There are over 2,500 species of different funghi that have evolved over the millennia and that's just the larger ones. The most worrying part of this is how do you tell which are the edible ones and which are the toxic ones which could potentially kill you, heres a quick run down to get you started. Fortunately, perhaps, most of the bad ones them are rarely seen. There are only about a hundred really common ones, and they are the ones you need to know. We highly recommend before you venture our and try to identify mushrooms on your own that you go through one of our online courses and become certified by one of our online instructors. Some tips to help you on your way:

Forget about the 'little brown fungi' for now. Try getting to know an accessible group such as the waxcaps or the boletes, or the puffballs and their 'relatives'. It will teach you a lot about the differences between species and the places to look for them.

Mushrumps are bulges in the duff, or decaying vegetation, on the forest floor. An emerging mushroom will often be lurking underneath. This is especially true in pine forests, but also to some extent in deciduous and mixed woods.