Top 20 Edible Mushrooms Popular in Geneva

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 blewit mushroom grows in fallen leaves in autumn and winter, sometimes appearing in ‘fairy ring’ circles. It can be used to make a green dye when chopped and boiled in an iron pot. The scientific name, Lepista nuda, derives from Latin words meaning “bare goblet,” a reference to the shape and texture of the mushroom.

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.”

Common laccaria may sound like a malevolent name for a mushroom, but fret not! This species is so-called because its appearance is highly variable, with individual caps taking on a whole host of colors, from whitish to pinkish to dark brown.

These puffy mushrooms grow in small groups on the forest floor. Once they're mature, common puffballs turn yellow and "puff out" smoke-like spore clouds when disturbed. Be very careful when identifying these mushrooms, as their young, immature form looks very similar to the lethal Deathcap.

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.”

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.

Gray almond waxy cap emits a scent of bitter almonds. It contains five different antioxidants that have been shown to inhibit the growth of yeast and other pathogenic bacteria. It can be found throughout Europe, Africa, and India in spruce and pine woodlands.

Shingled hedgehog(Sarcodon imbricatus) is often found in the company of fir trees, and it is therefore partial to mountainous or hilly regions. Endemic to Europe and North America, the species is prone to forming fairy rings. It fruits in early autumn.

The cap is initially hemispherical with a margin that is rolled inward, later flattening to become convex or flat with a depressed center and margin that curves upward slightly; it reaches 3–13 cm (1.2–5.1 in) in diameter. The cap surface has a felt-like texture and is slightly sticky to the touch. Its colour is orange to yellow-brown or orange-brown, with concentric rings that are palest near the margin. The thin, crowded gills have an adnate to slightly decurrent attachment to the stipe, and are a pale pinkish-buff colour. The cylindric stipe measures 2–9 cm (0.8–3.5 in) long by 0.7–2.5 cm (0.3–1.0 in) thick, and tapers slightly both near the top and the base. It has a smooth surface and ranges in colour from pale cream to pinkish-buff. The spore print is cream, while the spores are ellipsoid, measuring 6.3–9.6 by 5.2–7.3 µm. They have an incompletely reticulated surface with ridges up to 0.5 µm high. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are somewhat club-shaped, four-spored, and measure 40–50 by 10–13 µm.