Season

Autumn

Autumn (September to November) is the undisputed peak of the mycological year. For most temperate-climate macrofungi, autumn is the time evolution has set aside for reproduction.

As David Arora notes, the great autumn flush of mushrooms is triggered by a perfect combination of three factors:

1. The soil still holds the summer's warmth.

2. Long, steady rains set in (not summer downpours but drizzle), soaking the forest litter perfectly.

3. Cold nights begin. This temperature shock signals the mycelium: "Winter is coming — time to release the spores, fast!".

24 species in the database.

The stars of autumn

September and October are when the forest is literally overflowing with mushrooms from every possible family. According to M.Ya. Zerova, the typical autumn species include:

1. Honey fungus (Armillaria mellea): The symbol of late autumn. It pops up in huge colonies (several buckets from a single stump) in October, often after the first light frosts.

2. Milk caps and saffron milk caps (Lactarius): Damp autumn coolness is the perfect time for milk caps. Pine saffron milk caps hide in wet grass, while white milk caps (Lactarius resimus) take careful searching under a layer of fallen leaves.

3. Knights (Tricholoma): Late-autumn mushrooms such as the wood blewit (Lepista nuda) or the charbonnier (Tricholoma portentosum) grow in large numbers right into November, withstanding even freezing temperatures.

4. Late porcini (Boletus edulis): Autumn porcini grow more slowly than summer ones (the "kolosovyky"); they have much thicker, more massive stems and darker caps (spruce forms).

The advantage of autumn foraging

The main culinary advantage of autumn: no maggots.

Cold nights (especially in October) halt the life cycle of flying insects. Fungus gnats simply freeze and don't lay eggs. So if finding a clean porcini or slippery jack in July is a lottery, in mid-October 9 out of 10 mushrooms you find will be perfectly clean, crisp and firm.

Questions and answers

When does the autumn season end?

Most classic mushrooms (porcini, red-capped scaber stalks) stop growing after the first serious ground frosts (when the soil freezes a few centimeters deep). However, mushrooms such as wood blewits, yellow knights and honey fungus keep growing during thaws until a lasting snow cover settles (sometimes until December).

Are mushrooms that survived a frost dangerous?

If a mushroom froze in the forest, then thawed and turned soft and slimy ("melted"), picking it is strictly forbidden. Like any thawed protein product, it starts to decompose immediately, releasing putrefaction toxins (even if it's a porcini). Only pick fresh mushrooms that grew during a thaw and are firm to the touch.

Sources

1.Зерова М.Я. та ін. Визначник грибів України. 1979
2.Roger Phillips. Mushrooms (Roger Phillips)
3.David Arora. Mushrooms Demystified
4.Index Fungorum