Natural history museum opens 64th mushroom exhibition before move

The Estonian Museum of Natural History is preparing its 64th mushroom exhibition, the last to be held in its current building in Tallinn’s Old Town before the museum moves, ERR reported.

The exhibition opens on Thursday at 4 p.m. Researchers recommend gathering mushrooms, but warn against picking poisonous species. Around 200 poisonous mushroom species are found in Estonia, 15 of them deadly.

The first specimens arrived from Mustamäe and included common giant puffballs, which are edible. However, the museum’s botanists advise against eating mushrooms that grow in cities, recommending mushrooms found in forests away from urban areas instead.

Mushrooms growing in cities and along roadsides may contain heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic, said Liisa Johanna Lukk, the museum’s communications manager.

The museum’s mushroom specialists are also working through the night to arrange specimens brought from Lahemaa before the exhibition opens. Visitors will be able to learn which poisonous mushrooms closely resemble edible species.

One deadly poisonous mushroom found in Estonian forests is the death cap. It can be mistaken for the birch russula, which is also green when viewed from above. The key differences are on the stem, which is why mushroom pickers should remove the entire mushroom from the moss rather than cutting it, said exhibition curator Marja-Liisa Kämärä.

The museum will begin moving to a new location this autumn.