The Scot­tish Wild Mush­room Code

The coun­tryside is a work­ing land­scape. Please be aware of your own safety and fol­low the Scot­tish Out­door Access Code. In accord­ance with this code there are some instances e.g. com­mer­cial har­vest, where you are advised to make con­tact with the land man­ager before you col­lect mushrooms.

By respect­ing the nat­ur­al envir­on­ment you can help to man­age and con­serve the countryside.

When col­lect­ing mush­rooms for any pur­pose, please con­sider the fol­low­ing points overleaf.

Pub­lished July 2011

The Scot­tish Wild Mush­room Code

This code was cre­ated by the Scot­tish Wild Mush­room For­um, a group con­sist­ing of rep­res­ent­at­ives of con­ser­va­tion organ­isa­tions, landown­ers, pub­lic landown­ing bod­ies, mush­room buy­ers and mush­room pickers.

The cre­ation of the For­um and the Code was fun­ded by Scot­tish Nat­ur­al Her­it­age, The Mil­len­ni­um Forest for Scot­land Trust and Moray, Badenoch and Strath­spey Enterprise.

What to collect

• Wild­life, espe­cially insects, need mush­rooms too, so only col­lect what you will use.

• Some mush­rooms are pois­on­ous and oth­ers rare and should not be col­lec­ted — only col­lect what you know and take a field guide with you to identi­fy mush­rooms where you find them.

• Some spe­cies are vul­ner­able, so please con­sider wheth­er there is an altern­at­ive spe­cies that is more com­mon that might suit your purpose.

If you own or man­age land:

Mush­rooms are a crit­ic­al part of the nat­ur­al cycle in grass­land and wood­lands; if these are com­prom­ised all ele­ments of the eco­sys­tem will be affected. Be aware that your man­age­ment activ­it­ies may affect mushrooms.

If you wish to run a for­ay or col­lect for sci­entif­ic pur­poses remem­ber to:

• Ensure the safety of your party; make con­tact with the land man­ager in advance of your visit.

• Give a record of what you have found to the land man­ager and explain the sig­ni­fic­ance of your findings.

How to collect

• Allow mush­rooms to release spores, do not pick mush­rooms until the cap has opened out and leave those that are past their best.

• The main part of the mush­room is below the sur­face, take care not to dam­age or trample it, and not to dis­turb its surroundings.

• Scat­ter trim­mings dis­creetly in the same area as the mush­rooms came from.

Where to collect

• Before you col­lect mush­rooms at a nature reserve please always seek advice from the man­ager, as spe­cial con­di­tions may apply.