Rovaniemi Offers Excellent Opportunities for Mushroom Pickers

Porcini mushrooms are excellent edible mushrooms, and their flavor becomes even better when dried. Young specimens can also be preserved by freezing them raw.

Porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis) typically grows in association with spruce trees and prefers slightly more humid areas than the pine bolete. It can be identified by its thick stem, pale net-like pattern, and white flesh that does not change color. If you slice the cap, you may notice a reddish tint beneath the skin—this is completely normal.

The pore surface of young porcini is white and firm. As the mushroom matures, the pores turn yellow, and in fully developed specimens, they may appear green.

The pine bolete (Boletus pinophilus) is usually much more abundant in Lapland than its cousin mentioned above, but the type of habitat determines which one you are more likely to find. Pine bolete thrives in dry, sandy pine forests. The poorer and sandier the soil, the better your chances of finding large and often worm-free mushrooms.

The pore surface of the pine bolete is also pure white and firm when young, turning yellow with age. In older specimens, the pore openings may become reddish—unlike porcini, whose pores never turn red. A mature pine bolete may therefore appear quite red underneath.

The stem of the pine bolete is thick, as is typical for boletes, often surprisingly reddish, and has a pale net-like pattern. Its flesh also remains white, even in older mushrooms.

Both porcini and pine bolete have a mild, slightly nutty flavor when raw. The stem often tastes a bit like sweet turnip, but never bitter.

A rare and inedible mushroom in Lapland, the bitter bolete (Tylopilus felleus), can be distinguished from porcini by taste alone—it is extremely bitter, as the name suggests. Its pores swell and turn reddish early, and the net-like pattern on its stem is black (except just beneath the cap).

Porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis)

The pine bolete (Boletus pinophilus)

Tuoksuvalmuskaa kutsutaan yleisesti myös matsutakeksi. Sen näköislaji on kaulusvalmuska, joka ei ole ruokasieni. Kerromme tässä, miten erotat ne toisistaan.

Matsutake (Tricholoma matsutake) is a well-known edible mushroom. Its lookalike, Tricholoma focale, is not edible. Here’s how to tell the difference between them.

Matsutake is sturdy and has a strong, sweet smell—often compared to cheap perfume or stale spice cake mix. Its stem is firmly rooted in the ground and often curved. You may need both hands to pull it out, as the stem can grow at a 90-degree angle.

The cap surface resembles wet calf leather. Its color is warm brown, but never fox-red or green. The stem is the same color as the cap, except above the ring, where it is white. The flesh is very firm, and even young stems are fibrous. The taste is mild.

Booted Knight (Tricholoma focale) can be distinguished from matsutake by its color alone. It is orange-red and often has greenish tones. The cap surface is mottled but never has the leathery look of matsutake. Its stem is shorter, tapers downward, and is only loosely attached to the ground.

Some say T. focale smells like flour, while others compare it to the scent of a frozen cucumber stuck to the back wall of a fridge. The taste is mild, but this mushroom is not suitable for eating.

Both species grow in the same dry, sandy pine forests, but T. focale usually matures a bit later in the season. Both have a ring on the stem and white, crowded, notched gills.

Matsutake.

Matsutake (left) and Booted Knight (right)

The funnel chanterelle (Craterellus tubaeformis) is a common and often abundant mushroom in Lapland, despite its reputation as a southern species. Its season can last until the first snow, after which spotting them becomes difficult—but funnel chanterelles can still be picked even when frozen!

Although typically associated with spruce forests, in Lapland it’s also worth looking for funnel chanterelles in pine woods. The tops and mossy upper slopes of hills are good places to search from September onward. It often grows in large clusters directly from the ground. If you find one growing on a stump or tree trunk, it’s likely a different species.

The cap of the funnel chanterelle can range in color from nearly black to bright yellow, and everything in between. The edge of the cap is often wavy, especially in older specimens, where the uneven shape becomes more pronounced. The center of the cap often shows a scaly texture.

The stem is hollow from base to cap. Its color varies from dirty brown to bright yellow.

Funnel chanterelle doesn’t have true gills but rather ridges, which always run down the stem. The spore print is white, so the ridges quickly fade from yellowish to pale. Lower caps in a cluster often turn white from falling spores.

All parts of the mushroom are edible, but it’s best to pick them one by one. Other mushrooms may grow among the cluster, and you don’t want to accidentally collect something else.

Funnel Chanterelle often grows in clusters.

Funnel Chanterelle has ridges under the cap, not gills.

Funnel Chanterelle can be picked until the snow arrives. It tolerates cold well.

The velvet shank (Flammulina species) is a mushroom of late autumn—and even winter! Unlike most mushrooms that wither after the first frosts, velvet shank keeps growing persistently, even after snow has fallen.

Velvet shanks grow in clusters, often on tree trunks or branches. They can grow on both living and dead wood. Sometimes they appear to grow straight from the ground. In fact, velvet shank is a group of closely related species, so their appearance and growing conditions may vary slightly—but all species in this group are edible.

Only the caps are used, as the stems are as tough as a Lapland mushroom picker’s spirit. The cap is slimy or at least sticky, honey-colored, and smooth, with the center usually a shade or two darker than the edges.

The gills are white or cream-colored, notched, and fairly widely spaced. On very young mushrooms, the stem is pale, but it quickly darkens from the base upward and becomes velvety. The stem is hollow and has no ring.

Velvet Shank.

Velvet Shank.

The conifer tuft (Hypholoma capnoides) is a common, abundant, and delicious mushroom. Only the caps are used. It can be found throughout the autumn, but it is usually most plentiful in September. In Lapland, its mildly toxic and bitter-tasting lookalike, the sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), is rarely found.

Conifer tuft often grows in clusters on stumps or appears to grow directly from the ground, but never on living trees. Despite its name, it also grows on pine, though very rarely on deciduous trees. A single cluster can contain dozens of fruiting bodies.

The cap is smooth and honey- or caramel-colored, but since it is hygrophanous, its color changes with moisture and can appear quite varied, as seen in photos. Young caps may have visible veil remnants at the edge, but these usually wear off quickly.

The stem is thin, evenly shaped, tough, and usually hollow, darkening toward the base. Because the young mushroom has a thin veil covering the gills, some veil remnants may be visible on the stem, but it never forms a distinct ring like in honey fungus or sheathed woodtuft.

The gills are fairly crowded, with straight or slightly notched attachment. In young mushrooms, the gills are pale but quickly darken to grayish-violet due to the dark spore print. The lower caps in a cluster often become stained by falling spores.

The mushroom has a mild smell and a taste that resembles fresh peas—or blood.

Conifer Tuft.

Conifer Tuft.

The sheathed woodtuft (Kuehneromyces mutabilis) is an excellent and abundant edible mushroom that many people avoid due to fear of confusing it with the deadly funeral bell (Galerina marginata). However, these two species are not as similar as often believed, and they can be reliably told apart without a degree in mycology. Both are wood-decaying fungi and may grow in the same places at the same time, so careful identification is still important—especially for beginners who are not yet familiar with the full set of identifying features. First, we’ll look at the sheathed woodtuft, followed by the funeral bell.

Sheathed woodtuft usually grows in clusters. The largest groups can contain over a hundred fruiting bodies. Despite its name, it can grow on wood other than birch. In the photo, it appears to grow directly from the ground.

It is generally larger and sturdier than the funeral bell, though both species can vary in size from tiny to large.

The cap is toffee- or caramel-brown and hygrophanous, meaning its color changes with moisture. Some say it looks like a fried egg.

The stem has a ring and is covered in brownish scales below the ring. As the mushroom ages, the ring may disappear almost completely, and the stem may darken so much that the scales are no longer visible. The stem flesh is tough even in relatively young specimens, so only the caps are recommended for cooking.

In very young mushrooms, the gills are covered by a thin veil that later breaks and forms a ring on the stem. The gills are slightly decurrent and pale at first, later turning brown from the spore dust. The spore color is most visible on the ring in younger mushrooms (see photo).

The smell is pleasantly spicy, and the taste is mild.

The funeral bell (Galerina marginata) is common but usually less abundant than the sheathed woodtuft. It rarely forms large clusters with dozens of mushrooms. It prefers coniferous wood but can also be found on deciduous trees.

The cap is warm brown and hygrophanous with a translucent-striate margin. It may be evenly brown or have a darker center, just like its lookalike. When dry, the cap can appear evenly light brown.

The stem is thin, fragile, and has a ring, though the ring is much less distinct than in the sheathed woodtuft—often barely visible and stuck to the stem. The stem is silky-fibrous, but this texture can disappear when touched. The base color of the stem is dark brown.

In very young specimens, the gills are also covered by a delicate veil. The gills are straight-attached and fairly crowded.

The funeral bell has a mild smell or none at all. The mushrooms in the photo had almost no scent. Because smell is subjective and varies between individuals, it cannot be used to reliably distinguish these two species.

The taste is also mild (but remember: if you taste a raw mushroom, always spit it out and rinse your mouth thoroughly!).

Sheathed Woodtuft.

Sheathed Woodtuft.

Sheathed Woodtuft.