Large (over 15 cm)

Classic examples

This category usually includes powerful soil-dwelling mushrooms whose mycelium (most often mycorrhizal) can accumulate huge amounts of nutrients from the roots of mature trees:

1. Mature boletes: Porcini (Boletus edulis) and red-capped scaber stalks (Leccinum) easily pass the 15 cm mark in favorable conditions (heavy rain after warm weather), their caps growing as wide as a plate.

2. Devil's bolete (Rubroboletus satanas): This poisonous beauty with a red stem is naturally extremely massive. Its pale gray cap often reaches 20 cm across.

3. Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria): Mature, fully opened fly agarics with flat caps often cross the 15-centimeter line, becoming a true ornament of the autumn forest.

4. Dryad's saddle (Cerioporus squamosus): A large parasitic polypore that grows on living trees and often forms "hats" over 20 cm.

The downside of large size

M.Ya. Zerova cautions: for edible mushrooms, large size isn't always a reason to celebrate.

When a porcini or red-capped scaber stalk grows beyond 15-20 cm, it means it's old. Its sponge turns dark green, the flesh becomes loose and cottony, and most importantly, such a large, old mushroom is almost 100% certain to be infested with fungus gnat larvae (worms). Besides, proteins start breaking down in old fruiting bodies, which can cause an upset stomach.

So "large" mushrooms are best left in the forest to spread their spores, while for cooking you should pick young specimens of "medium" size.