Last public course of the season and the rain has finally got us – fortunately not too heavy so an event was still a great experince.

Here is what we did:

Learning about fungi identification, key families and features. On the table we had samples of:

1. Trooping funnel
2. Aniseed funnel
3. Clouded funnel
4. Ugly milkcap – did chemical test to show colour change reaction
5. Russullas
6. Turkey tails
7. Common puffball
8. Wood blewit
9. Honey Fungus

Quick look around the carpark for a few edibles:

Elder – flower nice fried in butter in spring and we tasted elderberry cordial

Daisy – pickled heads.

We mentioned the two tress that according to Celtic traditions were man and woman ascended from. Man from Ash – edible ash keys can be pickled in spring and Rowan – flowers for syrup and berries great for wine or jam.

Another interesting find bullace and sloes. We tried sloes in brine and a wild damsons and cherry plums jam.

Pine soda with its high vitamin C content.

Hawthorn – tried fresh berries and ketchup

Entering the footpath our first mushroom find: candlesnuff fungus (watch the spored glow in the dark)

Then rollrim – but which one? We learnt the importance of being able to tell the size..and now we all have our secret help in our pockets 🙂

Milkcaps (bleeding milk on cutting the gills): false saffron milkcap and fiery milkcup.

Next learning and sampling stop by the pond. Here is what we have covered:

• Bulrush that’s not a bulrush but a reed mace! 🙂
• Rosebush (demonstrated how to taste fresh rosehips and we all enjoyed rosehip tea-soak 80C water for 1h dried halved rosehips)
• Angelica and tasted candid sweets.
• Silver birch with its many medicinal properties and unique birch sap. Fungus often found on dead silver birch – birch polypore– dual tincture antifungal, antibacterial, anti virus, anti HIV anti e-bola and anti cancer.

Following the path back uphill we had a chance to admire rare toothed cup fungus.

Just before returning we had a chance to look at jelly ear mushroom.

We have emerged by a set of picnic tables and continued right crossing over to the another part of the woodland with different mushrooms growing Surprise awaited us with marvellous Shaggy scaly cap – look how it glows under UV light-pure magic! 🙂

Times started to press on us so we had to quickly wrap up but with a few final edibles.

The dead nettle starting to flower again serves well as filled into a dead nettle cake and of course we could not miss on Charnwood foraging signature treat: hogweed (chocolates).