Searching Tips

    Odd people have mentioned how after reading my blog or seeing my fungi pictures on facebook they have started to notice the odd mushroom while out walking, so I just thought it may be of help if I mention how I search.

    The first thing I learnt was never be affraid to walk off path. Unless you're searching in a park or wood where the owners have a "stay on the path" rule, always try walking through the wood itself, between the trees and through the undergrowth. This as given me great results, that and my second tip of always walking slowly, this of course helps spot the smaller fungi but also will help you understand the wood. A forest floor has it's own world going on, you will notice how  the young plants delevope, the insect life that live there, the beautiful mosses and lichen that nestle around trees, roots and rocks and of course finally the magical kingdom of fungi. So please take your time, you really will start finding more that way. 

   Now next is what I consider a very important tip, learn your trees. Many fungi have good relationships with certain trees, so learning your trees means once you know which fungi like which tree you can head straight to that type of tree rather than just walking through the wood hoping to see something wasting time.

   There are three main good trees to look for, the Oak, Beech and Birch, all three have good connections with a large number of fungi. Knowing these three plus trees like the sweet Chestnut is a real must and as I said before could save hours of hunting. For example, if you were looking for the stunning Fly Agaric which loves growing around Silver Birch then you would head straight to areas where you know Silver Birch grow. So learning your trees and learning which fungi they live alongside is a huge advantage.

   There are a few trees that won't help in your hunting as they have very little ties with any fungi, the Ash tree being one and too the sycamore. If you're walking through a Sycamore wood you won't be stopping to photograph many member of kingdom fungi I promise you. Most good fungi books will give you a list of trees a cerain mushroom will like, so it's not as hard ad it seems.

   Now I hope these little tips help you and remember, off path, slowly does it and learn your trees, with those three you have a great start.