Fungal forays.(mushroom gathering)(Brief Article)

One Sunday morning, a year ago, I joined a party of two dozen enthusiasts for what was described as a fungal foray in Savernake Forest. We were accompanied by Roger Phillips, the distinguished mycologist and botanist, who was able to identify -- occasionally he had to refer to his own book on the subject -- the 20 or so different fungi that we found. I had no idea there were so many. None was poisonous, but when we got back to East Grafton village hall to enjoy the fruits of our labours, Mr Phillips said that only two species, the puffball and a rather sinister-looking little purple thing called the amethyst deceiver, were really worth eating.

Fortunately we had …