How to identify mushrooms – the basics for beginners
How to identify mushrooms from scratch: what a fruiting body is, the main groups of fungi, step-by-step identification, dangerous myths and mycologists.
7 min readDeath cap – why it is the most dangerous mushroom in Poland
The death cap causes most fatal mushroom poisonings. Learn about amatoxins, the treacherous symptoms and its features: volva, ring and white gills.
6 min readHow to photograph mushrooms for identification – 3 key shots
How to photograph mushrooms for identification: the cap from above, the gills or tubes underneath and the dug-out stem base. Plus scale, light and background.
6 min readMushroom calendar – what grows in which month in Poland
A month-by-month mushroom calendar: spring morels and false morels, summer chanterelles, the autumn peak of the season and winter fungi that survive frost.
5 min readMushroom look-alikes – the 6 most common and most dangerous mistakes
Mushroom look-alikes: parasol and Amanitas, morels and the false morel, penny bun and bitter bolete, honey fungus and funeral bell — the key features.
6 min readMushroom picking – a Polish tradition from “Pan Tadeusz” to today
Mushroom picking is a Polish tradition: the scene in “Pan Tadeusz”, folk names like prawdziwek, kozak and kania, and customs that have lasted for generations.
5 min readMushrooms that glow in the dark – bioluminescence in the forest
Mushrooms that glow in the dark are no fairy tale. We explain bioluminescence, what foxfire is, how honey fungus makes rotting wood shine and why fungi glow.
5 min readMycelium – the largest organism on Earth? The Oregon honey fungus
The largest organism on Earth may be a honey fungus mycelium in Oregon. How big is it, how old is it, and why should foragers respect mycelium?
5 min readWhy do mushrooms grow after rain? The biology of a mushroom flush
Why do mushrooms grow after rain? How mycelium forms fruiting bodies, what humidity, temperature and mycorrhiza have to do with it, and how many days to wait.
5 min read