Saint George’s Mushroom Calocybe gambosum
This is the mushroom that every good forager looks forward to after the winter as it heralds the start of the mushroom season. Saint George’s Mushrooms are medium sized mushrooms found growing in rings in grasslands, hedgerows and woodlands. In grassland the rings are often visible as dark green circles long before the mushrooms appear.
They are called Saint George’s Mushroom because the first ones are ready to pick on Saint George’s Day, 23rd April, though they usually carry on well into May. You can occasionally find them in the autumn too.
Saint George’s Mushroom is similar in size and shape to a field mushroom. They are creamy white all over, cap, stem and gills. The caps are sometimes flushed light tan in colour. The stem is without a ring. They are very firm to the touch and have a strong aromatic mushroom smell.
They are distinguished from other similar looking mushrooms by the time when they appear. The only other cream coloured mushroom you are likely to find at the same time is the Spring Fieldcap, Agrocybe praecox, which has a ring on the stem and grey-brown gills.