Reputedly one of the top edibles. A large 'mushroom' with attractively patterned cap. Regularly appears under conifers between Monks Gate and Nuthurst.

My favourite edible. A medium size 'mushroom' with a scent of aniseed. Widespread, but often found on the ridge by the footpath going from High Hurst to Park Lane.

The classic 'toadstool' with white-spotted red-cap. Grows particularly under birch. Can be seen at the back of the garden of the Black Horse. Edible in small quantities if you want your mind rearranged. Said to be the inspiration for the Father Christmas and flying reindeer legends.

The most poisonous of all fungi. Eating it is usually fatal (I find). Like the Fly Agaric it grows out of a 'bag' at the base and has a ring on the stem. It is medium-sized with a sickly pale cap. I have found it regularly particularly between Monks Gate and Nuthurst.

This grows in great clumps usually on wood, where it spreads by black cords often likened to 'bootlaces'. I have seen it all over a lawn in Maplehurst, by the Black Horse Car-park and dominating in woods along the Nuthurst Stream. Gardeners despair when it takes hold as it is said to destroy shrubs and trees. However, it is edible, so maybe you can control it by eating.

That is my own name for this bolete which I first found under oaks on the central reservation going into Crawley from Horsham. Seen this year in a similar situation near Mannings Heath Village Stores. Boletes have pores under the caps rather than gills, bright yellow under a whitish cap in this species.

This is commercially the most important edible fungus. It is a bolete with whitish pores under a brown cap. This year I saw one or two under oaks on the verge just up Park Lane from the White Horse, but in 1999 there was a superabundance in places such as Cook's Copse.

This edible is traditionally at it's best on St George's Day in April, growing in grassy places, often in large rings. I have seen it growing up on the Ridge above Nuthurst and also on a small lawn in Nuthurst itself. It has a curious smell, which might put people off, but it makes me salivate just to think of it.

I have seen remains of what I think is this species between Monks Gate and Nuthurst. It is related to the more common Ginat Puffball, Calvatia gigantea, which has been reported to me as growing on lawns in Maplehurst. If you find one on your lawn do save a slice for me!

The chanterelle is a highly prized culinary delicacy, sold at great price in our trendier supermarkets and yet they can be found in the wild within 100m of the Nuthurst Road - not actually in superabundance though, so I will not specify precisely where!

Despite its forbidding name and black visage this is also a prized edible. I found a spot by the public footpath in Cook's Copse under beech. The black trumpets appear more like holes in the ground than choice edibles. I have some on strung up on cotton in the kitchen, drying over the microwave vent.

Instead of gills or pores this has spines under the cap. Apart also being edible that is as far as the resemblance to a hedgehog goes. Found in woods such as Cook's Copse.

A small but beautifully coloured purple fungus growing in all woods.

This tastes like chicken when young and like a mouthful of wood when old. It grows on the trunks of old trees in a variety of contorted shapes. This year I noticed one from afar from the footpath in Cook's Copse.

This is a yellow jelly attached to branches. There was a lot in Limekiln Wood one year.

Russulas come in a bewildering variety of colours but share the common feature of being very brittle and difficult to transport without disintegration. Most are brightly coloured, red and yellow being very common, but The Charcoal Burner is a mixture of purple red and green. It is edible but although none of the russulas are deadly I am never really so sure of my identification that I dare make a great meal of them. This and other russulas can be found in all woods.

A favourite edible. A tall stem with snake-like markings and a movable ring is surmounted by a broad 'parasol' up to 20cm across, although when young the caps are more like drumsticks. A mature cap will fill a small frying-pan and go well with scrambled egg. I have seen them very common in woods off the Downs Link and elsewhere. Perhaps before you eat you should be aware that the similar Shaggy Parasol Mushroom, without snake-like markings on the stem, can upset some people.

I was very excited to find this in Cook's Copse, by the footpath - one fungus growing on another - a bolete growing on an earthball!