Mushroom enthusiasts have reason to celebrate. The ambivalent summer weather has paved the way for a really good mushroom season. – At the moment it looks great. There are plenty of mushrooms, we were out last weekend picking, says Theresia Lückner, mushroom consultant in region West. The drought in June followed by the rain in July has given the mushrooms a good start to the season. However, it has been quite windy, which has made the forests less wet than expected. – The optimum would have been sunny during the day and rain at night all summer. Then the holidaymakers would probably have been satisfied as well. But should the heat return, the situation could change. – There needs to continue to be some rain and moisture, at the same time there needs to be some sun for it to start properly and last. Other years there has been quite a lot of moisture, but then the drought comes and then the fungus disappears and dries out, says Theresia Lückner. Questions about psychedelic mushrooms increased In Sweden we have approximately 100 edible edible mushrooms and as many poisonous mushrooms. Ten of them can make you really sick. A mushroom that has received a lot of attention in recent years is the top smooth sedge. – Last year I received many text messages from young people who wondered if they had found the “drug mushroom”. It had spread on Tiktok and other social media, says Theresia Lückner. Toppslätskivlingen is a hallucinogenic mushroom that affects the nervous system and produces an LSD-like effect. The mushroom is classified as a narcotic and if you eat too much you can get really sick. A lot of research is done on top cross-country skiing and it is used to some extent for medical purposes, where it works very well for depression, says Lückner. – But it is dangerous to self-medicate with, so that should be avoided. “Mushroom connoisseur’s” best tips Seven years ago, Theresia Lückner became interested in mushrooms. In 2019, she graduated as a mushroom consultant and two years later she was named mushroom consultant of the year. Over the years, “Mushroom Tess”, as she calls herself, has collected lots of tips and tricks on how to succeed in the mushroom forest. – Go out and look! But the most important thing when you go out into the woods is that only the edible mushrooms you feel 100% sure of end up in the frying pan. Theresia’s own favorite mushrooms are blood mushrooms. – It is a really good edible mushroom, which, however, does not belong to our beginner mushrooms. But where do chanterelles grow, really? – That is the most common question I get. My first tip is to go out into the woods, that’s where they are. But another good tip is old tractor roads, dirt roads and paths. They like to grow there.
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