What mushrooms to pick in June in Ukraine

Many people are sure that mushroom picking is only for the fall. In fact, the real season starts much earlier: already in June the forest gives up its first generous flush, and you can fill your basket just as well as in September. You only need to know what to look for.

June is special because the mushrooms have started coming up, but the heat hasn't dried out the forest yet. Let's look at which species grow this month, where to find them, and when it's best to go out so you don't come back empty-handed.

Why June is such a good month for foragers

After the warm May rains the soil has warmed up but kept its moisture. That exact combination, warmth plus moisture, is what the mycelium needs to put up fruiting bodies. That's why the first big flush of mushrooms falls in the second half of June, especially after thunderstorms.

There's a nice bonus too. At the start of summer there are still few insects in the forest, so June mushrooms are often hardly wormy at all, unlike August ones. Finding a whole, clean bolete in June is entirely realistic.

So you're not guessing at random, check the mushroom radar: it shows when moisture and warmth line up well for mushrooms to appear in your region.

Summer boletes: porcini, slippery jacks, brown birch bolete

Pored mushrooms, which have a spongy layer under the cap instead of gills, are the main June catch. They're the most prized and the easiest for a beginner to recognize.

• **Summer bolete.** Boletus reticulatus is one of the first to appear, from late May and actively in June. Look for it in deciduous and mixed forests under oaks and beeches. The pale net on the stem and the velvety brown cap give it away unmistakably.
• **Slippery jack.** The classic mushroom of young pine stands. In June slippery jacks pop up in whole families on the edges and clearings of coniferous forest, especially where the pines are still short.
• **Brown birch bolete.** This one sticks close to birches, so look for it in deciduous and mixed forests. June brown birch boletes are firm and rarely wormy.

All three are excellent edible mushrooms, good for both frying and drying. If you want to get to know each of them better, we have separate collections on porcini and its relatives.

Chanterelles, the first flush of the season

June is the month when chanterelles get going, and for many foragers they're the great joy of early summer. Bright yellow and hard to mistake for anything else, they grow in big families in mixed and deciduous forests.

The chanterelle has one priceless quality in June: it's almost never wormy. Insect larvae leave it alone, so even in warm weather you bring home a clean basket.

Look for chanterelles in grassy, slightly damp spots, among moss and fallen leaves, often under oaks, beeches and birches. Once you've found one family, don't hurry off: there are almost always more hiding nearby.

Brittlegills and other June mushrooms

Besides the main stars, plenty of other mushrooms appear in June that are worth not passing by.

• **Brittlegills.** Probably the most common summer mushrooms. They grow everywhere, from deciduous forests to pine woods. Most are edible, but there are hot, acrid species among them, so pick carefully.
• **Xerocomus boletes.** Undemanding pored mushrooms that appear from June and hang on until fall. Don't be alarmed if a Xerocomus bolete turns blue when cut: for this species it's normal and safe.
• Horse mushrooms and the first parasols. In meadows and on forest edges in June you may come across horse mushrooms, and closer to July, the parasol mushroom.

Where and when to look for mushrooms in June

A few simple pointers will make your June trip worthwhile.

1. Follow the rain. The best time is two or three days after a good warm rain. The ground has time to soak up moisture, and mushrooms come up in large numbers.
2. Go out in the morning. In the June heat mushrooms are easier to spot and fresher in the morning, before the forest warms up.
3. Check different forests. Boletes stick to oaks, birches and pines, chanterelles love moss and grassy forest edges, brittlegills grow anywhere. The more varied the forest, the fuller the basket.
4. Don't take what you don't know. June is the time of young mushrooms, which are harder to identify. If you're unsure of the species, leave the mushroom in the forest.

And the main rule: keep an eye on the weather. Mushrooms may sit out a dry, hot, rainless first half of June underground, but after the first summer thunderstorms the forest comes alive within days. That moment is exactly what you'll catch with the mushroom radar.

Common mistakes when foraging in June

The start of the season has its pitfalls, and because of them even experienced foragers sometimes come home with nothing.

• Going to the forest in the heat without rain. The most common mistake. Without moisture the mycelium doesn't fruit, however long you wander. It's better to wait for rain than to trample a dry forest.
• Waiting for fall mushrooms. Honey fungus, milk caps and saffron milk caps come in large numbers later, closer to fall. In June, bet on boletes, chanterelles and brittlegills instead of looking for what isn't there yet.
• Taking young mushrooms that are hard to identify. At the start of summer many mushrooms are still tiny, and their features are faint. An unfamiliar young mushroom is easy to confuse, so it's better left alone.
• Sticking to a single route. Different mushrooms stick to different trees. If you walk through a pine stand, an oak wood and birch edges, your basket will fill much faster.

June rewards not so much persistence as attention to the weather and the variety of the forest. Wait for a warm rain, choose a mixed forest and go out in the morning, and your first summer trip will almost certainly be a success.

Sources

• “Field Guide to the Fungi of Ukraine” (Kyiv, Naukova Dumka publishing house).
• Boletus reticulatus on GBIF, the global biodiversity database.
• Cantharellus cibarius on MycoBank, the international fungal nomenclature database.
• Mushroom hunting on Wikipedia.