Forest gems

Late September is the end of mushroom season in Scotland, so when setting out on my usual route this Sunday I wasn't expecting much to put into my basket. On a day like that it hardly matters though: the walk would have been rewarding even without any finds. Sunshine, gentle wind, the smell of heated pine needles, a few mosquitoes... OK, mosquitoes were not a welcome thing, but that's what insect repellent is for, right?

For the first couple of hours, I was only finding false chanterelles, lots of them. Very fine specimens, though:

If only it were real! Note the crowded forked gills that distinguish this fungus from the true chanterelle.

I could have picked hundreds of them, but alas - they are quite inedible, although not bad-looking, I must admit.

Then, finally something to put into my basket. Nearly stepped on it!

Small, but firm and maggot-free

An hour later, a nice find on a mossy forest path. I'm not greatly excited by brown birch boletes, but so late in the mushroom year, attitudes change.

No time to be fussy! Get into the basket, my friend.

On the final stretch, the path took me through an ancient beech wood, where the leaf litter layer was so thick that it was like walking on a mattress. And there I found them! Several hundreds of fresh, shiny, purple amethyst deceivers, Laccaria amethystina. Also, a few true chanterelles mixed up with them as a bonus, and a small cep, too!

Gem of the woods: extraordinary colour (and yes, it is edible)

I'll write more about these beautiful fungi later this week. They made my day!

The complete crop: top left - brown birch boletus; top - two slippery jacks; right - a couple of hundred of amethyst
deceivers; centre - saffron milk cap (sadly, all maggoty despite to good looks); bottom - golden chanterelles;
bottom left - two ceps. An excellent haul, considering the timing. Cooking report coming up!