Crimea's unique climate has created a diverse flora and fauna. The mushroom kingdom is incredibly abundant and fascinating. Even the most seasoned mushroom picker will find something to suit their taste. Hundreds of mushrooms grow on the peninsula, but not all Crimean mushrooms are safe, so before picking them, it's important to carefully study the photos and descriptions of edible species.
Where and when to pick mushrooms in Crimea
Locals recommend heading to the mountains for mushroom hunting. There, at altitudes of 300-700 meters, you can find entire families of mushrooms. Ai-Petri Yayla also offers a good catch. Any flat mountain plateau is very popular among mushroom hunters.
You may be interested in:Summer mushrooms
Contrary to popular belief that the best time to pick mushrooms is during or after heavy rains, experts advise waiting a little until the weather improves, the sun comes out and warms the ground well (three to four days).
This is crucial because Crimean mushrooms thrive in warm air. They thrive in temperatures between 18-20°C (64-68°F). This is when they grow faster and are larger. As soon as the snow melts, nature awakens, and with it, the first "harvest." You can go "hunting" until the very first frost. But they are especially abundant in the summer.
In the summer months, the following are common in the forests and steppes of Crimea:
- saffron milk caps;
- butter mushrooms;
- honey mushrooms;
- raincoats;
- single barrels;
- mountain whites;
- oak mushrooms;
- horns;
- fly agarics;
- umbrellas;
- radishes;
- russula;
- champignons…
In summer, you can even see birch and aspen mushrooms here, but not under birch or aspen trees, but in coniferous forests and beech forests.
Autumn mushrooms in September and October
Most Crimean mushrooms grow until October, but some can even be found until frost. Only mouse mushrooms, also known as gray rowan mushrooms, and autumn honey mushrooms grow during this time. In October, you can still find common butter mushrooms in the forest, chanterelles until the first cold snap, and in September, milk mushrooms and horned mushrooms are still foraged.
The habitats of both summer and autumn mushrooms are forests, most often mixed, mountain plains and foothills, but they are also found in steppe zones and even near human settlements.
You may be interested in:Edible mushrooms of Crimea
Edible mushrooms of Crimea can be roughly divided according to the area where they grow: steppe, forest and mountain.
Steppe species with names and photos
In the peninsula's steppe zone, the harvest season begins in May-June and lasts until the end of October, until the first frosts. The most popular mushrooms are marsupial morels, scaly-headed morels, and puffballs. Some of these appear as soon as the snow melts in spring or even in January.
The steppe oyster mushroom (one-barrel, royal) is a one-sided funnel with widely spaced white gills. It lives in the steppes or even semi-deserts, in places where there are no trees.
Steppe champignons also grow here—plate-shaped, grayish-beige fruiting bodies with a thick, fleshy cap and a wide stem. They are delicious and healthy. Scientists have discovered antibiotics with various effects in them. Field champignons also prefer open spaces. They are found in meadows, clearings, and roadsides.
Champignons and other forest species with photos
The peninsula's forested zone is rich and diverse. Each species has its own preferred habitat. Crimean champignons are the most popular Crimean mushroom species. This species thrives in the soil of mixed and deciduous forests. They often grow near or directly on anthills.
Puffballs—members of the agaric family—live in larch forests. Pearl, pear, and giant puffballs grow here.
Chanterelles, whose light yellow and orange-yellow fruiting bodies form a single unit, thrive in forest climates and soil. Two species are found in Crimea: the common chanterelle (thick-fleshed, funnel-shaped, wavy, yellow-orange) and the black chanterelle (tubular, funnel-shaped, black-brown, black, or dark gray).
The common butter mushroom—a tubular edible fruit with a characteristic slippery, smooth, flat cap—populates bright meadows, clearings, and forest edges. But they prefer pine forests with birch or oak trees, as well as isolated trees.
You may be interested in:
Locals are very fond of the Crimean porcini mushroom—a fleshy fruit with a light-brown, semi-convex cap and a thick, whitish-brown stem. Coloration varies depending on habitat and age. The giant pig mushroom, or Leusopaxillus giant, grows in deciduous and coniferous forests from early summer until mid-autumn. It is often confused with the harmless smoky talker or the poisonous gall mushroom. For this reason, extreme caution is required.
Milk mushrooms are also considered wild mushrooms. Pepper and dried milk mushrooms can be found in mixed forests, while oak milk mushrooms are found in deciduous forests.
The peppery milk cap has a convex, and later funnel-shaped, light beige cap and narrow, frequent gills.
The oak milk cap is orange-brick and reddish in color. Its gills are yellow.
Orange-red and yellow-pink saffron milk caps are also common in the forest. Their favorite habitat is the cool shade of the trees in southern Crimea. Saffron milk caps are abundant near Rybachye.
Forests with both coniferous and deciduous trees are favored by the gray rowan, also known as the "little mice." The rowan's cap is light or dark gray, wavy, lobed, or cracked along the edges. Young specimens have a rounder cap. The stem is thickened at the base and dense. They are most often small, but can also be large. Little mice hide under fallen leaves, pine needles, in moss, and in sandy soil.
Stumps, fallen trees, or the bases of living trees are honey fungi's favorite places to grow. The mushroom's main characteristics are its convex cap, which flattens over time and is dark brown, honey, or olive in color. The stem is also the same color. The cap, like the stem, is covered with scales.
The appearance of the hornwort (genus Romarium) resembles coral, as it consists of thin branches, but it also has a distinct stem. This unique coral reef can be found in deciduous forests during the summer. Its light beige color turns wine-red when pressed.
Mountain or stone mushrooms
The main mushroom representative of the peninsula's mountainous region is the mountain porcini mushroom. People often climb specifically to the Ai-Petri yayla for it. They are also abundant on the flat mountain peaks. But it can also be found in the steppes and forests, including foothill forests, for example, near Mount Demerdzhi. It's difficult to confuse it with other mushrooms: its smooth white or coffee-colored cap is attached to a thick, short stem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFzeus6H6DM
Mountain plateaus also grow rowan mushrooms, which can be gray, light beige, or even blue, and in warmer weather, mountain champignons are also found. The puffballs mentioned above can also be found in foothill and mountainous areas, including foothill forests.
You may be interested in:Inedible and poisonous species
The diversity of inedible mushroom species also amazes even experienced mushroom pickers. Besides fly agarics, there are also some that skillfully disguise themselves as healthy and tasty. These include several species of ryadovka, champignons, and talkers, as well as false honey mushrooms and death caps. The most common species are:
- The death cap is deadly. It's often confused with the button mushroom. The death cap's distinctive feature is the white "skirt" on its stem. Button mushrooms also have a similar ring, but differ from the death cap in that the gills on its cap darken as it matures.
Death cap The same applies to other agaric mushrooms, similar to this poisonous mushroom but lacking the "skirts." The toadstool itself ranges in color from gray to green, with a hemispherical cap that becomes round as it matures. It is often confused with the green russula. However, the ring on the stem, white scales, and dense gills are sure signs of a deadly mushroom.
- The white fly agaric is a deadly mushroom. It can be recognized by the egg-shaped "decoration" at the base of its stem.
White fly agaric - The false honey fungus is another life-threatening mushroom. It differs from the true mushroom by the lack of a ring on the stem.
- The white talker may resemble the Polish mushroom. The telltale sign of toxicity is a powdery coating on the cap.
White talker - The poisonous purple boletus is distinguished by its large, irregularly shaped cap, which, when pressed, reveals black and dark blue spots.
- The cap darkens when pressed, characteristic of the pink milk cap. The cap itself is quite unusual. It's slimy to the touch, flat, with a small indentation in the center.
Pink volnushka - The false chanterelle differs from the real one by its thinner, red stem with a brick tint and a rather unpleasant smell.
- The bitterling is the most popular and dangerous mushroom in Crimea. Scientists debate the safety of the bitterling mushroom. However, its extremely bitter taste makes it inedible. For these qualities, it has been given its second name—the bitterling.
Bitterling
Answers to frequently asked questions
You may be interested in:Mushrooms are an important part of the Crimean ecosystem. They can be picked almost anywhere on the peninsula, but it's important to understand that a seemingly harmless mushroom can be quite dangerous. Only care, attention, and knowledge will help you stay healthy.
What are the benefits and harms of oyster mushrooms for humans (+27 photos)?
What to do if salted mushrooms become moldy (+11 photos)?
What mushrooms are considered tubular and their description (+39 photos)
When and where can you start picking honey mushrooms in the Moscow region in 2021?