Season Calendar: Which Mushrooms Grow When

Mushroom Calendar – Through the Forest All Year Round

Spring (March–May)

Morel – April/May: honeycomb-wrinkled cap, nutty flavor. In riverside forests and orchards. Careful: the poisonous spring false morel appears at the same time, with a brain-like wrinkled cap – check the cap shape and a lengthwise cut together, and leave anything doubtful where it is. St. George's Mushroom – April/May: white, smells of flour, on limestone meadows. Careful: it can be confused with the poisonous livid pinkgill.

Summer (June–August)

Chanterelle – peak season from July, in spruce and beech forests Parasol Mushroom – July to October, on forest edges Bay Bolete – July to October, very common in coniferous forests

Autumn (September–November) – PEAK SEASON

Porcini – peak in September/October Horn of Plenty – September to November Wood Hedgehog – September to November Honey Fungus – October/November: only edible thoroughly cooked; raw or undercooked it regularly causes stomach and bowel upsets. Cook it through for at least 15–20 minutes and pour the cooking water away. The deadly funeral bell (Galerina marginata) grows on the same wood – check several features together and eat nothing you cannot place with confidence. Oyster Mushroom – October to December

Winter (December–February)

Velvet Shank – November to March, grows even under snow. Here too the funeral bell grows on the same wood – it carries a ring on the stem, the velvet shank never does; check several features together and leave anything doubtful where it is. Oyster Mushroom – into February Jelly Ear – year-round, peaks in winter

Ideal Mushroom Weather

3–5 days of rain, then warm and humid. Soil temperature of 10–18 °C is optimal.

After the first autumn frost, porcini are often especially firm and flavorful!