Nature & Environment Index Page

Fungi Photos From Caithness

Identifying fungi can be very difficult and we at Caithness.org have no expertise on the subject. Some of our surfers are beginning to send in their suggestions.

From Stephanie Waterston 11 October 2006
Image 16 is a Fly Agaric (amanita muscaria)... The sickener is a Russula and no russula has the distinctive white, pyramidal warts on the cap.
Even though 14 is next to impossible to identify positively from the photo.. I am very sure it is not a Death Cap.

Image 12 is not a bracket fungus.

2 & 3 are next to near impossible to identify from the photos.

15 I don't think is Blusher as it appears to have no gills but, tubes instead like a boletus.

5 & #6 are photos of the same fungi from different angles right? you took them didn't you? they are definitely liberty caps, hippie heaven. (not yellow stainers or Fairy Ring as suggested, and Fairy Ring Champignons ARE edible and so one would end up for a bit unique dining experience if eating these mushrooms in photos 5 & 6. LOL

8 is absolutely not a saffron milk cap.. even with this photo you can see there are no rings or the proper characteristic blotches and it is the wrong colour.

11 again.. we see the distinctive colour and white, pyramidal warts on the cap.

Also, Liz states that out of the ones she's identified the only one that is edible is the ink cap which isn't so. The Fairy Ring Champignon is edible, the Saffron Milk Cap is edible, the Giant Puffball is edible and delicious but, yes.. by far the Ink Cap is the gourmet out of the bunch. I have a Shaggy Ink Cap photo recipe I posted on my blog if you want to post it. Shaggy Ink Caps are by far the easiest mushroom for the beginner to identify and are very common.

Image 22, 23, 39 are all shaggy ink caps.

From Liz 3 October 2006
As far as I can work out.
1.Shaggy Ink Cap
2.Destroying Angel (Highly poisonous)
3.Yellow staining mushroom ( poisonous)
4.As above
5.As above
6.Fairy ring champignon
7.Puff Ball
8.Saffron Milk Cap
9..............underside?
10.Beech Tuft
11.Sickener (Very apt name)
12.Bracket Fungus
13.Destroying Angel
14.Grisette or Death Cap
15.Blusher (Late stage)
16.Sickener (Early stage)
17.Elf Caps
The flash in some of the photos makes id a little difficult. Note all of these apart from the ink cap are either inedible or highly poisonous.

From Stephanie Waterston 4 October 2006
image # 17 is a Russula... by the photo can't tell you which kind of Russula
image # 1 is a Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus comatus)
image # 16 is a Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria)
image # 5 & 6 are Liberty Caps (Psilocybe semilanceata) Britain's famous magic mushroom..
image #11 is a Fly Agaric again
image # 15 is a Boletus of some type... can't discern which from photo plus it is quite mature and damaged.
the rest I wouldn't attempt id without actually seeing better pictures and some without spore prints.

The Fungi In Dunnet Forest

Some Fungi In Dunnet Forest

Some Common Caithness Toadstools And Their Uses

Other Articles
Hunting For Caithness Mosses and Liverworts

Caithness Fern Survey

More Photos
Fungi At Langwell Forest

Forest & Woodlands - Caithness Biodiversity

Links
Mycology At Kew
British Mycological Society
Mycolegium
Fungi 4 Schools