Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Basque Country

1. Blusher

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.

2. Grey spotted amanita

The cracked plaster appearance of grey spotted amanita (Amanita excelsa) caps is a common sight in Europe that also sporadically pops up in North America. This species has a long history and has been recorded and studied as far back as 1821. They contain a potent toxin called thermolabile, making those who consume it very sick if not cooked. This species is not recommended for consumption.

3. Charcoal burner

Most commonly found under beeches in forests or parks, this crumbly mushroom can appear in colors ranging from red and yellow to violet, blue-grey, or even green. Its scientific name represents this variability: Russula cyanoxantha means “reddish blue-blonde.”

4. Sweet tooth

This mushroom is distinctive for the spines, or teeth, that hang down from the underside of its cap. It can be found on forest floors singly or in groups. In spite of the name, sweet tooth, it has a slightly spicy bite and bitter aftertaste. This wild mushroom needs to be cooked before it is truly edible, and only young, parasite-free mushrooms should be harvested.

5. Garlic parachute

Garlic parachute has a helpful name that gives a couple of clues as to how to identify it. With its slim stem and wide cap, this mushroom does look like a parachute. It has a strong garlic-like aroma and can often be found on leaf litter and decaying wood.

6. Golden chanterelle

Golden chanterelle mushrooms are popular in gourmet cuisine across Europe, where they grow wild during the warm (but not too hot) months. Similar species grow in other countries. Extremely popular with foragers, the golden chanterelle emits an apricot-like scent and contains an array of nutrients that benefit the human body. Several studies suggest consuming extremely large amounts may have detrimental effects on the eyes and muscles.

7. Tuberous polypore

The tuberous polypore is a soft-bodied polypore that can be found growing on dead hardwood boles or branches across temperate North America. Sporting a brown or cinnamon cap and a pale stalk, Polyporus tuberaster mushrooms are nondescript and may be confused with several other species.

8. King bolete

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.

9. Porcelain mushroom

Porcelain mushroom can be found on a variety of deadwood including logs, dead standing trees, and dead upper branches. However, this mushroom is pickier about the type of deadwood, as it only grows on beech trees. This mushroom prefers to keep these trees to itself, releasing fungicides that can kill other mushrooms.

10. Sweetbread mushroom

Sweetbread mushroom(Clitopilus prunulus) is commonly found in grasslands, and it may be solitary or found among others of its kind. It exudes a characteristic odor reminiscent of raw pastry, responsible for its alternative common name of "the sweetbread mushroom." Foraging is discouraged for this mushroom, as its appearance is too similar to a deadly species.

11. Buttery collybia

Buttery collybia mushrooms grow mainly on the floors of coniferous forests, from summer to winter across Europe and North America. This mushroom is called “buttery” not for its flavor, but rather the greasy texture of its surface. In the genus name, “rhodo” means pink, a reference to the shade of the gills beneath its cap.

12. Parasol

Found in clearings and grassy areas in late summer, the wild parasol mushroom has a snakeskin-patterned stem. The brown spots on its cap make it look a bit shaggy, but that name is reserved for its poisonous counterpart, the Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes). You can distinguish the two by the stems: the latter has a smooth stem and red flesh inside.

13. Shaggy mane

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.”

14. Russula amoena

15. Deer mushroom

The deer mushroom is can be found sprouting up from rotting logs, branches, and roots, and while it may have a preference for hardwoods it isn't very picky. Unlike many other mushroom species, the fruitbodies can be found blooming across a wide range of seasons. They have a faint, radish-like odor.

16. Lung oyster

Developing all around the northern hemisphere, lung oyster mushrooms grow in overlapping shelf-like clusters on deciduous branches, trunks, and fallen logs in the wild. They are easy to cultivate on other substrates, like spent coffee grounds and sawdust, for commercial production. They are generally considered safe to eat, although some people may develop allergies.

17. Red cracking bolete

The red cracking bolete mushroom is considered difficult to accurately identify, due to its similarity in many ways to others of its genus. It seems to occur only rarely around the northern hemisphere, but it may have been misclassified in some sources. In spite of the name, the surface of the red cracking bolete's cap only rarely appears "cracked."

18. Crested coral

Crested coral(Clavulina coralloides) is a distinctive coral mushroom that is widespread in coniferous and hardwood forests, acting as a decomposer of dead and decaying timber. Endemic to the temperate zones of North America and Europe, it sprouts from late summer to winter.

19. Dotted stem bolete

The name of the dotted stem bolete is also an accurate description of this mushroom, which indeed does have a wide and dotted red and yellow stem. This species can be found in both coniferous and deciduous woodlands, often in the same locations as its relative the edible Boletus edulis.

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