Collect with care

Mushroom season: worrying about the “heroes” of our forests

(Bild: ALEXANDER DANNER)

Even lucky mushroom pickers should be careful when collecting mushrooms from the forest. The appeal: collect with care.

"Excessive picking of chanterelles, king or porcini mushrooms disturbs the fragile balance in the green forest. Because they are ecologically vital for the forest," appeals Markus Graf Hoyos zu Horn und Rosenburg, the blue and yellow chairman of the Land- & Forstbetriebe, as part of the joint Naturverstand campaign with the "Krone". In fact, the various native sprouts - whether poisonous or edible - are considered the secret "heroes of the forests".

This is because the capped proteges of our forests nourish plants, animals and the soil. At the same time, in symbiosis with the trees, they help them to absorb nutrients and water.

Hoyos' appeal to mushroom hunters: "Collect with care."(Bild: Honorar)

Separate them carefully
The basic rule when collecting mushrooms is: a maximum of two kilos per person per day. And if you have a passion for nature, don't pull out your finds, but cut them carefully.

If the spoils are cleaned directly at the place where they were found, the forest world is left a little healthier. This is because new fungal threads, known as mycelia, can then grow from these remains. "This alone," says Hoyos, deeply convinced, "could preserve natural treasures."