A TEAM from Bangor University have found one of the largest fungi ever recorded in a Gwynedd forest.
The near foot long Penny Bun fungus was found on a field trip to woods at Glasfryn, near Cricieth.
Although not a record breaker, the fungus could be sold for around £40 at specialist food shops.
The find was made by Dr Mike Hale and a group of students from the university’s school of environment natural resources and geography.
Dr Hale said: 'It's probably an edible fungus known as the Penny Bun, also known as cep, or in Italian, porcini, which can be found dried in many a foodstore.
“While not a record breaker, the one we found is much larger than any of this type I've ever seen before. The cap was 27-28 cm across, or nearly 1 ft. The stipe or stem was 10 cm across at its widest point and the stem was 22 cm high to the base of the cap. At 1.8 kg the price at 22-35 per kg would give a price of about £40 or more, in good condition!”
He added: "This year has been a good season for fungi. The warm dry spell earlier in the year provided the right conditions for a good harvest. Given the right conditions, we could be growing truffles and other edible foods in the region- people do collect cep in Gwydr Forest,"
The largest sample ever found was a 7kg fungus in the Snowy Mountains in Australia
Dr Hale warned that anyone collecting mushrooms should be careful to avoid poisonous varieties.
“Of course, people should only eat any mushrooms and fungi that they collect if they are absolutely sure of their identification: some edible ones bear close resemblance to some toxic species.”