Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Santa Pola

The torq (Agaricus bitorquis) is a white-capped agaric that bears a resemblance to, and is closely related to, the commonly-eaten button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus). This hardy, generalist species does well even in urban environments - their white fruiting bodies can be seen poking up through woodchips, mulch, sidewalk cracks, and even asphalt.

The horse mushroom is a large species of Agaricus whose fruitbodies feature bulbous white caps and pale or gray gills. They are a cosmopolitan species, boasting a global distribution and thriving in a variety of settings, including lawns, lots, and gardens.

The roughly spherical fruit bodies grow underground. Ranging from 2 to 8 cm (0.8 to 3.1 in) in diameter, they are yellow-brown to darker brown with a fuzzy, furrowed external surface. The inside of the fruit body comprises deeply folded and convoluted tissue with some internal open spaces between them. Young pine truffles ooze a whitish juice when they are cut. The odor of the internal flesh is usually mild, but David Arora has noted the existence of a form in the Western United States that smells similar to fermented cider. Geopora cooperi fruit bodies are edible. The smooth, elliptical or roughly spherical spores measure 18–27 by 13–21 µm and have an oil droplet. The asci (spore-bearing cells) are typically eight-spored. They are arranged as a palisade of cells forming a hymenium that covers the inner surfaces of the internal folds.

The yellow morel (Morchella esculenta) is one of the most iconic and sought-after species of edible mushrooms. It is often one of the first species that novice mushroom gatherers will hunt for. Yellow morels have elongated caps that are "honeycombed", being filled with roughly polygonal holes. Splitting them down the middle reveals them to be hollow on the inside, a key feature that distinguishes them from toxic false morels. Experts recommend cooking or boiling this mushroom before consumption, as raw morels may cause an upset stomach.

Once considered a member of the Boletus genus, the lurid bolete is a mushroom that is best avoided. Inexperienced mushroom hunters could easily confuse it with the severely poisonous European species Satan's bolete (Rubroboletus satanas) or its North American cousin Rubroboletus eastwoodiae. When cut, the stem of this bolete goes dark blue. Its smell is a bit sour.

The name of Iodine bolete gives you a good tip on how to identify this mushroom because it gives off a strong iodine smell when it is damaged. Iodine bolete is a widely-distributed mushroom that is always found in association with broad-leaved trees, especially oak, with which it has a symbiotic relationship.

Most of the mushrooms sold in supermarkets in the US are cultivated forms of the button mushroom. The white variants are sold as "button mushrooms", the brown as "cremini" or "baby bellas", and full-grown caps as "portobellas." They occur quite infrequently in the wild, in grassy fields around the Northern Hemisphere.

Bloody milk cap (Lactarius sanguifluus) has a distinctive appearance with its pale exterior but a deep blood-red interior, for which it is named. This mushroom can be found in pine forests where it grows in a mycorrhizal relationship with the trees. Bloody milk cap is known to accumulate large quantities of toxic heavy metals.

Suillus collinitus is a mushroom that grows in a symbiotic relationship with pine trees, particularly the Aleppo pine. This fungus is sometimes introduced to young pine trees to help them to become established in poor soils. It was listed as an endangered species in the United Kingdom, but its 'vulnerable' classification was removed from that nation's Red Data List in 2006.