Wildlife of Britain & Beyond

Laccaria amethystina

A small but striking violet mushroom of deciduous and mixed woodland, the amethyst deceiver fades to buff with age, explaining its common name. It is edible but easily confused with the poisonous violet webcap. A mycorrhizal species.

Imleria badia

One of Britain's most abundant and reliable edible fungi, the bay bolete has a chestnut-brown cap and yellows when cut. Widely found under conifers and broadleaves, it is an excellent substitute for penny bun and dries very well.

Fistulina hepatica

Aptly named — this remarkable bracket fungus resembles a raw steak in colour, texture and even bleeds red juice when cut. It grows on oak and sweet chestnut, slightly acidifying the wood and producing highly prized, brown 'brown oak' timber.

Fomitopsis betulina

One of Britain's most ancient medicinal fungi, the birch polypore was found on Ötzi the Iceman (preserved for 5,300 years). It grows exclusively on birch trees, producing large, white, smooth brackets that provide habitat for rare invertebrates.

Sparassis crispa

A remarkable fungus resembling a pale, frilly cauliflower up to 40 cm across. It grows at the base of pine trees (and occasionally other conifers) and is parasitic on the roots. An excellent edible, sometimes called the hen-of-the-woods of the pine forest.

Cantharellus cibarius

One of Britain's finest edible fungi, the chanterelle's golden-yellow funnel shape and apricot scent make it hard to mistake. It grows in mycorrhizal association with oak and beech in ancient woodland. Highly prized by chefs across Europe.

Laetiporus sulphureus

An unmistakeable bracket fungus with vivid yellow and orange concentric shelves growing on oaks, sweet chestnuts and willows. An excellent edible with a texture said to resemble chicken. It can grow to enormous size — individual fruiting bodies may weigh 45 kg.

Scleroderma citrinum

The most common of the earthball fungi, often confused with truffles or puffballs. Its thick, warty, yellowish skin encloses dark purple-black spore mass. It is poisonous and should not be confused with edible puffballs. Common under birch and oak.

Morchella esculenta

One of Britain's most prized edible fungi, the morel appears in spring — April and May — in old orchards, chalk woodland and disturbed ground. Its honeycomb cap is unmistakeable. It must be cooked before eating as raw morels are mildly toxic.

Lycoperdon perlatum

The most familiar puffball in British woodland, covered in small spiny warts that leave a patterned scar as they fall. When mature it puffs out a cloud of brown spores from a pore at the top when struck by rain. Edible when young and white inside.

Amanita phalloides

The world's most deadly mushroom, responsible for 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings globally. Dangerously similar to edible species, it grows under oak and beech in late summer. A single cap contains enough toxin to kill an adult human.

Amanita virosa

Pure white and beautiful, the destroying angel is one of Europe's most deadly fungi. Growing in deciduous and mixed woodland, it contains the same deadly amatoxins as the death cap and has caused multiple fatalities across Europe.

Cerioporus squamosus

A large, handsome bracket fungus with scaly, fan-shaped fruitbodies growing on dead and dying elm, ash and sycamore. It has a pleasant cucumber or watermelon scent when fresh. Edible when very young, later becoming fibrous and tough.

Marasmius oreades

The cause of the classic fairy rings that appear in lawns and pastures, the fairy ring champignon grows in expanding circles, killing the grass ahead of it and leaving a dark green zone where the mycelium has released nitrogen. Excellent edible.

Agaricus campestris

The classic edible mushroom of old, unimproved grassland, the wild ancestor of the cultivated button mushroom. It has declined greatly with agricultural intensification and the loss of traditionally managed pasture. Now rarely encountered in the wild.

Amanita muscaria

Britain's most iconic mushroom — the classic red cap with white spots of fairy tales. It forms a mycorrhizal partnership with birch and pine. Poisonous but rarely deadly, it has been used as a hallucinogen in shamanic rituals for centuries.

Calvatia gigantea

A spectacular fungus that can reach the size of a football or larger. It produces up to 7 trillion spores from a single fruiting body. Excellent edible when the interior is pure white throughout. Found in grassland and woodland edges.

Hydnum repandum

An excellent edible with a pleasant, mild, nutty flavour. It is easily identified by the cream-coloured spines under the cap rather than gills. A mycorrhizal fungus of ancient woodland, it appears in autumn and is sometimes called the wood hedgehog.

Armillaria mellea

Britain's most destructive fungal pathogen, killing woody plants by spreading through soil on black, bootlace-like rhizomorphs. Some colonies are among the largest organisms on Earth. The fruiting bodies are edible when well cooked, though many disagree on taste.

Auricularia auricula-judae

Named for Judas Iscariot, who supposedly hanged himself from an elder tree. The jelly ear grows almost exclusively on elder, its ear-shaped, gelatinous fruitbodies persisting through winter. Used in Chinese medicine and cuisine for centuries.

Daldinia concentrica

A common bracket fungus of dead ash and beech, forming hard, round, shiny black fruitbodies resembling lumps of coal or burnt cakes. The concentric rings inside resemble tree rings. It was used as a tinder fungus and to carry fire by ancient peoples.

Hericium erinaceus

A spectacular and rare fungus of ancient beech woodland, lion's mane produces cascading white icicle-like spines from old wounds on beech trees. Endangered in the UK, it is protected by law. Highly prized medicinally and as a gourmet edible fungus.

Pleurotus ostreatus

Growing in shelf-like clusters on dead and dying broadleaved trees, the oyster mushroom is one of Britain's finest edible species. It is widely cultivated commercially and is the model for the global gourmet mushroom industry. Can decompose even jet fuel.

Macrolepiota procera

One of Britain's largest and most distinctive mushrooms, reaching 30 cm across with a shaggy brown cap on a tall, scaled stem. The cap, when fully open, resembles a parasol. Excellent edible, best eaten as a fried whole cap.

Gliophorus psittacinus

One of Britain's most remarkable fungi, the parrot waxcap is multicoloured — green, yellow, pink and orange — in a single fruiting body. Like all waxcaps, it indicates ancient, unimproved grassland of high conservation value, unfertilised for many decades.

Boletus edulis

Also known as the cep or porcini, the penny bun is Britain's most sought-after edible fungus. Its rich, nutty flavour is prized by chefs. It grows with birch, pine, oak and beech and can weigh over a kilogram when fully grown.

Sarcoscypha austriaca

A brilliant red cup fungus emerging in late winter and early spring on rotting wood and debris in damp woodland. One of the most vivid colours in the winter landscape, it was reportedly used to dress wounds by Native Americans.

Hygrocybe coccinea

One of Britain's most striking grassland fungi, the scarlet waxcap's vivid red fruiting bodies appear in ancient, unimproved pasture in autumn. Waxcap grasslands are considered as important for fungal conservation as rainforests are for plants.

Coprinus comatus

One of Britain's most distinctive mushrooms, the shaggy ink cap grows in lawns, roadsides and disturbed ground. The white, shaggy cap auto-digests into a black, inky liquid to disperse its spores. Edible when young and white.

Phallus impudicus

The stinkhorn emerges from a white egg and extends its phallic fruiting body rapidly, reaching full size overnight. The dark, fetid, olive-green cap attracts flies which disperse the spores. The smell is detectable from 30 metres away.

Hypholoma fasciculare

One of Britain's most abundant woodland fungi, the sulphur tuft grows in dense, overlapping clusters on rotting stumps and logs. Its bitter taste makes it unpalatable and it can cause poisoning if consumed. The yellow-green gills are distinctive.

Flammulina velutipes

The wild ancestor of the Japanese enoki mushroom, velvet shank appears in winter on dead and dying elm and ash, often fruiting in snow. The orange-yellow caps and dark velvety stems are distinctive. An edible species best harvested young.

Tremella mesenterica

A vivid orange-yellow, gelatinous bracket fungus that appears in winter on dead gorse and hardwood twigs. Despite appearances, it is a parasite on the mycelium of crust fungi in the wood, not on the wood itself. Shrivels in dry weather and reconstitutes in rain.