A name for Blacktwig, a large, green variety of cooking apple flushed blushed and streaked with dark red, which may also be eaten. This late-season variety is harvested from late October in the United States and has good storage properties. It may be derived from a Winesap seedling in Arkansas which was introduced commercially commercially in 1868, or on a farm in Fayetteville in Texas in 1830. It has sllightly sour, hard, crisp yellowish flesh which retains its shape in cooking so is good for pies.
The parasol mushroom is a tall mushroom with slightly brownish scales on its white, flattened dome. It has a delicate flavour. Good baked with butter and garlic, or fried. It grows well in sandy soil under trees. Anna Pavord gives a lovely description of these mushrooms "Luckily, they are easy to identify. The snakeskin stalk is finely streaked cream and purple. The top is cream, flaked with brown, and the parasol rises to a distinct bump in the middle, which is all brown. The gills are cream coloured and the whole thing, once opened, can measure more than 8" (20cm) across. (If gathering mushrooms you must be absolutely certain what you have before you eat them as many are very poisonous.)
