When one talks about fungi, the image of mushrooms springs to mind. A mushroom is the fruiting body of a fungus, containing the spores. Only a small percentage of fungi produce visible mushrooms and it is probable that there are many thousands of species in Cyprus.

Many of the wild mushrooms are delicious but it is essential that they be identified as a comestible species. Most of the comestible species have analogues which are either non--comestible or highly toxic. For example, a common horse mushroom and the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) are frequently mistaken for one another, often with literally fatal results. The rule of thumb is that, if in doubt, throw it out! The toxin in these species does not act until several hours after ingestion. By the time the first symptoms appear, it is often too late to save the life of the person having eaten just a single specimen.

Newspaper article on truffles at http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/cyprus-truffles-now-official/20101005