This is the season when foragers begin to hunt fields and woods for mushrooms, one of the greatest of wild delicacies. But the number of those who have the know-how and experience necessary to gather these nutritious fruits of the forest safely is small. Such expertise is vital, though, as of the 4,500 or so species of fungi growing wild in the United Kingdom, about 50 types are known to be poisonous. Only 200 species are edible, while the remainder are just unpalatable.

Exploiting the public larder is a lost culture for most of the British population. Our antiquated trespassing laws and the conversion of forest into agricultural land have set us apart from much of the rest of Europe, where foraging remains an ancient right. In Italy pharmacists offer an identification service for families returning from a mushroom hunt. Poisonings there are rare but not unheard of. Often it is the misidentification of “look-alike” species that cause the most deadly incidents.