Posting Pictures of Wild Foods to Identify

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Posting Pictures of Wild Foods to Identify
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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 05 8:19 am Post subject: Posting Pictures of Wild Foods to Identify

A few guidelines to help you get the most out of the forum.

If you want help identifying a mushroom, its important to include pictures of the whole mushroom (uprooted and intact), with views of the side, top and underside.

If you can include information on whether the mushroom changes colour when cut or bruised, what kind of trees were around (or what kind of habitat you picked the mushroom in), smell, and a spore print colour (if you had one) then that also helps.

Finally, remember that identifying a mushroom with any degree of certainty when you can't get hold of it is impossible; before eating anything you've found, make sure you cross check your ID with a local expert and/or a good guide book.

Remember, there are old mushroom pickers, and there are bold mushroom pickers, but there are no old, bold mushroom pickers

Onto plants, if you're looking for help identifying fruit, it is important to include a picture of leaves from the plant too, whether its a tree, what the plant looked like (how big, whether its woody, is it bushy, etc.), where it grew, etc. The more information you can give, the better chance ther is that someone can identify it for you.

For smaller plants and 'greens', nothing is quite so distinsuishing as the flower. So if you possibly can, a shot of the flower is invaluable. But also smell, texture, habitat, etc. All of these details are useful.

Lastly, always remember that identifying a sample from a description or even a good picture online is a hard task, and it is impossible to ever do so with absolute certainty. Use your own noggin too and check any suggested ID; be safe when eating wild foods!

Thanks,

Cab.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 06 10:08 pm Post subject:
It being autumn, we're getting more and more pics of shrooms and fruit here. Thought I'd post a little reminder that this topic contains guidelines on how to get the most out of doing that.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46210
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 06 10:21 pm Post subject:
shrooms are very variable so id is hard but made easier with experience . enjoy but be careful

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 08 3:19 pm Post subject:

Guys, can I remind you of this post? Especially if you want help ID'ing a shroom, its worth bearing in mind what we need to make the most accurate stab we can. Its ain't always easy working out what kind of shroom it is, you can make our lives easier if you follow these guidelines.

I believe that this is now the best place to go online to get this kind of advice. At least, its the best one I know of, its where I would post pics to get guidance. We've got some super contributors who can help you, if you help them to do so

Jess

Joined: 16 Mar 2009
Posts: 12
Location: West London

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 7:32 pm Post subject:
Hello everybody, I'm new here and got a question. Where is it possible to post pictures of herbs (berries as well) to help identify them? Is it ok here ot not as a bit confused? Thank you

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 7:34 pm Post subject:
Hi Jess, Yes it's totally OK to post your piccies here and we'll do our best to help out. Read Cab's post at the top of this thread to make sure you give us what we need to be able to id your stuff.

Jess

Joined: 16 Mar 2009
Posts: 12
Location: West London

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 7:49 pm Post subject:

OK fantastic I'll start from 3 pictures, i think it's cow parsley but not 100% not a rough chervil

I'd put the same numbers for the same plants that are on different pictured from different angles

By the way are they two different plants chervil and cow parsley?

1

Below ones i'd say it's garlic mastard small leaves, but at many pictures it's got white flowers, mine are pink.

2

Last edited by Jess on Mon Mar 16, 09 8:16 pm; edited 3 times in total

Jess

Joined: 16 Mar 2009
Posts: 12
Location: West London

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 7:53 pm Post subject:
Not sure what these two are 3 3 44 Last edited by Jess on Mon Mar 16, 09 8:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 7:58 pm Post subject:

The first one is some kind of umbellifer - maybe Queen Anne's lace. Need to wait to see the flowers. Don't under any circumstances eat unknown umbellifers.

The second one you've got two different thinks there - the right hand picture looks like Jack-in-the-hedge aka garlic mustard, but the thing on the left with pink flowers is red dead nettle.

The third is arum lillies I think - and if I recall - quite poisonous.

What do you think Cab?

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 7:59 pm Post subject:
The pretty blue ones are periwinkles.

Jess

Joined: 16 Mar 2009
Posts: 12
Location: West London

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 8:15 pm Post subject:
Pretty sure it's goosegrass (cleavers) but better ask Thank you all!!

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 8:20 pm Post subject:
Yup, that last one is goosegrass / cleavers. Agree with Jamanda re the 2nd pair of pics : dead nettle with pink/purple flower on the left; garlic mustard on the right. Chervil and cow parsley are two different plants, AFAIK.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 09 11:28 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

The first one is some kind of umbellifer - maybe Queen Anne's lace. Need to wait to see the flowers. Don't under any circumstances eat unknown umbellifers.

Ain't Queen Annes Lace. Most likely ID considering appearance and location is cow parsley. Whats it smell like? Is there masses of it? The leaf stalks, what shape are they in profile, and are they hollow? Any hairs on them? The colour of the stems looks quite uniform. And I'll ask this again, because for me this is the key thing... Whats it smell like?

Quote:

The second one you've got two different thinks there - the right hand picture looks like Jack-in-the-hedge aka garlic mustard, but the thing on the left with pink flowers is red dead nettle.

Yep, spot on.

Quote:

The third is arum lillies I think - and if I recall - quite poisonous.

What do you think Cab?

About the arum? Potentially lethal.

I think you're right on the periwinkle too, and of course the goosegrass.

Regarding chervil and cow parsley, they're not the same plant, but chervil is one of the nearest wild relatives of chervil. Really rather different though.

alex_tiv

Joined: 13 Jan 2011
Posts: 2

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 11 10:58 pm Post subject: A Solitary January Mushroom

Hi guys,

I've been trawling the internet for an online/interactive guide to ID a mushroom/fungi I found growing on a low branch of a silver birch tree this afternoon, and found these forums!

The weather has been really mild and REALLY wet for the last 4 or 5 days so I don't know if that has helped this become a late bloomer from the autumn perhaps?

Initially I thought it might be a Chanterelle mushroom, or a Velvet Shank, but in the couple of books I have I can't be certain. The max diameter was 13cm from edge to edge.

This is the only one there was growing... no clump or anything else around growing near by. Take a look and it would be great to get any feed back.

Thanks,
Tivs

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 11 11:03 pm Post subject:
It might be a washed out oyster mushroom. Welcome to the site anyway

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