Leave room for ‘shrooms on your plate

I HAVE always been fascinated by fungi and because a reasonably mild, wet autumn provides the best conditions for finding them, I’m gearing myself up to go foraging.

They’re such amazing organisms. They’re not plants but occupy one of the five kingdoms of taxonomy all to themselves. One of the principal differences between a plant and a fungus is that a fungus doesn’t need light to grow.

Of course what I’ll be searching for are mushrooms and toadstools, which are the fruits of the fungus. The main body of the organism is underground or in some substance like rotting wood and normally consists of a spreading network of fine threads called mycelia.