Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Finland

Extremely popular in many cuisines, this edible wild mushroom grows around the world near the roots of forest trees. In some regions, king bolete mushrooms are collected in great enough volumes that their sale can support entire families during the harvest season. King boletes are reported to be high in fiber, vitamins B and C, calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and several antioxidants.

Varied rag lichen grows on rocks, soil, and especially wood. Research has suggested that certain extracts from varied rag lichen can inhibit the growth of biofilms, which may lead to future commercial uses. The specific name, glauca, means "bluish-gray or green," though occasionally this species can appear a pale white color as well.

Purplepore bracket(Trichaptum abietinum) is distinctively violet when young but fades to a light cream color as it matures. (If hosting algae, specimens may even appear green at first glance.) An unusually powerful white rotter, this species eschews deciduous woods and is most commonly found sprouting on dead conifer woods. It is considered inedible.

Trametes ochracea is a close cousin of the ubiquitous "turkey tail fungus" (Tremetes versicolor), and it shares some key features. Like the common turkey tail, ochre bracket grows in flat sheets with rounded, sometimes wavy edges. There is also quite a bit of overlap between the two species' habitats - both usually fruit out of dead and decaying hardwoods. It is usually white, cream, buff, or a light shade of brick red in color.

The blusher mushroom is so named because it “blushes” to a pinkish red color when cut or bruised. It is found in many countries around the world, although it may not be native to the southern hemisphere. It contains a hemolytic toxin that can cause anemia if eaten.

The woolly milkcap (Lactarius torminosus) is named after its "woolly" cap covered in fine, white hairs that may mimic a veil. It is a poisonous species that can cause unpleasant stomach upsets when consumed. Even its Latin name suggests so - the specific epithet torminosus means "suffering from colic."

Pseudevernia furfuracea is associated with photobionts from the green algae genus Trebouxia. It reproduces asexually by isidia. The ontogeny of isidia development and its role in CO2 gas exchange in P. furfuracea has been investigated. The preferred growing surfaces for P. furfuracea are the so-called "nutrient poor" bark trees, including birch, pine and spruce. The species has two morphologically identical varieties that are distinguished by the secondary metabolites they produce: var. ceratea Zopf. produces olivetoric acid and other physodic acids, while var. furfuracea produces physodic but not olivetoric acid. Some authors (e.g., Hale 1968) have separated the chemotypes at the species level, designating the olivetoric acid-containing specimens as Pseudevernia olivetorina, but more recent literature separates them at the varietal level.

This wide-capped toadstool grows all around the world in temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres. Brown roll-rim mushrooms are known to be poisonous when consumed, causing immediate gastric upset if eaten raw and damaging vital organs of the body even when cooked, leading to death over time.

The inedible punctate or upholstery sponge (Fomitiporia punctata, Syn. Phellinus punctatus) is a species of fungus in the family of bristle-bladder relatives. The fungus also forms on vertical stems flat to pincushion fruiting bodies, which have very small, gray to brown pores on their smooth surface. Setae are missing and the big spurs are almost spherical. The perennial, clearly stratified fruiting bodies are found all year round on hardwood, mostly on pastures and hazels.