There are many thousands of different fungi growing wild in our gardens throughout the UK. Some, such as button mushrooms, shitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms are edible, whereas some are highly poisonous. I posted a question on the internet to find out whether my wild mushrooms were edible or not, and the advise that I received was:

Leave Well Alone!

• "There is a saying; "All mushrooms are edible...some of them only once"!
• DO NOT EAT ANY MUSHROOMS THAT ARE GROWING ON YOUR LAWN!!!
• Never, ever, ever ever eat mushrooms you find in the ground.
• Even vetran mushroom hunters get poisoned sometimes and it isn't worth the risk.
• There are lots of poisonous mushrooms, few edible mushrooms and the edible ones pretty much have poisonous ones that look very similar to them.
• In my area there are mushroom clubs, I have a friend in one, he's been doing it for years, and I still won't eat the mushrooms he finds due to the danger.
• And if you have a dog, keep it away from the mushrooms too. Dogs die of mushroom poisoning all the time by eating mushrooms in the yard.

Unknown mushroom 1

These are dainty little mushrooms found growing in the middle of the grass, but are they edible?

Unknown mushroom 2

These mushrooms were growing in humus rich soil, and have obviously been nibbled by a critter, are they safe for human consumption though?

As you can see from some of the responses, picking and eating wild mushrooms is not a very good idea. Home grown mushroom kits can be purchased from reputable dealers and are safe to eat.