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MUSHROOMS hunt mushrooms for the pot and
So welcome our newest field guide: exchange recipes.
Mushrooms and other fungi of South
Africa, published by Struik Nature. We The book allocates a double page
have an astonishing 171 000 species. spread for each species and
labels them as ‘edible’, ‘inedible’,
The book is by Gary B Goldman, a ‘unknown’, ‘suspect’, ‘poisonous’
very experienced amateur mycologist and ‘deadly poisonous’. The two
living in Cape Town, and Bloemfontein lethal ones are found not just in
mycologist, Professor Marieka South Africa but across Eurasia and
Gryzenhout. (Mycology is the study of North America, Japan and Australia.
fungi). Their 360-page book represents And, thanks to this field guide’s
a heroic effort to help the layman illustrations, they are easily identified. author, now living in Mossel Bay, has
identify 200 of our most common and spent most of his life studying not
interesting mushrooms. The book advises, “The secret to a just marine biology but pursuing the
successful mushroom hunt lies in relaxing pastime of beachcombing
Few of us have the confidence to knowing one’s ‘hunting ground’. A – scanning the beach for ‘trash or
pick wild mushrooms and cook them thorough knowledge of nearby forests treasure’ (to use his term).
because we know some can be fatal to and other areas … will help locate
eat. But with the advent of this book, we good specimens before they decay or Rudy van der Elst has now produced a
can now identify them. disappear - or get plucked by fellow delightful field guide for young and old:
mushroom gatherers.” Beachcombing in South Africa (Struik
The vast majority of mushrooms are Nature).
not only edible but nutritious. Some This is a beautiful book with sharp,
are greatly sought after by chefs. detailed, colour illustrations. It’s a We are all beachcombers at heart.
There are clubs for amateur ‘fungi thoroughly browsable addition to South It’s a compulsion when walking on
foragers’ and they go out in groups to Africa’s extraordinary library of field guides. the beach. There are interesting
shells, sea-smoothed pieces of
BEACHCOMBING coloured glass, dead crabs, pieces
Add to this abundance, a just-published of porcelain from the many ancient
book by Professor Rudy van der Elst, wrecks unseen and forgotten along
retired director of the Oceanographic our coast. Here’s a fun guide to
Research Institute in Umhlanga. The beachcombing.

The deadly Amanita pantherina mushrooms

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DPL