Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Netherlands

In Northern Asia and Europe, fly agaric grows under trees near the winter solstice and is collected for ritual use tied to the season. Its characteristic shape and coloring are still ubiquitous in many European fairy tale illustrations and Christmas traditions. It is highly toxic.

Common orange lichen was selected in 2006 by the United States Department of Energy as a model for genomic sequencing. Its widespread dispersal and bright yellow-orange color give the lichen its common name. It is primarily found growing on rocks, walls, and tree bark.

With an appearance similar to a crusty potato, the common earthball blooms from acidic soils, including compacted paths on the forest floor. It matures to a yellowish tinge and is found across the northern hemisphere. It is a close cousin to bolete mushrooms but is considered to be poisonous and is never eaten.

Witches' butter (Tremella mesenterica) has an irregularly-shaped fruitbody that can be found growing on dead hardwood branches. It has a global distribution, being found in both temperate and tropical forests. Usually yellow in color, its hues may range from subdued lemon to bright canary.

The shaggy mane mushroom is commonly found in North American and European grasslands. Some peoples foraged for its young egg-shaped caps, but it has more recently been found to be a bioaccumulator of heavy metals, meaning it pulls toxic metals up from the soil where it grows. As a result, shaggy manes should not be eaten. The mushrooms usually appear in clusters or “fairy rings.”

The bizarre shape of the candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon) is one that you'll never forget. Finger-like growths explode from decaying wood, and look more like stalagmites or antlers than they do mushrooms. The shaft is black at the base, fading dramatically to bright white at the tip.

The birch polypore has a variety of applications. Its thick skin has been used by barbers as a razor sharpener and as a mount for insect collectors. When dried, this mushroom was also used to carry fire over long distances because it burns slowly. The historical use of birch polypore doesn't stop there; pieces of this mushroom were found being carried by the five-thousand-year-old mummy Ötzi the Iceman.

Lecidella elaeochroma is a crust lichen, which means that its stock (Thallus) lies closely on the surface. The camp is whitish, gray, gray-green, olive or yellowish. Often it is also damaged by snail-eating and then greenish. The structure of the camp is smooth to grainy. Often it is weakly glossy or even limited by a black submission. The camp can sometimes be sorediös dissolved. It reaches diameter of 1 to 3 cm. The apothecia reach between 0.4 and 1.0 mm in diameter. Their discs are black to dark reddish brown and very rarely frosted. The Apotheciens are flat to strongly arched and can be deformed. Its edge is black and smooth. Overall, the appearance of this lichens is very rich in form.

The yellow stagshorn is a brightly colored mushroom, similar to so-called coral mushrooms, but it differs from this group with its greasy texture. It's considered inedible due to its poor taste and gelatinous structure. Besides, it's too small to make a decent meal. It grows in dark parts of the woods.

The distinctive jelly ear grows mainly through winter and spring, mostly on the dead trunks and branches of elder trees. It occurs around the world and is often cooked into dishes in Asian countries. This ear-shaped jelly mushroom is often available in stores both fresh and dried.