When I was in Munich last week I enjoyed a snack of Austernpilze (oyster mushrooms) and bread with a Schneider Weißbier.

 Austern Pilze

It crossed my mind firstly that I recall a better choice of mushrooms in German shops than I find in my local supermarkets in England. Secondly it crossed my mind that the English language is very poor in describing mushrooms, we have few words without having to borrow from French - e.g. chantarelles - or going into botanical Latin! I recall my supermarket in Bavaria selling Champignons (bog standard button mushrooms), Austernpilze (oyster mushrooms), Steinpilze (no idea of the correct translation but literally "stone mushrooms") and Pfifferlinge (chantarelles).

I wonder why there are so few "real English" words for mushrooms. Is it ignorance or that we lack a foraging culture? I know that many Germans and Poles will forage for mushrooms and other edible fungi at this time of year. In France, pharmacists are supposed to be able to advise foragers on whether they have picked something edible or poisonous. Nobody I know in the UK knows how to forage for mushrooms safely. What a shame!