Mushroom season
Summer mushrooms of Europe
June – August · 312 species · 219 edible · 31 poisonous
The summer forest smells of resin and warm earth. June opens the big chanterelle season: golden-orange, firm and ignored by worms, they grow in pine and mixed forests all month long. Right behind them come slippery jacks, birch boletes and the first aspen boletes.
The main danger of summer is heat and drought. Two weeks without rain at 30°C can leave even the most generous forest empty. But after a good soaking rain (20+ mm), with nights above 12°C, a real harvest follows 7–10 days later. July and August are porcini season in the pine forests and aspen bolete season in mixed woods.
Season overview
Summer mushrooms: what, where and when
Which mushrooms grow in summer in Europe? Summer mushrooms make the longest and most varied list after autumn's. The golden chanterelle fruits from June to August; chanterelles are most abundant in the first half of summer, after warm rains in the pine forests. Slippery jacks, birch boletes, bay boletes and the first porcini fill out the summer basket. If you're wondering when porcini grow, the main wave comes in July and August in old conifer and oak forests.
Mushrooms after summer rain are a science of their own. A light drizzle after a long drought won't bring a flush: the mycelium needs a proper soaking (15–25 mm of rain). After a good rain, summer porcini and aspen boletes come up in 7–10 days, while chanterelles and slippery jacks are quicker, at 3–5 days. The most dependable summer finds come from mountain forests and damp pine woods, which hold moisture longer even in the heat.
The first summer mushrooms appear as early as late May, but the real start is June. If you want to catch the first porcini, keep an eye on mountain forests in summer: beech and spruce woods in the hills often produce porcini earlier than the lowlands. Summer is the best time to learn to tell edible species apart from their poisonous lookalikes.
By month
Summer by month
Summer lasts three months — june, july, august — and each has its own mushroom character. Some species fruit at the start of the season, others at its height, and still others toward the end. Pick a specific month to see the full list of mushrooms that grow right then, with tips on the weather and where to forage.
Safety
Poisonous summer mushrooms
In summer, watch out for the death cap (it looks like a field mushroom) and the panther cap (it looks like the edible grey-spotted amanita). Never put young, closed-up mushrooms without clear identifying features in your basket.
Of the 31 species of dangerous mushrooms active in summer, the most dangerous are the deadly poisonous ones: Deadly dapperling, Deadly fibrecap, Death cap, Destroying angel, Fool's webcap, Lepiota helveola. All of them have edible lookalikes — check every find.
Compare mushrooms with their lookalikes →All poisonous mushrooms →
Full catalog
All summer mushrooms — the full list
All 312 species of mushrooms that fruit in summer in Europe — edible, conditionally edible and dangerous. Tap a card to open the full description with photos, morphology and lookalikes.
Agaricus abruptibulbus
Edible.webp)
Agaricus comtulus
EdibleAgaricus haemorrhoidarius
Edible
Agaricus romagnesii
EdibleAgaricus squamuliferus
Edible
Agaricus subperonatus
Edible_Fr._4948278370-2.webp)
Agaricus tabularis
Edible
Agrocybe arvalis
Inedible
Alder bolete
Gyrodon lividus
Conditionally edible
Aleurodiscus amorphus
Inedible
Amanita battarrae
Conditionally edible
Amethyst deceiver
Laccaria amethystina
Edible
Amphinema byssoides
Inedible
Amylocorticium cebennense
Inedible_Singer_279454.webp)
Amylocystis lapponica
Inedible
Amyloporia sinuosa
Inedible
Aniseed funnel
Clitocybe odora
Edible
Anomoporia bombycina
Inedible
Antrodia albida
Inedible
Apricot jelly
Guepinia helvelloides
Edible
Arched earthstar
Geastrum fornicatum
Inedible
Artist's bracket
Ganoderma applanatum
Inedible
Ashen chanterelle
Craterellus cinereus
Edible.webp)
Aurantiporus fissilis
Inedible
Articles
What to read about summer mushrooms
Where & when to forageWhat mushrooms grow in an oak forest
An oak wood gives up its mushrooms on its own timetable: the summer bolete in May and June, and by autumn a co…
October 6, 2026·9 min
Where & when to forageWhat mushrooms grow in a pine forest
A pine forest has its own set of mushrooms, and it barely overlaps with an oak wood. We put it all into a tabl…
October 6, 2026·9 min
Where & when to foragePorcini by forest type: spruce, pine, birch and oak
Under spruce, pine, birch and oak you will find different porcini, and some of them are not even the same spec…
October 5, 2026·7 min
Where & when to forageSpruce porcini: the original Boletus edulis
The spruce form of the porcini is not some rare relative but Boletus edulis itself, the mushroom the whole spe…
October 5, 2026·6 min
Frequently asked questions
All about summer mushrooms
Which mushrooms grow in summer in Europe?
In summer, Europe's forests give you the golden chanterelle (June–August, peaking in June), slippery jack, birch bolete, aspen bolete, porcini (July–August), bay boletes and the sheathed woodtuft (summer honey fungus). All told, more than 80 edible species are active in summer.
Are there mushrooms in summer during a heat wave?
In a long heat wave (2+ weeks with no rain, 28–32°C during the day), fruiting stops even in the dampest forests. Your lifesavers in a drought are chanterelles (they handle dry spells well) and birch boletes in damp hollows. Head out 7–10 days after a heavy rain.
Mushrooms after summer rain — how long should you wait?
After a heavy rain (15–25 mm) at 18–26°C, chanterelles and slippery jacks come up in 3–5 days, porcini and aspen boletes in 7–10 days. A light rain after a drought won't bring a flush — the soil needs a proper soaking.
When do chanterelles grow in Europe?
In Europe, chanterelles grow from May to October, but the peak is June–July. After the first heavy rain in pine and mixed forests there can be so many that you fill a whole basket in an hour. Look in sunny clearings and along forest edges.
When do porcini grow in Europe?
Porcini in Europe come in three waves: the first in late June (sparse), the main one in July–August, and a late one in September. Look in old pine and spruce forests, under oaks and beeches.
Where can you pick mushrooms in summer?
In summer the best spots are pine forests (chanterelles, slippery jacks, porcini), mixed woods (birch and aspen boletes) and birch groves (birch boletes).
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