Edible mushrooms: how to identify and pick them safely

Autumn is the prime season for mushrooms. After the first rains, the woodland floor is covered with porcini, chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms, and picking them becomes an ideal nature outing during a campsite stay. Yet every year more than a thousand people in France are poisoned after mistaking an edible species for a toxic one.

Here are the edible mushrooms that are easiest to identify, those you must never confuse them with, the picking rules in the forest and the right habits before sitting down to eat.

Edible mushrooms at a glance

The best-known edible mushrooms

A few species are sought after by every picker, for their taste and because they are relatively easy to recognise, provided you look at them carefully:

• the Bordeaux porcini, with a brown cap and a swollen stem, and tubes under the cap instead of gills;
• the chanterelle, golden orange, funnel-shaped, with folds running down the stem rather than true gills;
• the black trumpet, black and trumpet-shaped, despite its unsettling name;
• the hedgehog mushroom, pale, with small spines under the cap;
• the field mushroom, a wild cousin of the button mushroom, found in meadows.

The dangerous look-alikes

Most poisonings come from a mix-up. The most common error reported by health authorities is taking jack-o’-lantern mushrooms, which are toxic, for chanterelles. Other confusions are far more serious:

• the death cap, responsible for most fatal poisonings, can be mistaken for meadow mushrooms or russulas;
• some toxic dapperlings look like young parasol mushrooms;
• Satan’s bolete and other inedible boletes can be taken for porcini.

Photo-based identification apps are not reliable for deciding whether to eat a mushroom: they have even caused many poisonings.

Picking rules in the forest

Picking is not allowed everywhere. In state forests (forêts domaniales), which belong to the State, it is tolerated for family consumption, up to 5 litres per person per day, unless stricter local rules apply. Some departments ban picking on certain days, and selling is prohibited. Beyond these quantities, the fine can be heavy.

In a private forest, mushrooms belong to the owner: you need their permission. In every case, pick carefully by cutting the stem or gently twisting the mushroom, and leave the young and the old specimens in place.

The right habits before eating your harvest

• only pick mushrooms you know perfectly and that are in good condition;
• separate the species in baskets or paper bags, never in plastic;
• have the whole harvest checked by a pharmacist or a mycological association;
• photograph your harvest before cooking: the photo will help doctors if there is a problem;
• eat mushrooms well cooked, in reasonable amounts, and never raw;
• do not give wild mushrooms to young children.

If you have symptoms (digestive problems, feeling unwell, dizziness), even several hours after the meal, call a poison control centre, or 15 or 112 in an emergency, and keep what is left of your harvest.

Picking mushrooms on the campsite

A campsite stay in autumn, in the heart of a wooded region, is ideal for discovering mushroom picking. Many tourist offices and mycological associations offer guided outings with a guide: this is the best way to learn safely. For a wider nature outing, our article on the benefits of a walk in the forest will give you more ideas, and our selection of eco-campsites will help you find accommodation right in nature.

Our verdict

Mushroom picking is one of the most rewarding autumn activities, as long as you stay humble: only pick what you know, always have your basket checked and respect the rules of the forest. To start, an outing with a mycologist is worth more than any guidebook or app.

FAQ on edible mushrooms