That being said, for anyone in the UK who is interested in getting into foraging, the wild food UK YouTube channel is really good for showing what to look for in wild mushrooms, and there are certain mushrooms that are reasonable to go out and ID (for edible vs inedible, not necessarily down to species) from those videos. Hedgehog mushrooms, for instance, I’d consider incredibly safe for someone that’s seen one of those videos to go out and look for.

No substitute for an in person teacher, but it can be really good to get up to speed before going on a course.

I do feel like mushrooms get a bad rep compared to plants – there are certain mushrooms (in the UK at least) that are very safe to forage. Boletes (if you check for staining and red on the stem), agaricus, hedgehog fungi, blewits, shaggy inkcaps…

Others I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole, even if I’m 99% sure. Any of the small white funnels (miller etc.) I’m not interested in, and likewise amanitas I won’t go near.

But obviously the point stands that using AI, rather than books or trusted sources, is a non-starter. Always use multiple sources when foraging (message for a general audience).

Depends on the mushroom; certain mushrooms (e.g. beefsteak polypore) are incredibly distinctive, while others require microscopy to tell apart.

One thing you didn’t mention that I think is a major drawback with id apps is smell. If you’re looking at agaricus for edibility, yellow stainers are distinguished by smell if it’s cold and the staining is less obvious.

Other things they can’t use for id are texture (slimy cap Vs waxy etc.), staining (so you know what to look for – boletes it’s necessary to check for blue staining), brittle gills/stem (does it snap?)… All sorts!

Huh. I’m surprised no-one else has made an acorn cop based joke about this yet.