The recent heatwave followed by rain should mean good news for mushroom lovers. Michael Baws looks at a new book by a Ludlow publisher that aims to avoid nasty mistakes on a fungus foray.

MUSHROOMS are among the many hidden treasures in the countryside in the autumn. If you know where to look, you are guaranteed some gastronomic delight. But you also need to know what to look for.

Ludlow publisher Merlin Unwin Books has just produced Mushrooming without Fears. The timing is good for two reasons: The mushroom season is about to start and the 12th Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival opens tomorrow (Friday).

Author Alexander Schwab has taken a simple approach. He argues that there is no need to know loads of technical Latin words, nor do you have to be able to identify dozens of tasteless or poisonous mushrooms which you won't want to eat anyway.

Instead he has identified a dozen edible specimens. They range from ceps to puffballs. Some, like the boletes, have tubes on the underside of the cap. Others, like chanterelle, have ridges. The hedgehog fungus has spines. Then there are three mavericks, including the wonderfully named Horn of Plenty.

The important thing is that none of them have gills. So, Schwab's number one rule for fungi foragers is: "Never, never take a mushroom with gills".

That leads to his second rule, only to take mushrooms portrayed in his book. In each case he gives a series of positive ID marks. He also provides a colour chart for matching the colour of the cap. So the third rule is only to eat mushrooms which match all the identification points.

His final two rules are plain common sense: Mushrooms that smell rotten are rotten and, if they feel soggy, that's what they are. Finally never, never eat wild mushrooms raw.

Schwab is enthusiastic about prospects for the autumn. He believes that ceps will be particularly worthwhile. That applies not only to his native Switzerland but to the UK as well. He will make two appearances at the Food Festival, with a talk at noon tomorrow in the Outer Bailey of the Castle and another at 11am on Saturday in the Talks Marquee. Anyone who buys his book from him will also get a free linen mushrooming bag, ideal for letting specimens breathe on their way home.

Mushrooming without Fear is published by Merlin Unwin Books (£14.99) and is available from Ludlow's independent bookshops.

It is a true collaboration for the Unwin family as well. The eldest daughter Elfrid posed for the book cover and her sister Bridget put together the wire and papier mach chanterelle that has gone into the window of the Castle Bookshop.