A lot of mushrooms in the forest means that many go out to pick. But you have to be careful of both the poisonous mushrooms and the apps that are there to help you tell which mushrooms are edible and which are not.
Sandra Holmblad is a biologist and mushroom consultant. She has tested many mushroom apps – and advises people against using them.
– I do not recommend anyone to use these apps, the app that is one of the better is the Mushroom Guide, she says.
Discovered many inaccuracies
She has discovered pure inaccuracies and says that you often get too many suggestions as to which mushroom it is.
– Take licorice for example, which has a stomach- and intestinal-irritating poison in it, if I take a picture of it with an app, it comes up with forest licorice, fennel and a peppercorn. The app then says that this poisonous mushroom is edible, says Sandra Holmblad.
In addition, some apps only show the names in English or Latin, which also makes it difficult to know what to put in the basket.
Sandra Holmblad thinks instead that you should take a mushroom course and learn one mushroom per season.
– If you learn one at a time, and its confusing species, then in a number of years you will have several edible mushrooms that you can and you will not have to go home with an empty basket.