Pine Boletus (Boletus pinophilus – family Boletaceae)

Hat – left hemispherical, then stands up to flat. Wine brown, later reddish brown. In young mushrooms covered with a white deposit (spring), which is easily removed and disappears in more developed mushrooms. The surface is matte and uneven. It usually grows up to 20 cm, but some specimens reach even more. Tubes – in young mushrooms – white, then gradually turn yellow. The pores are small, colored like tubes. Stump – spherical at first. Then bat-shaped with a much wider base. Whitish, but with brownish areas or completely brownish. Covered with whitish net. Flesh – white and dense and does not change color. A reddish streak may be found under the skin of the hat. With a pleasant taste and no special smell. Habitat – coniferous forests with pine (Pinus), spruce (Picea abies) and fir (Abies). In some areas it is also present in beech forests (Fagus). Prefers colder conditions in high mountain forests. It appears relatively early, in the spring, and continues to grow until late autumn (May – November). It bears fruit most abundantly at the beginning of the season, then it is less common.

Caesar’s mushroom (Amanita caesarea – family Amanitaceae).

Hat – initially globular to ovoid, later hemispherical and finally flat, with a slight hump. Red, orange-red or golden yellow. The surface is most often bare, smooth, dry and shiny, and in rare cases covered with large, ragged remnants of a common cover. The edge is very clearly grooved. Diameter up to 20 cm. Lamellae Yellow, densely arranged and free of stumps. Stump – cylindrical, basically covered by the rest of the common cover (Volvo), with a ring. Yellow. Above the ring the stump is vertically grooved. Below it the stump is smooth. Height up to 12 cm. Finger – wide, drooping. Yellow. The upper surface is finely grooved. Volvo – in the form of a white, leather bag enveloping the base of the stump. It is significantly wider than the stump and usually stands away from its surface. Flesh – whitish, yellowish under the skin of the hat, with a pleasant smell and taste. Spores – spore powder is white to yellowish. Habitat Grows in deciduous forests and shrubs, usually in association with oaks (Quercus) and chestnut (Castanea). Prefers warm, dry and sunny places with sparse vegetation. It is found in the lowlands and mountains up to about 1000 m above sea level. Fruits from late spring to autumn (May – October). The species is well distributed in Bulgaria and in some areas under suitable conditions is a common fungus. In Europe, however, the species has a relatively limited distribution. It is found on the Balkan Peninsula and in Italy, France and Spain. In the countries of Central Europe it is less common, with the northernmost communications coming from the southern parts of Poland, Germany and Belgium. Absent in northern Europe and the British Isles.

Yellowfoot Chanterelle (Cantharellus aurora – family Cantharellaceae).

Hat – funnel-shaped, brown with a yellow tinge. The surface is dry, wrinkled and uneven, sometimes slightly scaly. The edge is wavy, thin and slightly curled. Diameter up to 5 cm. Spore-bearing layer – pale yellow, yellow or orange. Almost smooth or wrinkled. It goes down the stump. Stump – cylindrical, but often uneven, with extensions and flattenings along the entire length. Yellow to orange with a white base. The surface is smooth. Height up to 10 cm. Flesh – thin and elastic, with a yellowish color. With a faint, fruity smell and pleasant taste. Spores – spore pollen is creamy. Habitat – mountain coniferous forests. Grows in large groups on soil or very rotten wood. The season is from mid-summer to late autumn. The species bears fruit irregularly. Sometimes it bears fruit in abundance, and in other seasons it seems to be absent or very difficult to find. Widespread species in Europe – known from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.

St. George’s mushroom (Calocybe gambosa – family Lyophyllaceae).

Hat up to 15 cm in diameter, hemispherical to flat, white or cream, sometimes darker in the middle. The edge is curled inwards or straight, entire, often wavy. Lamellae – densely arranged, narrow, white to whitish. Grown with a tooth to the stump. Stump – up to 8 cm high, cylindrical, white or whitish, slightly longitudinally grooved. Meat – soft, whitish, with a very characteristic fresh smell of flour. Spores – spore powder is white. Habitat – grows on the outskirts of deciduous and coniferous forests, in shrubs, pastures, meadows and parks around settlements. It occurs in a short period in the spring (April – June) in groups and often forms fairy circles.

Hedgehog mushroom (Hydnum repandum – family Hydnaceae).

Hat – white or yellowish in color, irregularly shaped, initially convex with a curved edge, later flat or concave in the middle. The surface is dry, velvety, irregularly folded, in older specimens slightly cracked. Up to 15 cm in diameter. Stump – up to 8 cm, cylindrical or club-shaped, white, often eccentrically located relative to the hat. Flesh – white, firm, with a faint odor and slightly bitter taste. Needles – the needles of the spore-forming layer are white to whitish, running down the stump, fragile and easily separated from the cap. In the youngest specimens they are difficult to notice. Spores – spore powder is white. Habitat – grows in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, often in groups, from mid-summer to late autumn. (July – November).

Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius – family Cantharellaceae).

A distinctive feature of this mushroom is the sulfur-yellow color, except for the youngest specimens, which have a paler color. Hat – can be very different sizes, and in some specimens up to 15 cm in diameter. It is fleshy, in young specimens flat with a curved edge, and in mature fruiting bodies it becomes markedly funnel-shaped, with a wavy edge. Spore-bearing layer – in the form of veins and shallow furrows. The veins are descending on the stump, with numerous branches, the color of the hat. Stump – up to 10 cm high, cylindrical or thinning to the base, sometimes eccentrically located relative to the hat. Flesh – thick, dense, white or yellowish in color, pleasant fruity odor, sweet taste and slightly tough. Spores – spore powder is yellow. Habitat – grows in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests from early summer to late autumn (June – November), usually in groups. Widespread species in our country.

Saffron milkcap (Lactarius deliciosus – family Russulaceae).

Hat – the young mushroom is barely rounded, almost flat, and the edge is strongly curled inwards; then it becomes completely flat, even slightly concave, like a wide funnel, and in some specimens more or less saddle-like. It is up to 10 cm wide and sometimes up to 20 cm. It is naked, fleshy and brittle, sticky and slimy in wet weather. In color it resembles freshly baked tiles or is orange-red, some define its color as carrot; as it ages, it becomes whitish-ocher, but there are always regular concentric circles with brighter or weaker colors. In young mushrooms, a thin silver-colored layer is observed on the cap, resembling the trail left by snails. When touched, the injured areas become dark green. Also, old mushrooms become greenish. Lamellae – quite dense, orange, branched, alternating shorter and longer, in older mushrooms more strongly colored than the cap; they are hard and brittle, the pressed places become greenish and release milk. As with all milkweeds, the lamellae descend significantly down the stump, for which they are firmly caught. Stump – up to 10 cm high and 1-3 cm thick, hard and brittle; it becomes narrower to the base, at first it is dense, and then it softens. On the stump, as in other milkweeds, characteristic “pits” can be seen. It is orange-red; when cut crosswise, it releases abundant orange-red milk, which flows from under the skin of the stump, where it is colored orange, and inwards it is more whitish-yellow. Meat – tile red, when broken releases scarce orange-red milk, unchanging in color, which is a good sign for the knowledge of this mushroom. The broken flesh of both the hat and the stump changes color to olive green after a stay. The milk is sweet and when it dries, it becomes dark green. In old mushrooms the flesh becomes porous. Spores – colorless, with amyloid reticulate ornaments, short elliptical with dimensions 9-11 x 6.5-7 μm. Spore pollen is white with a slight yellow-pink tinge. Habitat – ryzhika grows in coniferous and mixed forests, always under pines (Pinus), with which it forms mycorrhiza. Widespread in forest meadows, bushes, etc., from the lowest to the highest mountain places. It appears in June and grows until the end of November, almost until the onset of winter. It bears fruit most abundantly in the autumn months.

Ashen chanterelle (Cantharellus cinereus – family Cantharellaceae).

Hat – funnel-shaped. Gray to gray-black, in dry weather lighter to beige. The surface is dry, fine-grained. The edge is slightly curled and wavy. Diameter up to 6 cm. Spore-bearing layer – in the form of thick gray veins on the underside of the cap, which descend to the top of the stump. Stump – cylindrical, but thinning near the base. Gray-black. The surface is dry and wrinkled. Hollow and tubular. Height up to 10 cm. Meat – thin and tender. Gray-black. No special smell and taste. Spores – spore pollen is white to pale gray. Habitat – deciduous forests. Fruits in groups of densely arranged fruiting bodies. Season – from early summer to late autumn. It is not common, but sometimes bears abundant fruit.

Morel (Morchella esculenta – family Morchellaceae).

Fruiting body – consists of a hat and a stump. The fruiting body is up to 20 cm in height. Hat – spherical, pear-shaped or irregular, but rounded at the top. The outer surface consists of numerous deep, angular pits. The pits are surrounded by walls that are connected to each other, and their edges give a mesh look. The colors vary from brown and ocher to gray, and the edges of the walls are usually lighter in tone than the pits. At its lowest part, the hat connects to the stump. The inside of the hat is a cavity that continues into the stump. The wall of the cavity is whitish to creamy and almost smooth. Stump – a variety of shapes, but usually folded and widened at the base. White to cream in color. Shaggy. The inside is hollow. Meat – thin, tender, brittle. With pleasant or without particularly pronounced smell and taste. Spores – spore pollen is creamy. The spores are elliptical and 18-23 x 11-14 μm in size. Habitat – the fungus bears fruit in the spring, mainly in April and May.

Horn of plenty (Craterellus cornucopioides – family Cantharellaceae).

Fruiting body – funnel-shaped. The edge is often wavy. The upper surface is gray-black and covered with small scales. The lower surface is gray, smooth at first, but later wrinkles. Up to 8 cm in diameter and 10 cm high. Characteristic of the fungus is that the funnel-shaped cavity continues to the base of the stump. Meat – gray and thin. No special smell and taste. Spores – spore pollen is white. Habitat – found in deciduous and less often in coniferous forests. Fruiting bodies grow in groups or tufts and are relatively difficult to detect due to the dark coloration. Widespread and common species. Under suitable conditions it bears abundant fruit. Season – summer and autumn (June – October)

Fairy ring champignon (Marasmius oreades – family Marasmiaceae).

Hat – at first bell-shaped, later flat with a low, wide hump resembling a bud in the center. Creamy to brownish, lighter when dried. The surface is smooth and dry. The edge is smooth or slightly grooved, often with developed fruiting bodies – scalloped. Up to 5 cm in diameter. Lamellae – sparse, white to creamy and free of stumps. In fully developed specimens often with deep branches. Stump – cylindrical, thin. White to cream, but lighter than the hat. With aging yellow-brownish at the bottom. Up to 7-8 cm high. Flesh – white to whitish. Thin, dense, in the stump – tough. With a faint, pleasant odor. The smell is special and is best felt when more mushrooms are collected in a pile. The taste is pleasant. Spores – spore pollen is white. Habitat Grows on pastures, meadows and forest meadows among low, green grass. It can be found at any time from spring to autumn, as long as it is moist enough and has fresh, green vegetation. It is often found on nests with a large number of fruiting bodies, and sometimes in circular formations – the so-called fairy circles. Widespread and common species throughout Bulgaria.