General rules in edible mushroom identification

Not many!

In general:

• Red = bad. There are many exceptions to this rule for instance some Russulas (a very common mushroom) are fine. Big no, no is the Fly Agaric, however some people eat small amounts for hallucinogenic purposes.  
• Blanche white = very bad. Specifically, Destroying Angel. But field mushrooms and inky caps can be similar.
• Brackets = inedible. These are the mushrooms that grow in trees like shelves. If you have ever touched one, it is almost part of the tree, better off eating a pencil. One notable exception to this is  "Chicken of the Woods" - Sulphur Tuft, which is bright yellow and apparently is pretty tasty.
• Blue = good to chew? Blewits are pretty common and can be identified due to their bluish hue.

Honey Fungus or Boot-lace Fungus

Honey Fungus

This pretty little picture is of a honey fungus. It is quiet distinct from other mushrooms because of its shaggy, honey coloured appearance. It is mildly poisonous when eaten raw, but when cooked it is excellent but should not be eaten in excess. Often found in large numbers.

There is another mushroom which is inedible but very similar called the Shaggy Scaly Cap (Pholiota squarrosa) shown below, this can be easily avoided as it has a ringless stem, yellow lighter, flesh colour and grows mainly on conifers.

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Shaggy Scaly Cap

So to sum up: 

Honey fungus: Orangey, darker colour, creamy white gills.

Shaggy Scaly Cap: Yellow, lighter colour, blue-grey gills.

Awesome mushroom identification tool

Been reading Roger Phillips book about mushrooms. He created this tool for easy identification, pretty awesome. The only problem is that he uses the latin binomial for the name of the shroom, I tend to use the traditional English...

Disco Eyelashes - The Common Eyelash Fungus

Disco Eyelashes - The Common Eyelash Fungus

What is the difference between a Blusher and a Panther Cap?

Panther Cap or Blusher?

This is quiet a young specimen, to me it looks like a blusher or panther cap, but how do you tell the difference? What is the differential diagnosis? It is definately a Amanita but which one. A friend of mine said that that this is a Panther Cap (poisonous). However, I'm not so sure - the stipe (stem) at the bottom is more typical of the Blusher (white with flushes of the cap colour) but maybe more needs to be revealed lower down. Apparently the bruising can help identification...

From wikipedia "The flesh of the mushroom is white, becoming pink when bruised or exposed to air...", "This is a key feature in differentiating it from the poisonous False Blusher or Panther cap..."

What is this mushroom? Parasol Mushroom?

Parasol mushroom?

At first thought I was thinking it is a parasol mushroom due to the ring, shaggy top. However, I have been looking at this site, it shows what mushroom are seasonally around now and it seems like it is a Amanita Rubescens - the blusher.