╔══ Identifications · 10 September 202614 sightings
speciesCaloboletus radicans
locationKatzenstein
habitatWarm deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, under oak, beech and linden
edibilityInedible — intensely bitter, considered mildly toxic
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Pale grey to buff-brown cap
- │ ▸ Lemon-yellow pores that stain blue rapidly when touched
- │ ▸ Thick yellow stem with a faint net, tapering into a rooting, often buried base
- │ ▸ Flesh turning blue on cutting; bitter taste
└─ Despite the bitter, inedible flesh, the large pale caps make it a striking find along warm woodland margins.
speciesRubroboletus rhodoxanthus
locationKatzenstein
habitatWarm, calcareous deciduous woodland, under oaks and beeches
edibilityPoisonous — do not eat
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Pale cream-grey cap with pinkish to rose shades, especially towards the margin
- │ ▸ Fine pores, yellow when young, soon blood-red
- │ ▸ Thick, bulbous stem with a fine pink-red network, yellow at the top
- │ ▸ Flesh turning blue on cutting, especially in the cap
└─ A striking red-pored bolete of warm, lime-rich forest. Like its close relative Satan's Bolete, it is toxic and should only be admired.
└─ formerly known as Boletus rhodoxanthus
speciesPseudohydnum gelatinosum
locationKankerbach
habitatOn strongly decayed, damp conifer stumps (spruce, pine); rarely on hardwood
edibilityEdible but of no culinary value
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Gelatinous, tongue- to fan-shaped fruit body
- │ ▸ Underside covered with soft, hanging teeth (spines)
- │ ▸ Translucent whitish to grey-brown, jelly-firm flesh
- │ ▸ Short lateral stem, sometimes missing entirely
└─ Looks like a jelly fungus but bears soft spines like a hedgehog fungus — hence the name. Edible, though it tastes of almost nothing.
speciesOtidea alutacea
locationRappenweg (Grainau)
habitatOn soil in broadleaf and mixed forest, along woodland paths
edibilityInedible — of no culinary value
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Ear- to cup-shaped fruit body, split down one side to the base
- │ ▸ Clay- to leather-yellow (tan) colour, paler on the outside
- │ ▸ Smooth spore-bearing inner surface, outer surface minutely powdered
- │ ▸ Grows on the ground, often in clusters
└─ A relative of the cup fungi (Peziza); one of the commonest 'Öhrlinge' and typical of damp, mossy woodland paths.
speciesGuepinia helvelloides
locationKankerbach
habitatOn soil in damp places: paths, ditches, stream banks, shady slopes
edibilityEdible, very little flavour
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Salmon- to flesh-pink, funnel- or trumpet-shaped gelatinous fruit body
- │ ▸ Lobed, wavy, often rolled-back margin
- │ ▸ Inner surface with fine veins or grooves
- │ ▸ With age, a whitish spore powder coats the outside
└─ Also known as salmon salad; the glistening salmon-pink funnels are unmistakable in damp woodland.
speciesLaccaria amethystina
locationKankerbach
habitatBroadleaf and coniferous forest, often with beech and oak, in troops
edibilityEdible but insignificant; watch for poisonous lookalikes (e.g. violet Cortinarius species)
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Intense violet colour over the whole fruit body when fresh
- │ ▸ Waxy, widely spaced thick gills
- │ ▸ Fibrous, tough stem
- │ ▸ Colour fades quickly to pale tan as it ages or dries
└─ The common name refers to how easily the violet colour 'deceives' — once faded, the mushroom blends into the forest floor and is easy to overlook.
speciesLycoperdon perlatum
locationKankerbach
habitatForest clearings and trails, on soil among leaf litter and moss
edibilityEdible when young and still pure white inside (must be firm throughout)
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Round, pear-like fruit body covered in small pointed warts/spines
- │ ▸ White when young, turning tan/brownish with age
- │ ▸ Small opening (pore) at the top through which spores are released as a puff of dust
└─ The warts form a characteristic mosaic pattern on the cap. When ripe, tapping the puffball releases a cloud of olive-brown spores through the apical pore.
└─ Potentially Bovista pusilla
speciesGanoderma applanatum
locationEibsee
habitatOn stumps and trunks of deciduous trees, especially beech; rarely conifers
edibilityInedible — woody and tough
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Large, flat grey-brown bracket with a dull, crusty top surface
- │ ▸ White pore surface that turns brown permanently when scratched
- │ ▸ Concentric growth zones on the upper surface
- │ ▸ Woody, hard, perennial fruit body
└─ Being totally woody, it can last for years. Draw on the fresh white underside with a stick and the picture remains permanently — origin of the name Artist's Bracket.
└─ Test for artist's bracket: try to draw on the white pores, they should darken where bruised.
speciesInocybe sindonia
locationEibsee
habitatBroadleaf and coniferous forest floor, often on calcareous or sandy soils
edibilityPoisonous — do not eat
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Silky-fibrillose cap in pale beige, later reddish-brown, becoming radially cracked
- │ ▸ Conical to bell-shaped at first, later with a fleshy knob
- │ ▸ Cream to pale brown, adnate gills
- │ ▸ Slender fibrous stem without a ring
└─ Contains the toxin muscarine. Many members of the genus Inocybe look alike and are easily confused, so members of this genus should never be collected for the pot.
└─ Uncertain about identity.
speciesArmillaria mellea
locationSchöne Aussicht (Auf der Lache)
habitatAt the base of living and dead trees, stumps and roots of broadleaves and conifers
edibilityEdible only after thorough cooking; some people are intolerant to it
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Honey-coloured to olive-brown caps growing in dense clusters at the base of trees
- │ ▸ White to cream decurrent gills
- │ ▸ Zigzag ring or ring zone on the upper stem
- │ ▸ Dark, dense scales in the middle of the cap
└─ A weakly parasitic fungus whose black, bootlace-like rhizomorphs spread through the soil and can kill trees — the mycelium of a single colony can rank among the largest living organisms on Earth.
└─ Aka Boot-lace fungus - under bark find long dark cords (rhizomorphs) resembling bootlaces
speciesCoprinus comatus
locationSchöne Aussicht (Auf der Lache)
habitatDisturbed ground: roadsides, paths, meadows, parks
edibilityEdible when young, before the gills blacken
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Tall cylindrical white cap covered in shaggy, upturned scales
- │ ▸ White, free gills that turn black and liquefy from the margin once mature
- │ ▸ Hollow white stem with a loose, movable ring
- │ ▸ Cap dissolves into black, spore-laden 'ink' shortly after sporulation
└─ One of the most distinctive mushrooms of late summer; the blackening process (deliquescence) happens within hours, so pick young specimens while the cap is still firm and white.
speciesArmillaria mellea
locationSchweinbach
habitatAt the base of living and dead trees, stumps and roots of broadleaves and conifers
edibilityEdible only after thorough cooking; some people are intolerant to it
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Honey-coloured to olive-brown caps growing in dense clusters at the base of trees
- │ ▸ White to cream decurrent gills
- │ ▸ Zigzag ring or ring zone on the upper stem
- │ ▸ Dark, dense scales in the middle of the cap
└─ A weakly parasitic fungus whose black, bootlace-like rhizomorphs spread through the soil and can kill trees — the mycelium of a single colony can rank among the largest living organisms on Earth.
└─ Looks like someone had recently collected from this spot.
speciesAuricularia auricula-judae
locationSchweinbach
habitatDead and dying elder (rarely other hardwoods)
edibilityEdible, though it has very little flavour of its own
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Ear- or shell-shaped, translucent gelatinous fruit body
- │ ▸ Smooth inner surface, veins and folds on the outside
- │ ▸ Nut-brown to greyish-olive, rubbery when wet, hard and brittle when dry
- │ ▸ Grows solitary or in rows on dead wood
└─ Known as wood ear in Asian cooking; when soaked in water it swells back to a gelatinous state and is used in soups and stir-fries.
speciesBoletus edulis
locationSchweinbach
habitatMycorrhizal with spruce, pine, beech and oak
edibilityExcellent edible mushroom
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Brown cap, greasy when damp, paler margin
- │ ▸ Firm white flesh that never stains blue
- │ ▸ Young: white pores that turn olive-yellow with age
- │ ▸ Thick pale stem with a fine white network (reticulum)
└─ The celebrated 'stone mushroom' of central Europe and one of the most sought-after edible fungi; its nutty flavour intensifies when dried.
└─ Mature specimen