Below is an important reminder of the perils that lay in wait for the careless forager. I went out mushrooming on Saturday and the second most common fungus after the Chanterelle was the Death Cap. Usually the random eater of wild fungi has 99 chance in 100 of getting away with it; on Saturday it was nearer to 50:50!
The Death Cap is easy to spot - olive green cap, darker in the centre with very fine innate radiating fibres; bag at base of stem: pendulous ring on stem: white gills: cap skin peelable!

Nicholas Evans, author of the Horse Whisperer, together with his family, was recently and famously poisoned by a toadstool. This was not the Death Cap but the much, much rarer Deadly Webcap, Cortinarius rubellus. This causes kidney failure and fatal without extensive medical intervention. I am very, very careful but still have great sympathy for these people.

Updated 9th September 2008. Several new foray dates updated. John’s foray for 19th October now all booked up. Sorry to anyone who had hoped to come along.

John’s Forays: due to their popularity I have added an extra date - Sunday 21st September. It may be held in the New Forest but I need to get permission first. If not it will be in Dorset. Please email me for the details, such as they are.
There are still places at the Claydon Estate foray in Buckinghamshire on 27th September. Please contact Tim Matthews for details.

Sorry about this commercial break! But:

The River Cottage Mushroom Handbook was published on the 3rd September 2007. If you would like a signed copy it is available from the River Cottage web site. There is also a DVD available to go with the book and an online mushroom course.

Now back to the fungi.

Welcome to this web site which supports my various mushroom forays and other fungal activities.

I run many forays each year in and around Dorset. In general each foray consists of a walk over what we hope will be fungi rich ground with each species named and described as we go (or, often, just collected for identification back at base). All the collected fungi are laid out on a table with their names attached and I talk through each one. Species are discussed and collected without regard to their edibility - if we find something nice to eat that’s great, if not - well maybe next time.

Full details of how you can join me on one of these forays are available on the Forays page. In addition to those held at River Cottage HQ, Kingcombe, Holton Lee and elsewhere, I also hope to run one or two private forays that will be limited to just a handful of people; take a look at John’s Forays for details.
If you come on one of my forays do check here for any photographs of the day and (sometimes) lists of the fungi found.

The fungi on this page are, from top left to right, Chroogomphus rutilus, Boletus calopus, Aleuria aurantiaca and Lepista saeva.

Warning: Eating wild fungi can be a wonderful way of enjoying the fruits of nature, but if you get it wrong you may kill yourself. Before you eat anything please read this.