| Forest Mushrooms |
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Sherwood Forest is home to many species of mushrooms and fungi, which I usually start collecting in late Summer/early Autumn. I learnt all about them from my father many years ago in what was then my home, Czechoslovakia - now the Czech Republic.
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The main varieties which I like to use are Boletus Edulis, known commonly as Cep; the Bay Boletus (Xerocomus Badius), and the Birch Boletus (Krombholziella Rufescens and Krombholziella Oxydabilis).
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The Boletus Edulis is associated primarily with spruces but does also occur in deciduous forests. It has a deep brown, smooth and glossy cap, slightly felted when young, but sometimes slimy in wet weather.
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The Bay Boletus (pictured above right) has a chestnut brown, smooth cap which can be slightly sticky in wet weather. Its stem is yellow brown and the whitish flesh turns slightly blue when cut.
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The Birch Boletus (both pictured above left) has two types which appear exclusively under or near birch trees. One variety has an orange cap and the other has a dark brown cap. Both have white stems with small brownish-black scales.
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These mushrooms were an important part of our diet in Czechoslovakia. Not only were they full of flavour but they also provided protein. It is believed the protein content is higher than in any known vegetable. The picture above right shows a basketful of forest mushrooms found during one my walks in Sherwood Forest.
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