Ireland has an abundance of wild mushrooms that you can safely learn to identify and enjoy for their culinary properties, medicinal qualities or just deepen your connection to nature.
We have compiled a brief list of some of the most commonly found mushrooms in Ireland to help get you curious enough to start exploring.
*Never rely on one source for mushroom identification, and never eat anything unless you are 110% sure it is edible.
1. Chanterelle
🕐 When can I find them?
August - September - October - November - December - January
🔍 Where can I find them?
Chanterelle can be found in woodlands, growing from the ground or decaying wood. They are likely to reappear in the same place every year, so if you find a good spot, you should be able to find them there in upcoming years as well.
👀 What do they look like?
Chanterelle are orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. Chanterelles have blunt gill-like ridges which run down the stem of the mushroom.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
Chanterelle can be identified by distinctive fruity smell, reminiscent of apricots, and a mildly peppery taste.
2. Wood Blewit
🕐 When can I find them?
November - December - January - February
🔍 Where can I find them?
The Wood Blewit is most commonly found in leaf litter in woodland, under hedges, and on compost heaps.
👀 What do they look like?
The Wood Blewit has a fleshy cap (5-15cm wide) and starts off violet in colour. It turns tan brown from the centre as it ages or dries. It is rounded, often with a bump, it flattens with age and has an inrolled margin. The edge of the cap often ends up wavy with age.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
Has a pleasant fragrant smell, like sweet citrus or bright floral with a distinctive, strong flavour.
3. Morels
🕐 When can I find them?
February - March - April - May
🔍 Where can I find them?
Morels are most commonly found in forested areas around dead Elm trees, Sycamore, apple trees, under wood scraps and Ash trees, but can also be found in other areas.
👀 What do they look like?
Morels have a pitted and deeply ridged cap that resembles a honeycomb. The overall body of the mushroom is pointed. When cut in half morels will show a hollow, oblong interior that sits on top of a hollow stem.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
They have a distinct, strong, and pleasant nutty and woodsy aroma which is retained even after they are cooked.
4. St Georges
🕐 When can I find them?
March - April - May
🔍 Where can I find them?
St Georges can be found in grasslands, beside woodland, lawns and roadsides growing in rings.
👀 What do they look like?
St Georges are initially spherical (5-15cm wide), becoming convex and sometimes almost flat. The cap of a St George's Mushroom is often misshapen but generally retains a slightly incurved margin. The cap surface is smooth and white with a light brown tinge that sometimes becomes tan with age.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
Their smell is described as 'mealy', resembling the odour of wet flour with an earthy flavour.
5. Chicken of the Woods
🕐 When can I find them?
April - May - June - October
🔍 Where can I find them?
Chicken of the Woods is a sulphur-yellow bracket fungus of trees in woods, parks and gardens. It can often be found in tiered clusters on oak, but also likes beech, chestnut, cherry and even yew.
👀 What do they look like?
Chicken of the Woods is a bright sulphur-yellow fungus comprising several thick, overlapping brackets. The individual brackets are soft and spongy when young and exude a yellow liquid if squeezed. They are fan-shaped with an undulating margin.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
They have a strong mushroomy smell, and when cooked offers a mild lemony note that's reminiscent of chicken, lobster, or crab.
6. Fairy Ring Champignon
🕐 When can I find them?
May - June - July - August - September - October
🔍 Where can I find them?
Fairy Ring Champignon is usually found in rings or semi rings of varying diameters, depending on the age of the parent fungi underground. Found in short grass on lawns, roadside verges, parks and pastures.
👀 What do they look like?
Fairy Ring Champignon are light brownish yellow in colour, the caps are bell shaped when small with a raised knob, they flatten out with age but still retain the central raised bump. The colour can fade to almost white when old or dry. They are fibrous and tough.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
They have a strong mushroomy smell, and are sweet tasting.
7. Penny-Bun
🕐 When can I find them?
June - July - August - September - October - November
🔍 Where can I find them?
The Penny-Bun is frequently found at the edges of clearings in broad-leaved and coniferous forests.
👀 What do they look like?
The Penny-Bun has a smooth, chestnut-coloured cap, wide rim and chunky stalk. The mushroom cap will look like a slightly greasy bun which can grow as large as 30cm wide when mature and weigh up to 1kg with a stem of about the same weight. When cut, the flesh should remain white.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
Smells very pleasant and mushroomy with a delicate sweet, nutty flavour.
8. Giant Puffballs
🕐 When can I find them?
July - August - September
🔍 Where can I find them?
Giant Puffballs usually appear several days after a heavy rain and can be found in meadows, under small stands of trees, and around forest openings. They sit directly on the ground or on rotten wood.
👀 What do they look like?
Giant puffballs are white with firm white flesh inside. If they appear yellowish or brown it means that the mushroom is about to/has gone to spore, and is not edible anymore. Before the mushroom turns brown or becomes too mature, there will be a point when the white exterior cracks and the white interior shows through.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
They have a very subtle mushroom aroma with a faint taste of their own but absorb the flavours around them.
9. Wood Hedgehog
🕐 When can I find them?
July - August - September - October - November
🔍 Where can I find them?
Wood Hedgehogs grow in rings or arcs around host trees in most types of mixed woodland. They come up loosely scattered singly or in close groups under conifers and hardwoods like spruce, birch, beech and oak. They are likely to reappear in the same place every year, so if you find a good spot, you should be able to find them there in upcoming years as well.
👀 What do they look like?
The Wood Hedgehogs cap is a pale creamy yellow to salmon pink (4- 20cm wide) with an irregular amoeba-like shape. It is convex when the mushroom is young, becoming flat with a wavy edge when older. The surface is often uneven and can be slightly depressed in the middle.They get their name from their distinctive spore-producing structures where instead of gills, they have short, vertically hanging spines.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
They have a fruity aroma and a crunchy texture with a sweet and nutty flavour.
10. Black Trumpet
🕐 When can I find them?
September - October
🔍 Where can I find them?
Black Trumpets can be found in hardwood forests. They do not fruit on wood like many kinds of mushrooms, they do grow near it. They specifically prefer growing near broad-leaved trees like beech or oak. Black trumpet mushrooms are often found in mossy areas.
👀 What do they look like?
Black Trumpets are funnel shaped and their colour can range from black to grey or brown. The cap is vase-shaped with wavy edges that roll outwards. The underside of a black trumpet mushroom cap is smooth or slightly wrinkled. It has no gills, teeth or pores.
🍴 What do they smell and taste like?
Black truffle mushrooms have a rich, smoky flavour and a fruity aroma. In their fresh form, these mushrooms are especially potent and full of flavour.
Mushroom Season Cheat Sheet:
For more information on the identification of Mushrooms follow the link:
Wild Food Mushroom Guide
To book a guided Mushroom foraging workshop follow the link:
Wild Fungi Experience
Posted by: Brittany
#MushroomForaging #Chanterelle #WoodBlewit #Morels #StGeorges #ChickenOfTheWoods #FairyRingChampignon #PennyBun #GiantPuffballs #WoodHedgehog #BlackTrumpet
Comments
Thank you!
I will have to keep an eye out next time I go on a walk or hike ��