If it were a Farrow & Ball paint shade, I'd call it peaches and cream ... but it's a mushroom

I get quite a lot of requests to identify plants, bulbs, and other curious growths, including fungi. Most (in fact nearly all) of the time the best I can do is say either a) go to the library and get a good reference book that's local to your area, and/or b) consult a local expert.* This is partly because most of the queries come from the US whereas I am in the UK, but mainly because I am very, very far from an expert in such matters (ok, most matters). In addition, people rarely supply the kind of contextual information that aids a positive ID - where was it found, did it smell of anything, did you see it yesterday or last winter, and so on.

That said, I had to bring you this little beauty sent to me by Ron Langer in Murphy, North Carolina because it's rather pretty. And of course if anyone can help Ron out with a name, all to the good.

If you're in the UK and want to get into fungus hunting, a good book to start with is the Mushrooms: River Cottage Handbook No 1. And if you're in the US? No idea on what the good field guides are on the other side of the pond, but I just found MushroomExpert.com: this site gets points first off for pointing out that identifying mushrooms isn't like spotting trees, and for explaining why mushrooms rock, I mean, help to maintain a naturally healthy ecosystem, and for its rafts of cool photos.

*I really need to get around to overhauling my about page and adding this in, along with changing my job description.

Comments

[Matron]

What an amazing colour! Mother nature really does have the best paint box, doesn't she?

[Molly]

In the US you want Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora. (You might even want that one if you're not in the US, it's that good.) If you're in the western part of the US, Arora's All That the Rain Promises and More is less comprehensive but perhaps easier to use.

[Philip Voice]

Doesn't Mother nature have a wonderful knack of getting here colours so right?

[Emma]

Hi Jane,

I've just stopped by to say that I've given you a Brilliant Blogger Award! Time to pass it on :)

http://coopette.com/blog/brilliant-bloggers

[Myla]

It's a chicken mushroom. Very good to eat.