Epping Forest Fungi - the Spitalfields Connection?

The last few years have seen a scarcity of fungi in Epping Forest compared to, say, 10 years ago. This has been remarked on by a number of people that remember not just the variety of species but the number of fruiting bodies that used to be found.

 

The reasons for this seem unclear: whether seasonal conditions have affected things or perhaps changes caused by climactic changes, or perhaps simply that the Forest has been over-harvested by collectors, particularly in the last few years. Epping Forest regulations state that commercial collection for restaurants and shops is not allowed under any circumstances and, together with collecting without a license, is a byelaw offence that can lead to prosecution.

 

A licensing system was in operation until recently, but personal observations on the basketfuls of fungi that were seen being carried would suggest that the sheer numbers could not be for home consumption.

 

Many of the fungi that I observed in such harvests were not edible species, so I deduce that anything was picked, and was sorted out later for edibility. One wonders where these basketfuls of fungi finished up, and who does the sorting?

 

An article on Radio 4 on 14th November called “Armatrading for Mayor” looked at some of the duties of the Lord Mayor of London, and one part of it particularly caught my attention:

 

The interviewer – Joan Armatrading - was talking to stallholders at Spitalfields Market. One of the stallholders called over a neighbour – a “Mr Mundo” – and jokingly mentioned that he patrols Epping Forest every morning making sure that people don’t pick the wild mushrooms. The intimation seemed to be that the mushrooms being sold at Spitalfields had come from Epping Forest!

 

Perhaps a look at the City of London’s own Spitalfields Market, and the provenance of some of the mushrooms on sale there, might be in order here?

 

Paul Ferris, 14th November 2009