Toadstool

[beastess]

I used to go mushroom hunting about this time of year in the Uk. Seeing a few ancient puffballs by the bus stop in Playa Flamenca reminded me of my old hobby. The puffballs were too ancient to eat. Anyone interested in this kind of thing and have they found any good areas?
We found a Jew´s ear yesterday (I am not being anti-semitic here this genuinely is the English name of one particular oyster-type mushroom). But that was in woods in Murcia. I´d love to find a suitable area neaarer home.

[Ashley]

Hi Beastess,

Don't know anything about mushrooms but as we are buying in Murcia what else are we going to encounter when wandering through the woods?
Hope is's not snakes or I would run a mile!

[beastess]

My son did see one snake there. There are loads of different types of lizard. Fantastic array of butterflies. damsel flies, dragonflies, foxes, bees, wasps, horntails, small tarantulas, praying mantises, foxes, rabbits, bats, natterjack toads and many more things. Most of these hang out in the hills, I would hasten to add. On urban building land you might not see that much.

[WENDY]

Hi
Sorry but there are snakes, although we are the other side of Torrevieja in an urbanizacion we had a 4 footer on our patio some sort af Viper I was told, a neighbour managed to sort of encougrage it bit by bit with a long handled spade to go on to some waste ground, didn't sleep with the windows open for a few days though

[beastess]

More snakes near Torrevieja, I think from what we´ve seen. My husband has seen some huge ones while out jogging on wasteland - Playa Flamenca, Villamartin, Los Altos areas. We also saw a dead one on the pavement at Punta Prima - horseshoe snake.

[Crummy]

Beast seems to be humerous sort of chap..
I would just add a word of caution regarding mushrooms etc. Some can be poisonous so don't guess that they are edible... make sure......

[beastess]

Yes, Crummy - people do have to be very careful. I have about 6 books on European mushrooms and I make sure that I identify what I have picked in more than one book before I eat it just in case the illustrations in one book are misleading. There are actually only a very small number of seriously poisonous mushrooms but there are quite a few that would upset your stomach or that don´t combine with alcohol. Shaggy inkcaps, for instance, are highly recognisable and a really tasty and totally safe mushroom to eat unless eaten with alcohol. They contain a substance that is put in the drugs they give to alcoholics to turn them off their favourite tipple.
That being said toadstools are much tastier than cultivated mushrooms as they have a huge variety of flavours. I also like the fact that they are totally free.