Mushroom Foraging in the UK: Field Mushrooms and Fungi After the Rain

The Wonders of Rain and West Country Fields

And talking of produce from our fields, what wonders the rain has done…

To the region’s fungi, I mean. After the wet stuff started falling from the skies ten days ago, field mushrooms have been popping up like… Well, mushrooms.

Two days into the new rainy season there wasn’t a field mushroom in sight. I know because I went out every day looking in my favourite field where mushrooms never fail to grow.

Then, on third day, there was one. Just one single button mushroom, growing in a place where I’ve found thousands in times gone by. And, for any fungi-foragers who laugh that I’ve been expecting things too early – let me say that I have often picked common field mushrooms as early as June in that particular spot.

The First Field Mushrooms of the Season

Anyway, just one the first day. I fried it in salted Cornish butter and it was the flavour equivalent of coming a £1000 French truffle. The next day there were half a dozen, which went down very nicely indeed on a slice of buttered toast. And on the third day I simply stopped picking when I’d gleaned enough for my family.

Now, like all other fungi foragers, I am looking forward to finding some of the other edible species as the rain continues to fall. And it is this delight, and indeed the danger, that makes the hunt for wild fungi such a potent annual rite in the UK.

The Common Field Mushroom – Agaricus campestris

The common field mushroom, Agaricus campestris, is often the first to arrive, a harbinger of the autumnal abundance to come. Its creamy white cap and pinkish-brown gills are a familiar sight to many, a sign that the earth is ready to give up its subterranean treasures. But this delight is a coin with two sides.

My first field mushroom of the season

The Dangers of Mushroom Foraging in the UK

The danger, of course, lies in a lack of knowledge. For every common field mushroom, there is a sinister doppelgänger lurking in the long grass. The most infamous of these is the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides), and its cousin the Destroying Angel (Amanita virosa). While these are not often mistaken for the field mushroom by experienced foragers, a novice could easily be led astray.

A simple rule of thumb for Agaricus species is to check the gills. They should be pink or brown, never white. If the gills are pure white, walk away. Immediately.

The Yellow Stainer – A Subtle but Serious Threat

But the perils are not always so clear-cut. The Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus) is a much more subtle threat. It looks remarkably similar to the edible field mushroom but has one key difference: it stains a bright chrome yellow when the flesh is bruised, particularly at the base of the stem.

Cooking it can cause severe gastric distress, and while not fatal, the experience is profoundly unpleasant. The phrase ‘gastric distress’ is a polite understatement for what can feel like a full-scale mutiny in your digestive system.

Foraging Tips – Safety First

So, while the thrill of a successful mushroom hunt is undeniable – that moment of spotting a perfect, unblemished button, or a whole cluster of them, gleaming in the dewy morning light – it must be tempered with caution.

The forager's toolkit is not a fancy basket and a sharp knife, but rather a good guidebook and a healthy dose of scepticism. The best advice I ever received was this: “If in doubt, throw it out.” No mushroom, no matter how plump and promising, is worth risking a trip to the hospital.

Sometimes they’re difficult to find in dry grass

Respecting the Land and Its Gifts

And so, as the rain continues to fall and the earth continues to yield its bounty, I will continue my pilgrimage to the fields. I will search for the familiar, comforting sight of the field mushroom, and perhaps even a few of its more exotic cousins.

But I will do so with respect for the land, and a healthy dose of fear for what might be hiding amongst the edible jewels. The flavour of that first fried button mushroom was worth the wait, but the safety of my family is worth more.