Kassel/Darmstadt (dpa/lhe) - Despite negative forecasts due to the dry summer, mushrooms are currently sprout in Hesse. In the district of Kassel, for example, the mushrooms suddenly shot out of the ground two weeks ago, said Jörn Hödtke, mushroom consultant for the city of Kassel and mushroom expert for the district of the German Press Agency. This year is probably the most mushroom-rich for ten years in the North Hessian region. "All the factors just came together." At the beginning of autumn there was warm weather with a lot of rain, which favored the growth of fungi, Hödtke added.
In the forests there are currently a lot of porcini mushrooms, but there are also plenty of umbrella mushrooms. According to the expert, three to four of these make up a meal.
However, be careful with mushrooms. Hödtke explained that there are some poisonous species in this fungus genus, such as the guinea fowl and dune mushrooms. According to the expert, mushrooms mainly grow in gardens, of which experience has shown that about half are poisonous.
Mushroom lovers can also look forward to southern Hesse. According to the mushroom expert Irmtraut Lampert from Darmstadt, porcini mushrooms in particular can currently be found in deciduous forests, while Krause hens sprout in many places in spruce forests.
Lampert was surprised that the fungal growth defied the heat. Nevertheless, some genera such as russula, which often grow in late summer, were absent from the forests.
Like Hödtke, Lampert also warns against careless collecting. Many would take stale or even moldy mushrooms home and prepare them. In order to avoid poisoning, the expert recommends that you inform yourself extensively before collecting mushrooms. "Mushroom picking is like learning a language," said Lampert. If in doubt, collectors could seek advice from mushroom experts in their area. These can therefore be found on the website of the German Society for Mycology.
