Mushroom train teaches foragers to spot dangerous fungi

September mushroom excursions by train are teaching people to identify fungi that should be avoided in forests and at markets, ERR reported. The Elron Mushroom Express takes participants to several mushroom locations, including the RMK Aegviidu visitor centre.

The Aegviidu excursion is aimed at people who frequently forage. Participants learn which mushrooms are not worth taking home despite being interesting, while also collecting specimens for the visitor centre’s mushroom exhibition.

Madli Luuk, an information specialist at the RMK Aegviidu visitor centre, said mushroom knowledge was important not only for foragers but also for mushroom sellers and buyers at markets.

“You can also come across poisonous mushrooms at a market,” Luuk said.

She pointed to the tavavahelik mushroom, which people had eaten without concern for decades and which is still sold at markets. Luuk said it was later discovered that the mushroom contains a substance that gradually breaks down red blood cells, causing anaemia and serious illnesses over time.

Luuk advised people to collect only mushrooms they know and have eaten before. She recommended taking a mushroom guidebook into the forest rather than relying on an app.

As an example, she identified the küühm-vöödik, which she described as one of the world’s most poisonous mushrooms and not particularly well known. A mushroom identification app instead identified it as pihkane liimik, a very good edible mushroom.

“However modern the times may be, one book or several books are more reliable than any app,” Luuk said.

One of the participants was Englishman Andrew Cummings. He said mushroom gathering was not a tradition in his country, where people tended to protect mushrooms rather than dare to touch them.

Although he did not understand much of the discussion in Aegviidu, Cummings said he enjoyed the atmosphere.

“I liked today’s atmosphere. People asked many questions and were curious. The mycologist who guided us was clearly an expert, and the forest is always very beautiful,” he said.

Aegviidu is one of several mushroom destinations served by the Elron Mushroom Express. The noise of the railway and road can be heard there, making it difficult to get lost in the forest.