Some Buoni Funghi:
Mazza di Tamburo- drumstick mushrooms they are white with little brown specks on the top, some look like old-fashioned drums mallets growing from the ground, they have a nutty taste. They are very soft, delicate and fragile.

Funghi Cativi!
Amanita Muscaria [/B] Poisonous!
A red-capped mushroom with white dots

Many Italians are stopped by local police for hunting down Shrooms- one man's life was saved...he had poisonous mushrooms he was taking home to eat --luckily the police took them away...many Italians die each year due to mistakes in mushroom discernment!

I live near an area in the Brianza where the mushroom (funghi) hunters frequent. It is very interesting to observe them. Some years ago when I first lived here I did not know what they were doing. It was not something I witnessed as a child growing up in the USA. I noticed a pattern and then someone told me they were mushroom hunters. They are easy to spot as they are always wearing high rubber boots while walking out into the grass and tree areas to hunt for the funghi. And they always come at a certain time of day. But these men I see seem to be experts and I have watched them for many years.
kfscala

I'm a new member from Rome and take this opportunity to say hello to the community. Dear Jacqueline, Amanita Muscaria, even being toxic, is not the most dangerous one or at least not such as the sadly well known Amanita Falloides, for which only 40 or 50 grams are enough to create no remedy problems.
As soon as I'll have some time I'll post some photos taken from the growing site (normally woods), including some of our best Boletus (Porcini) and of course the lovely Mazza di tamburo (Macrolepiota Procera)!
giampiero

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Let them eat!! Baby... let them eat!!

Thank you so much G.Piero. I cant wait to see the photos of the mushrooms, as I love to study plants...I am studying alot lately..making water color charts of medicinal herbs. The mushroom tamburo I think is the very best tasting mushroom that I have had till now, not unless you can challenge me on that one!

G.Piero Auito! Today in the Roman castles I went through the woods of falling chestnuts and ended up with a colorful selection of mushrooms! Can you classify them for me please? Don't worry I am not about to eat them, I love to study plants..and fungus's.

Here are the chestnuts.....but some say that the tiny ones are not good, the ones I found were so tiny...some were normal size. Does anyone know which ones are the best ones? These they told me have an inner skin that when you cook them does not peel off. I really will eat the skin and all anyways..but I'd like to know what the differences there are between them. Some lady told me that there is a type...that is much larger than the normal chestnuts; and these they only use in herbal medicines and you cannot eat them--I suppose they are very bitter. Any chestnut experts around?

You may be thinking of Horse chestnuts - they are poisonous to humans and are used in the production of certain health products. They don't look like American or Sweet chestnuts- their husk is not covered with green spines (like a sea urchin) Instead the seed husk has either smaller spikey bumps or thicker and longer spikes. Although onced shelled the two types of nuts look pretty similar, edible chestnuts and horse chestnuts are not closely related.

You are right, now I remember the pods of the "horse chestnuts" I saw them on the ground at the Parco dei Mostri"...the girl there told me of its uses...I did't know though that they were velenose.

]Amanita Muscaria
http://kinoko-ya.jp/phots1_b/benitengutake.jpg
These are poisonous-Cativi
Amanita muscaria is one of the most beautiful mushrooms with a kind of mysterious charm. It is distributed globally. We often see it in the wood of Betula or Abies from summer to autumn in the Kanto district in Japan.
It is known as a magic mushroom containing ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscarine affect central nerve, and has been used for the religion ceremony in Northern Europe, India, and Central America for many years.
In a general way A.muscaria is considered to be a typical poisonous mushroom in Japan. However, in the area of a part of Nagano Prefecture, they have preserved in salt and eaten this mushroom, or have used the dried powder as seasoning. And a few of mushroom-mania who know the good taste eat A.muscaria only a few so that they do not hallucinate.
They remind me of the shiny red apple Snow white was given by the witch, it was so irresistable looking not to take a bite..a little like this mushroom

Mazza di Tamburo
http://natura.provincia.cuneo.it/fun...eda.jsp?id=408
These you can eat, they are the Buoni. I think too, that these are very beautiful.