usually very distinctive and quickly become familiar. They include the backet fungi, jelly fungi, morels, puffballs, and stinkhorns. Most field guides keep them together and it is not too difficult to flick through and match the fungus to the illustration.
Fungi identified at Kellhead by Duncan Ford on Sunday 26th September 2004:
| Common Name |
Scientific Name |
| Plums-and-Custard |
Tricholomopsis rutilsans |
| Common Ink Cap |
Coprinus atramentarius |
| Woolly Milk Cap |
Lactarius torminosus |
| Slippery Jack |
Siullus luteus |
| Birch Tricholoma |
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| Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig |
Coprinus comatus |
| Grey Tricholoma |
Tricholoma terreum |
| Common Puffball |
Lycoperdon perlatum |
| Pluteus |
Pluteus cervinus |
| Amethyst Deceiver |
Laccaria amethystea |
Porcelain Fungus or Poached Egg Fungus or Slimy Beech Caps |
Oudemansiella mucida |
| Russula |
|
| Ugly or Slimy Milk-cap |
Lactarius blennius |
| Hedgehog Fungus |
Hydnum repandum |
| False Saffron Milk-cap |
Lactarius sp. |
| 'Earth Fan' |
Thelephora spiculosa |
| Sulphur Tuft |
Hypholoma fasciculare |
| Jelly Babies |
Leotia lubrica |
| Stag's Horn Fungus or Candle Snuff Fungus |
Xylaria hypoxylon |
| The Deceiver |
Laccaria Laccata |
| Pine Spike Cap |
Chroogomphus rutilus |
