A forager’s guide for every day
Mushrooms, wild plants and a mushroom forecast for all of Poland
See where conditions favour a mushroom flush today, identify a species in the atlas with warnings about its look-alikes, and plan your foraging for every month.
Today’s forecast Mushroom atlas
- 380counties with a forecast
- 67mushroom species
- 23poisonous look-alikes
Photo: Dariusz Duchiewicz / Pexels
Foraging calendar
What is growing now: this month
Winter fungi on wood and birds at the feeder
Mushrooms and plants in January →End of winter: wood, thaws and tidying the larder
Mushrooms and plants in February →Early spring: the first green shoots, and care with wild garlic
Plants in March: dandelion, stinging nettle
Mushrooms and plants in March →Morels protected, false morels in the woods – spring vigilance
Shaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdible
Common inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with care
Sheathed woodtuftKuehneromyces mutabilisEdible
Jelly earAuricularia auricula-judaeEdible
Chicken of the woodsLaetiporus sulphureusEdible with carePlants in April: dandelion, ground elder, stinging nettle, scots pine (young shoots), common sorrel
Mushrooms and plants in April →May: green harvests, dandelion flowers and the first meadow mushrooms
Scarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusEdible with care
PorciniBoletus edulisEdible
Summer cepBoletus reticulatusEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdibleCommon inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with careSheathed woodtuftKuehneromyces mutabilisEdiblePlants in May: ribwort plantain, dandelion, ground elder, stinging nettle, scots pine (young shoots), common sorrel
Mushrooms and plants in May →June: elderflower, wild strawberries and the first chanterelles
Scarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusEdible with carePorciniBoletus edulisEdibleSummer cepBoletus reticulatusEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdibleCommon inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with care
Bitter boleteTylopilus felleusInediblePlants in June: ribwort plantain, elderflower, bilberry, small-leaved and large-leaved lime (blossom), dandelion, wild strawberry, common sorrel
Mushrooms and plants in June →July: bilberries, raspberries, lime blossom – and care around hogweed
Scarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusEdible with carePorciniBoletus edulisEdibleSummer cepBoletus reticulatusEdible
Giant puffballCalvatia giganteaEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdibleCommon inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with carePlants in July: ribwort plantain, elderflower, bilberry, small-leaved and large-leaved lime (blossom), raspberry, wild strawberry, common sorrel
Mushrooms and plants in July →August: the mushroom flush depends on rain – dry and freeze with care
Scarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusEdible with carePorciniBoletus edulisEdibleSummer cepBoletus reticulatusEdibleGiant puffballCalvatia giganteaEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdibleCommon inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with carePlants in August: black chokeberry, ribwort plantain, elderberries, lingonberry, bilberry, hawthorn (common and Midland), blackberry, raspberry
Mushrooms and plants in August →September: peak mushroom season, elderberries and dog rose
Scarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusEdible with carePorciniBoletus edulisEdibleSummer cepBoletus reticulatusEdibleGiant puffballCalvatia giganteaEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdibleCommon inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with carePlants in September: black chokeberry, ribwort plantain, elderberries, lingonberry, hawthorn (common and Midland), rowan, blackberry, guelder rose
Mushrooms and plants in September →October: honey fungus, saffron milkcaps, quince for nalewka
Oyster mushroomPleurotus ostreatusEdibleScarletina boleteNeoboletus erythropusEdible with carePorciniBoletus edulisEdibleSummer cepBoletus reticulatusEdibleGiant puffballCalvatia giganteaEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdiblePlants in October: elderberries, hawthorn (common and Midland), rowan, blackberry, guelder rose, hazel (hazelnuts), quince, japanese quince
Mushrooms and plants in October →November: sloes after the frost, knights, and the bird feeder goes up
Oyster mushroomPleurotus ostreatusEdiblePorciniBoletus edulisEdibleShaggy inkcapCoprinus comatusEdibleCommon inkcapCoprinopsis atramentariaEdible with care
Sooty headTricholoma portentosumEdible
Wood blewitCollybia nudaEdiblePlants in November: guelder rose, common sorrel, blackthorn, bog cranberry
Mushrooms and plants in November →December: winter fungi on trees and a larder full of summer
Oyster mushroomPleurotus ostreatusEdibleSooty headTricholoma portentosumEdibleWood blewitCollybia nudaEdibleSheathed woodtuftKuehneromyces mutabilisEdible
Common puffballLycoperdon perlatumEdibleJelly earAuricularia auricula-judaeEdibleMushroom atlas
The most popular edible mushrooms
Before it goes in the basket
Foragers’ most dangerous mistakes
- Black morel or false morel?Deadly poisonous look-alike
- Blusher or panther cap?Deadly poisonous look-alike
- Common morel or false morel?Deadly poisonous look-alike
- Common puffball or death cap?Deadly poisonous look-alike
Never eat a mushroom identified only from the internet. If you have symptoms of poisoning, call 112. Safety and poisoning →
A whole year in the forest
The forest through all four seasons
March–MaySpringWild garlic, nettles, dandelions and the first morels (protected!).
June–AugustSummerBilberries, wild strawberries, elderflower and lime blossom, the first chanterelles and scaber stalks.
September–NovemberAutumnThe height of mushroom season: porcini, bay boletes, parasols, saffron milkcaps and honey fungus.
December–FebruaryWinterFruit liqueurs (nalewki) from the autumn harvest, winter mushrooms on stumps and feeding the birds.
Tools
Mushroom mapConditions for a flush in 380 counties, 7 days ahead.Report a flushShare your find and see what others are picking.CalendarWhat to pick in every month of the year.Where you may forageNational parks, nature reserves, protected species.Frequently asked questions
Where are the mushrooms now?
Check the mushroom forecast: every day we rate the conditions for a flush in each of Poland’s 380 counties (powiaty), based on rainfall over the last 4 weeks, temperature, soil moisture and the 7-day weather forecast.
When is mushroom season in Poland?
The main season runs from August to October, but the first mushrooms (chanterelles, scaber stalks, slippery jacks) appear after warm rain as early as June and July, and some species grow even in winter. Month-by-month details are in the foraging calendar.
How do I avoid mistaking a poisonous mushroom for an edible one?
Pick only species you know for certain, twist out the whole mushroom (including the base of the stem) and compare it with the descriptions of its look-alikes. In the atlas every species has a list of the mushrooms it is confused with. Show any doubtful specimen to a certified mushroom inspector at the sanepid (state sanitary inspection).