
Looking for mushrooms in the forrests and picking them has in Czechia an extra long tradition. Maybe also because about one third of
our territory is covered by forrests.
Boletus badius, very common and good mushroom
Generally I think Slavonic nations are fond of this activity, many people have good knowledge and also a lot of families have their special recipes how to prepare different meals with them. In Czech online atlas of mushrooms 1600 species are presented.
But of course most people collect several species only which they now very well.
Macrolepiota procera
Keen mushroom collectors will not tell even the friends their secret places especially when the year is not very favourite for the mushroom harvest.
The most commonly collected mushrooms need some rain and then rather warm wheather and an experienced mushroomer feels very well when and where to go.
There are also several very dangerous species in our forrests, even deadly poisoning or causing some severe health problems.
Amanita phalloides
This is one of them. This mushroom is very dangerous for liver and if the person who consumed it does not get to hospital in time it can even end with death. Young pieces can be mistaken for one sort of russula.
I myself used to pick mushrooms maybe for 30 years and I am still alive - but I mostly collected about 10, maybe a bit more, 15 to 20 species only and in case of any uncertainty never risked it. With my parents we often had a look to one of the special books - Atlas of mushrooms to learn more. If the piece is in perfect condition it is usually not complicated at all to tell what kind it is. Problem can be with the very young pieces which have not yet totally developed all the characteristics or with some pieces which are not in good condition, some part is destroyed etc.
some of different sorts of boletus found in our forrests
From Wikipedia:
As of 2021, about 150,000 species of fungi are described , but according to the latest (year 2021) estimates published by scientists of the microbiological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, there are 6.28 million species. about 10,000 species are found in the Czech Republic.
If you have the possibility to have a walk in the woods, I wish you good luck ! Maybe you will find some oustanding piece of nature
Margaret
