Kimon

Hi, i have a question concerning the proper way of picking mushrooms. In a book i 've read (greek one, i live in greece) the author suggests to uproot the mushroom. According to him, if u cut it with a knife it will be more difficult for the mushroom to grow again, since the stem does not grow back and new mushrooms will grow directly from the mycelium (i think this is the proper word in english). However i see a lot of mushroom knives on the market, which suggests quite the opposite. Does anyone know which way of picking mushrooms is "correct"? Thanks

You are right dave, i am sorry about the first two photos. I was so upset of my getting lost that i forgot to take photos when i should have. Regarding the orange mushroom, the depressions on the stem seem a trait of both L. deliciosus and L. salmonicolor, at least thats what my guide says. L.Salmonicolor though seems to appear in summer and autumn days, while deliciosus from may till december...

Hi all, found these mushrooms yesterday in a mountain close to athens. Actually while searching i got lost, and it was a really unsettling experience, but anyway... The first two pictures are from all the shrooms i found. I think that on the left side of both photos there are Lactarius semisanguifluus. On the next 3 photos its possibly a Lactarius deliciosus (it can also be seen on the right side of the first two photos). As for the rest of the mushrooms... i think they are some kind of lactarius too, but i cannot be more specific. The last three photos are of shrooms found in november. I think they are tricholoma.

Ok since dave we agree on this let me show photos from other shrooms at the same visit to the mountain. I believe it could be hygrophorous russula but its cap is not purple... Another suggestion is Cortinarius Dibaphus. The cap was not slimy though and not purple either, but my guide says that later on the cap changes color. What do u think? the photos 4-5 is -i think- is either Calocera viscosa or Ramarea(aurea??) Problem is one is edible, the other not... I wish i coud distinguish them for sure... My guide says calocera grows on rotten, often buried, trees. I found this on the ground, but could there be rotten wood underneath? I cannot be 100% sure. Lastly, i iclude photos from the shroom that was EVERYWHERE. I saw dozens of this, but there is nothin particularly distinguishable about it. I cannot make any suggestions...

Hi all. These are photos of some mushrooms i found at a forest of pines, altitude approx 1200mm. The weather was kind of warm, and the rain a really rare thing. I was hopin to find some lactarius. Instead i found the mushrooms below. The first 4 photos (numbers ending in 287-290) i believe are Hygrophorus chrysodon. The same type must be the other 3 (234-236). In photos 070305 and 070306 i think it is Hygrophorus pudorinus. Regarding the shroom in the last 2 pictures i have no clue... i found other types of mushrooms as well but i will try to identify them myself at first and then ask for help because (as u well know) things can easily become chaotic...!

Sry about the missing info in my previous post. So, these two mushrooms were found in a forest of oak trees, but there were fir trees as well. Altitude approximately 1200 m. The first two photos are what seems to me as lactarius deliciosus. Cap diameter about 4cm. Stem length about 3cm. The other mushroom, well, i cannot exactly guess. Is it some kind of lactarius as well?? Cap diameter about 9cm

sry but i cant upload the rest of the photos...

Hi all, i would appreciate a bit of help with this, though i think that the first two photos are lactarius deliciosus... Cap size about 6 cm diameter, stem length 3-4 cm. I found it in an oak forest, today (28 October). Altitude 1200m approximately, in greece (here its still not cold.) The other one was found in the same forest, pretty close to the first one. Cap size 9 cm diamater. I suspect that this is a lactarius as well, but the yellow color... i dont know exactly. Thanks in advance, Kimon

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lyophyllum_decastes_BS6.JPG This picture of L. Decastes looks a lot like mine. The description of the mushroom at my guide also is not very far from what i found (i think)

Dave i found a type that may suit this case. Its called Lyophyllum decastes. Have u heard of it?

Mushrooms! Well hi everyone (again). The last 4 posts or something have been mine, and i ve been wondering if i post a bit too much... If this is the case, please tell me so (especially u, Dave. I dont want to be tiring). Anyway i went hiking today and i stumbled upon some mushrooms. The first 3 photos are 2 mushrooms of the same kind. Altitude 800m, pine forest (again). Cap size 11cm, funnel shaped. Yellowish color, gills decurrent. Stem rather sturdy (hope this is the right word). I can only think its some type of cantharellus. My father knew this type but he only knew the local name and that it is very tasty. The next two photos are Suillus collinitus probably. Cap size about 7cm, sticky dark brown, with yellowish pores. Found on the ground. I used to find literally dozens of them in late November. Today i found only one. Now the next mushrooms are a mystery to me. Found them at the same forest with all the previous ones, growing on the ground. They were partially covered with vegetation and dirt, cap size 11cm, rather flat surface with dark brown color. The gills can be seen in the last photo clearly (they are a bit sparse-not dense at all). The stalk rather short (3-4 cm) and thick.

Well in other parts of greece it does snow. Especially in the northern parts it can get pretty cold- up to -4 F... There are lots of high mountains as well -by high i mean over 2 Km altitude. In Athens though its a different story. It snows like once every two or three years here, and the weather rarely goes under 32F.

Well these first three pictures (two of which are the same mushroom) are mushrooms collected in christmas at an altitude of 1400m, in a pine forest. As you see, they were growing in dead wood. My guess is the first one should be Stropharia aeruginosa. The yellow ones maybe some kind of Hypholoma? I found both mushrooms at the same area i found the armillaria suspect from my previous post. The place was full of mushrooms but my batteries ran out (took a lot of pictures of my girlfriend and another friend making a snowman ) The next pictures are from a mushroom found in November at a pine forest, close to bushes though. Altitude 400m. There was no other mushroom there. Short stalk, cap size of about 20 cm, no fluid running when cut, the flesh was rather dry, even where i cut the flesh. No ring, white to creamy color (as u see). My guess is leucopaxillus giganteus. Well last but not least -the snowman himself! (Here in Athens when we see snow its actually a rare and nice thing... hope the weather in the States gets better soon) PS i have found some other mushrooms as well but i cant seem to match them in any guide and since the continent gap seems important in identifying mushrooms i wont bother u with more photos (badly shot as well...)

Well Dave i aint sure. 10 days ago i went hiking to amountain close to Athens and i couldnt find any. On the other hand, during another excursion about 100 miles to the east -at Ziria mountain- i saw a lot, even in places covered by ice. I also saw a lot of shrooms comin out of cow dung -i guess that was a halluginocenic type but i didnt get any pictures coz i was out of batteries. My father -who could identify only lactarius sanguifluus and we used to go together to pick them up- says that mushrooms appear till january tops. But he is no expert... In Greece the ''heart'' of mushrooms is around the city of Grevena, in Northern Greece. Grevena has gained the title ''mushroom city'' in 2006- or 2007. Close to Grevena is the biggest line of mountain peaks, the mountain peaks of Pindos-there u can find a lot of types of shrooms. In Grevena there are also taverns that have wild mushrooms on their menus, and in August they organise some type of Greek Mushroom Festival. I hope i go this year -it will be my first time.

wow, here in athens its like 9 degrees celcius and i think its really cold...

Well thanks a lot for your kind words. I was a bit concerned that 3 posts in a row from a newbie would be too much but i guess thats not the case... anyway i have tried to sign up in a greek mushroom forum last year but the administrator never answered back (the posts seem old as well now that i visited the site again...). I will check out your proposal. Thanks again Dave. You ve been really helpful. PS i am ashamed to admit that i dont know how to make a spore print yet. I will check it on the net and give it my first try next time i go hiking...

Hello everybody. I stumbled across one bunch of mushrooms 2-3 days before christmas. They were in a pine forest close to a lot of dead wood (but not on it), at an altitude of 1400 m. It was snowy those days, but that particular day the weather was good and the snow was melting... There were a lot of mushrooms everywhere, many of them though had been rotten away... I checked them out on my guide and on the net. I thought they were armillaria mellea, but i think there is one key difference; Armillaria mellea has ring on its stem. The ones i found dont. My second thought was that maybe they are armillaria tabescens or lentinellus cochleatus, but i aint so sure... Is it possible that sometimes mushrooms actually ARE the type they look, even without a basic detail such as the ring at the stem? Could they be armillaria mellea even without the ring? (i guess thats a newbie question, i promise to get better...

Well here is another mushroom i found on a mountain close to Athens. I am pretty sure those two were Sparrassis Crispa - found them next to pines at altitude approx. 600-800m, early November. The big one had a diameter of about 18-20 cm. Spongelike, yellow with brownish tips. After i checked them at my guide and on the net, i ate a bit -hey, it was really tasty!

Also to be honest i thought that paybe they were pleurotus eryngii but i guess i was way out... Although the color and shape (along with the lateral stem) agreed with the description of the pl. eryngii at my guide...

Well thanks a lot mate. I am pretty sure though they were all the same type. I didnt know what that mushroom was, and i see it all the time this time of year in the mountain next to Athens, Imittos.

Hi everyone! I am kinda new to this so i ll try to describe the mushroom as well as i can. I found these in a forest, growing next to pines, on the ground. Altitude approximately 500m. Cap width about 16 cm, total height less, about 10-12 cm. Stem lateral. I hope the photos help, though a bit blurry. I picked them late November in Greece.