Stem

Cut or twist out? The mycological verdict

Among amateur foragers, there's been a decades-long debate: "Should you cut a mushroom with a knife or twist it out, root and all?". The argument for cutting goes like this: "So you don't damage the mycelium".

From a scientific point of view (as David Arora and most modern mycologists note), it makes absolutely no difference to the mycelium. The mycelium is a vast underground network, and harvesting its fruit (mushrooms) in any way does it no harm, just as picking an apple doesn't kill the apple tree.

But from a SAFETY point of view, cutting a mushroom with a knife high above the ground is a fatal mistake.

M.Ya. Zerova stresses firmly in her works: identifying a mushroom is impossible without examining the base of its stem. The most important features hide underground or in the moss:

- Volva (sac): The main feature of the deadly poisonous death cap and other amanitas. If you cut a death cap, the sac stays in the ground, and you bring home a "green brittlegill".

- Root-like extension: Helps tell certain edible species apart from their lookalikes.

- Color change at the base: For example, a yellowing stem base is the only obvious feature distinguishing the poisonous yellow stainer from an ordinary Agaricus mushroom.

The mycologist's golden rule: Always carefully dig up or twist out an unknown mushroom together with the very lowest, underground part of its stem if you're taking it for identification.

Stem characteristics

When identifying a mushroom, pay attention to three main aspects of the stem:

1. Position relative to the cap: Central, eccentric, lateral or absent.

2. Shape of the base: Bulbous or with a long "root".

3. Internal structure: Solid (filled with flesh) or hollow (like a tube).