>>2376230I suspect the mayapple rust is getting to the patches near me. This one, and one right next to it, seem to be doing pretty poorly, and although the fruit are starting to turn colors, they're still quite hard. Not sure if those will survive to ripen, though there are some elsewhere that are doing better.
>>2375504>>2375530>>2375574>>2375971Some general advice if you're completely new.
>Spend some time getting familiar with plant/mushroom morphology (be very careful with mushrooms unless you want to die horribly, still a possibility with plants but there's less to trip you up). Woody vs. herbacious plants, simple vs. compound leaves, alternate vs. opposite leaves, smooth vs. serrated leaf margins, etc.>Learn about common/easily identified edible and poisonous plants in your area. Go to a library/book store or search online for "<region> edible wild plants" or some such. If something edible has poisonous look-alikes, maybe best not to start with it, i.e. caesar's amanita mushroom vs. death cap mushroom.>If it's your first few times ID'ing something, don't eat it immediately in the field. Take it home, check it against guides. Make sure you actually have what you think you have.>If it's your first time eating something, don't eat 5 pounds of it immediately. Even with the above steps, you may not actually have what you think you have, or you could have a negative reaction even if whatever it is isn't normally poisonous. Try a tiny nibble, then spit it out. Wait a day.>Often times when something is poisonous, it will have very unpleasant properties immediately. Very important to note this is not always the case. Toxic Amanita mushrooms will kill your liver, and by the time you feel terrible it will very likely be too late to save you, even with proper medical care. People who have survived death cap poisonings report that the mushroom is quite tasty.If you can provide what region you're in, anons here might help get you started.
