After warm summer months and some rain, autumn, between late September and early October, is usually mushroom peak season. But attentive collectors found autumn mushrooms in the spring, and in July Bavaria experienced a veritable flood of porcini mushrooms. What’s going on there? “This year is completely crazy, climate change is really taking its toll,” says someone who should know: Christoph Hahn has a doctorate in mycology, is president of the Bavarian Society for Mycology and, despite the mixed mushroom year, enthuses: “They are shooting up everywhere right now Height!”
For the porcini mushroom, the most popular of all edible mushrooms, there is a high pressure to collect, especially in and around Munich – and only skilled mushroom hunters can find it. In the Bavarian Forest, however, where fewer people search and the soil is more acidic, the chances are better. There are also satisfactory numbers of chestnut mushrooms, parasol mushrooms and chanterelles. According to Hahn, the latter can also be found more frequently on the edge of the Alps.

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What equipment is needed to search for mushrooms?
The mycologist doesn’t have to think for long: “Basket is culture!” Plastic bags? “I find them scary.” But this is not just for traditional reasons, but also for very practical reasons: mushrooms are stored in the basket in an airy place, in the bag they melt like soup, which in the worst case scenario leads to food poisoning.
For Hahn, the question of the right knife is “double-edged”. It offers advantages to experienced mushroom seekers: When you cut it off, you can immediately see whether the fungus is infested with maggots and if you clean it straight away, you will have less dirt at home. Beginners should definitely remove the mushroom completely from the ground and take it with it without cleaning before having the find checked by an expert. “Otherwise, important identifying characteristics are lost,” says Hahn.
When should a mushroom consultant check the mushrooms found?
Whenever you are unsure, says the mycologist. Because: “Eating unknown mushrooms is a matter of luck.” The many mushroom identification apps that can often name mushrooms after a scan are a nice gimmick, but the professional warns: “Identifying does not mean eating. You should never hang your life on it.” The many details, combinations of features, or the smell cannot be detected by apps or books.
Can edible mushrooms also be dangerous?
Edible mushrooms are not risk-free. If they are frozen and thawed several times, their cells break down and bacteria can spread more quickly. “I can’t see it from the outside and I might get food poisoning,” warns Hahn. Most mushrooms are also poisonous when eaten raw and are only edible when well fried.
What other dangers lurk when hunting for mushrooms?
The classic poisonous mushrooms, which often look very similar to edible mushrooms, are well known. “When people think of a white mushroom with lamellae, they think: I know that one!” says Hahn. The difference between the mushroom and the deadly death cap lies in the details – and that requires expertise.
An almost even bigger problem for Hahn is the immigration of new species via the Alps. The climate is to blame: “The summers are getting hotter, the winters are shorter and frost periods are no longer as severe.” While the meadow mushroom used to be a popular edible mushroom in Bavaria, the “false meadow mushroom” has recently also become native – and poisonous. The species look so similar that even some mushroom consultants no longer release them.
The story of the “Perfumed Funnel” also makes you sit up and take notice: The poisonous mushroom, which looks very similar to the “Foxy Funnel,” migrated via North Africa, Spain and France. After eating the toadstool, those affected experience such severe pain in their hands and feet that it feels as if they are burning.
There have already been several deaths in France. People die from circulatory overload or suicide because the pain is so unbearable that it lasts for up to six months. “This is the most severe thing we have seen in terms of climate change,” says Hahn. The fungus was also discovered in Austria and Switzerland; there is only one unconfirmed report in Bavaria. But Hahn is certain: “He should have arrived by now.”
What is radioactive contamination of mushrooms?
After the Chernobyl reactor disaster in 1986, radioactive rain fell, particularly in Bavaria, which continues to pollute some regions with the potentially carcinogenic cesium-137 to this day. The Bavarian Forest, Berchtesgaden, the Alpine ridge and some areas in the foothills of the Alps are particularly affected, explains Hahn. According to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), high values were also measured in the Donaumoos southwest of Ingolstadt. Chestnut boletes, trumpet chanterelles and bread stubble mushrooms absorb a particularly high amount of cesium-137.
Is this a cause for concern for mushroom collectors?
“If I sometimes enjoy mushrooms, I don’t have a significant risk of cancer,” says Hahn. According to the President of the BfS, Inge Paulini, even if mushrooms exceed the limit values: “As long as they are consumed in moderation, they only lead to a small additional radiation dose.” Anyone who eats mushrooms very regularly should still consider using less contaminated species such as porcini mushrooms or chanterelles, advises Hahn.
How does mushroom poisoning manifest itself?
“Most mushrooms trigger gastrointestinal symptoms,” says the mycologist. If you have nausea, a feeling of fullness, vomiting or severe stomach pain after eating mushrooms, go to the doctor! Even if the symptoms disappear after a few hours, the danger remains. During the supposed improvement phase, the liver can be attacked. Christoph Hahn therefore appeals: “Every ten minutes that you waste away, the risk of dying increases.”