The Porcelain Fungus, or Poached Egg Fungus, as it is sometimes known, is common and widespread in New Forest woodlands wherever mature beech trees are found - it grows almost exclusively, sometimes in large clusters, on dead sections of beech trunks and branches.
It is a distinctive, autumnal fungus with a cap - measuring up to 8 centimetres across - that is pale grey or white, often with a darker flush at the centre. Of particular note, though, is the cap's prominent coating of glistening, translucent slime.
Pale stems are usually quite short whilst the creamy white gills are prominent and well-spaced.
Perhaps surprisingly, after the coating of slime has been removed, the Porcelain Fugus is edible, although the flavour has unenthusiastically been described as indifferent.
Warning: refer to a good, comprehensive fungus field guide to confirm identification, and only eat those species known without any doubt whatsoever to be edible - people have died after eating certain poisonous specimens.
References:
Mushrooms and other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe - Roger Phillips
The Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and North-western Europe - Marcel Bon
Fungi of Britain and Europe - Stefan Buczacki and John Wilkinson
The MacDonald Encyclopedia of Mushrooms and Toadstools - Giovanni Pacioni
Fungi of the New Forest: A Mycota - Edited by Gordon Dickson and Ann Leonard
A Passion for Mushrooms - Antonio Carluccio
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