Dorset and the New Forest as a whole are known for their biodiversity, and as a result, there are plenty of different mushrooms and fungi you can spot there.

From Common Puffballs to Fly Agarics and Tawny grisettes there are a fair few you can find it you are curious.

Here is a breakdown of the different types you can spot around the county and in the New Forest, plus if they are poisonous or not.

The different types of fungi you can spot in Dorset and the New Forest

Common Puffball

Bournemouth Echo: The Common Puffball The Common Puffball (Image: Julia Rosser/Camera Club)

This common puffball is identified by a pear or club-shaped body covered with short, bobbly warts, with an obvious stem.

It grows on the ground in woodlands and grasslands, often occurring in small clusters.

They are white in colour at first and become browner with age.

Turkeytail

Bournemouth Echo: Turkeytail fungusTurkeytail fungus (Image: Julia Rosser/Camera Club)

Turkeytail is a bracket fungus that grows in tiered layers on dead wood and can often be seen in the autumn period.

Dorset Wildlife Trust says it is identified through its thin caps with concentric rings of colour.

Amethyst deceiver

Bournemouth Echo: Amethyst deceiverAmethyst deceiver (Image: Julia Rosser/Camera Club)

The Amethyst deceiver can be found growing in the leaf litter of woodlands during the late summer and autumn periods.

On Dorset Wildlife Trust it says: "A fairly small toadstool, the amethyst deceiver is bright purple in colour. It has lilac flesh and the gills are attached to the stem, widely spaced and are deep purple. The stem is covered in tiny, white hairs."

It is edible but is similar in appearance to the poisonous Lilac fibrecap so do not eat it if you cannot positively identify it.

Fly Agaric

Bournemouth Echo: Fly AgaricFly Agaric (Image: Karin Gregory/Camera Club)

This red and white fungus is like the classic fairy tale toadstool which is found in woodlands, parks and heaths.

Fly Agarics are poisonous and should not be eaten as they often cause stomach cramps and hallucinations.

Velvet Shield

The Velvet ShieldThe Velvet Shield (Image: Karin Gregory/Camera Club)

The Velvet Shield has a cap 4-9cm in diameter and is sepia to dark brown in colour, usually with slightly darker radial streaks.

Nature Spot adds that it is "convex at first and then flattened, with a wrinkled fibrous surface giving a velvety appearance".

It is not edible so avoid consuming it.

Tawny Grisette

The Tawny Grisette is commonly found in woodlands as well as in heathlands alongside heather and bracken.

It is edible, but best avoided as it can easily be confused with poisonous species.

To identity the tawny grisette it has an orange-brown cap with a strongly striated margin.

Porcelain fungus

Bournemouth Echo: Porcelain fungusPorcelain fungus (Image: Tracy Whincup/Camera Club)

Porcelain fungus can be seen growing on beech trees and dead wood in summer with its caps being white, translucent and very shiny.

The gills are white, broadly spaced and attached to the stem.

Yellow Stagshorn

Bournemouth Echo: Yellow StagshornYellow Stagshorn (Image: Julia Rosser/Camera Club)

The Yellow Stagshorn has a unique spiky appearance which is bright yellow to dark orange in colour.

It often grows on stumps, dead branches or roots of pine and spruce trees.

Additionally, it is widespread across the UK and can be found throughout the year.

Spectacular Rustgill

The Spectacular RustgillThe Spectacular Rustgill (Image: Karin Gregory/Camera Club) According to Wild Food UK, the Spectacular Rustgill is a "common tree rotting fungus found in dense clusters at the base of living trees as well as stumps and logs".

It is not edible so avoid consuming it.

Orange Grisette

The Orange Grisette start out with an egg-shaped cap before it later ends up flattening out, as well as off-white and crowded gills.

It can be found mainly near birch or beech trees and also possibly some conifers.

Collard Earthstar

Bournemouth Echo: The Collard Earthstar mushroom shooting spores into the airThe Collard Earthstar mushroom shooting spores into the air (Image: Clive Hill/Camera Club)

The Collard Earthstar resembles a small brown bulb and is partially or completely buried in the ground.

Then the outer skin splits and peels back into 4–8 pointed rays, covered in a fleshy layer.

When droplets of rain hit its spore sack the spores get shot up into the air.