Welcome to the Celtnet Guide to Wild Mushrooms and Fungi

Wild Mushrooms and Fungi Guide



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Mushrooms and Fungi Mushrooms and Fungi


Welcome to the Celtnet guide to wild mushrooms and fungi. As this recipe site has grown it has become necessary to split out and make more readily acessible various sub-sections of the site. The number of mushroom and fungi described on this site has not grown large enough that they warrant their own page, as well as being described amongst the other wild foods on the site. These pages are an attempt at bringing all links to the fungi described here into one place. To use this guide simply click on the image or the name of the fungus described below. This will take you through to a page describing the mushroom/fungus and which also provides links on this site to recipes describing the means of preparation of that mushroom or fungus.

beefsteaak fungus  Beefsteak Fungus
Fistulina hepatica
cep or penny bun mushroom  Cep
Boletus edulis
Chanterelle mushroom tumbnail  Chanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius
Chicken of the woods mushroom tumbnail  Chicken of the Woods
Laetiporus sulphureus
Dryad's saddle mushroom tumbnail  Dryad's Saddle
Polyporus squamosus
Fairy champignon mushroom tumbnail  Fairy Ring Champignon
Marasmius oreades
Field blewit mushroom tumbnail  Field Blewit
Clitocybe saeva
Field mushroom tumbnail  Field Mushroom
Agaricus campestris
Giant puffball mushroom tumbnail  Giant Puffball
Langermannia gigantea
Hen of the woods mushroom tumbnail  Hen of the Woods
Grifola frondosa
Horn of plenty mushroom tumbnail  Horn of Plenty
Craterellus cornucopioides
Horse mushroom tumbnail  Horse Mushroom
Agaricus arvensis
Jew's ear fungus tumbnail  Jew's Ear Fungus
Auricularia auricula-judae
Morel mushroom tumbnail  Morel
Morchella esculenta
Oyster mushroom tumbnail  Oyster Mushroom
Pleurotus ostreatus
Shaggy parasol mushroom tumbnail  Parasol Mushroom
Macrolepiota procera
St George's mushroom tumbnail  St Georges Mushroom
Calocybe gambosa
Shaggy ink cap mushroom tumbnail  Shaggy Ink Cap
Coprinus comatus
Wood blewit mushroom tumbnail  Wood Blewit
Clitocybe nuda

Example Entry

Below, you will find an example wild food entry produced randomly from our database:

Mushroom Guide Entry For: Cep

This is the description page for Cep (Boletus edulis) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Cep.

cep (porcini) mushroom

The Cep, Boletus edulis, (also known as Porcini, king bolete or Penny Bun) is a an edible basidiomycete mushroom that's a member of the Boletaceae (Bolete) family of mushrooms. It is a native of Europe and North America and is Europe's second most sought-after fungus (after truffles). The smaller ceps are most sought-after as the whole mushroom can be consumed and they retain their flavour when dried. Older specimens tend to become maggot-ridden and slimy. But the cap of a fully-grown penny bun can reach 25cm in diameter and may weigh up to 1 kg. One such specimen in good condition is more than enough to comfortably feed four.

With its pale stem and russet cap the cep is hard to confuse with other species, indeed it can only really be confused with other members of the same family, none of which are in the least toxic. The only one to look out for is the Bitter Bolete Tylophilus felleus which has brown stalks and cap and can be distinguished in that the gills bruise brown when pressed (it's not toxic, just too bitter to be pleasant). Because of this the cep is one of the safest fungi for the novice to forage for. Penny buns are found in woodlands (typically brich, oak beech and pine) and are available from late summer to late autumn but are most abundant in September and October. They pickle well and also dry very well. Young ceps are excellent raw, or simply fried i a little powder. Dried ceps can also be ground to provide a condiment or a flavouring for soups and stews.

The cap starts out much smaller than the stem and is deeply convex. The cap's colour is generally reddish-brown fading to white in areas near the margin, and continues to darken as it matures (in this respect it looks similar to the Victorian 'penny bun' hence it's common English name). The stipe (stem) is 8–25cm in height, and can be up to 7cm thick. The pores, which do not stain when bruised, are white in youth, fading to yellow and then to brown with age and leave an olive brown spore print.


Recipes Utilizing Cep

Leg of Rabbit with Mushrooms
Taglatelle with Lucanian Sausage and Porcini
Rock Samphire, Procini and Walnut Salad
Cream of Porcini Soup
Ligurian Porcini Soup
Duxelle
Mushroom Goulash
Mushroom Pickle


You can also use the search box below to find the wild food, fungus or mushroom of your choice. You can use the common name or the scientific name or any text you choose:



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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Mushrooms and Fungi

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