Budding foragers picking wild mushrooms this autumn have been warned to take only what they need as the forests are “stripped bare”.

The call comes from Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), Scotland’s national forestry body, which found that inexperienced fungi foragers were “increasingly” clearing entire areas.

FLS warned this damaged fragile ecosystems and could impact on animals which rely on fungi for food.

Mushroom picking is popular in Scottish forests, but the FLS warned that some species were poisonous and could cause death if eaten.

Colin Edwards, FLS environment manager, urged foragers to make sure the information they were reading before picking mushrooms was reliable and up-to-date.

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He advised that organisations such as Wild Food UK, Nature Scot and Scottish Wild Mushroom Code provided good information, but that foragers should rely on more than one source and never eat anything unless they were “100% sure” it was edible.

He said: “I’d urge people to make absolutely sure they know what they’re picking – before they head out – and pick only what they’re going to use, being sure to leave some for others.

“We have seen an increase in fungi pickers in some of our woodlands such as Devilla near Alloa and some picking is indiscriminate and strips the entire wood bare.

“I often see families out with bags full of fungi, and hundreds of fungi turned and left broken on site, because they’re not edible.

“It’s important to leave enough for everyone – including the wildlife who call the forest home and who rely on fungi as a food source.”