Mushroom of the Month - April 2009

Calocybe gambosa is a chunky white mushroom that usually appears towards the end of April - hence its common name St George's Mushroom. You can find them in May and often through to late June, too. 23rd April is St George's Day - but you knew that, of course... er, well, if you are English perhaps you might be blushing now, because everyone in Ireland can tell you that St Patrick's Day is on 17th March, and in Wales it's impossible for St David's Day pass you by unnoticed unless you are comatose... but as far as I can tell neither the Welsh nor Irish Patron Saints has a mushroom named in his honour.

Harvested commercially in Romania and some other European mainland countries, this good edible species is best picked young because older specimens often are maggot infested. It has a mealy smell that puts some people off, but others find it excellent - it must be well cooked, by the way.

The really good news is that these spring mushrooms often appear in groups and even in large fairy rings. Up to 15 cm across, the caps have a smooth texture and are domed when young, flattening when fully expanded. Be sure that you do not confuse this edible species with the relatively uncommon but deadly poisonous Inocybe patouilardii, a bell-shaped mushroom with a fruity smell that appears in similar grassy and woodland-edge habitats.

For more pictures and details of St George's Mushroom see:

www.first-nature.com/fungi/id_guide/tricholomataceae/calocybe_gambosa.htm

Happy hunting!