The Salty Agaric / Summer / Autumn / Edible
Scientific Name
Agaricus Bernardii
Common Names
The Salty Agaric, The Salt-loving mushroom.
Family
Agaricaceae
Habitat
As their common name suggests they love salty environments so are most often found near to the coast, although they are becoming more common on inland roads that are well gritted.
Description
A fairly easy to identify mushroom, although they are not massively common. They have a familiar mushroomy taste and come ready seasoned.
Identifying Features:
Cap:
Convex when young and then flattening out, they can reach up to 15cm across. The caps are whitish in colour but often have darker brown spots or scales on their surface. The flesh will stain red when damaged.
Stem:
Thick and stout, around 5cm tall, they have a partial veil covering the gills when young as this breaks away it leaves a ring.
Gills:
The gills are pinkish when young they darken to a rich, chocolate brown colour as the spores mature. The gills and quite crowded and free from the stem.
Smell:
Slightly briny mixed with aniseed.
Spores:
Brown.
Uses
In food
They have a similar flavour to shop bought mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), but with a slightly salty flavour. They work well in most dishes that call from mushrooms.
Known hazards
They are known to bioaccumulate silver when they grow on contaminated land. As they can also be found at the sides of roads there is potential risk of contamination here.
Potential lookalikes
Other members of the Agaricus family can look similar but the Salty stains red when damaged and grows in salty environments so it is quite easy to ID.
Extra Notes
The species was named after the original collector, G. Bernard.
Resources
https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/agaricus-bernardii.php
https://www.discoverthewild.co.uk/MushroomGuide/Salty-Mushroom
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