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Join me as I travel and explore the Arctic wilderness to find good spots for mushrooms and wild herbs
We have Arctic Pinecone Caps in spring
07/05/2025
There are 4 different speices of Pinecone Caps (Strobilurus) in Northern Norway, as far as I have been able to find. In total there are 10 different known species and they all grow on pinecones. All are edible, and most are good.
We can group the Pinecone caps into two groups. The ones that grow in Spruce, or Fir forests and the ones that grow in Pine forest.
Pinecone caps grow in early spring, in Northern Norway that means May. They pop-up as soon as the snow melts (even before some times), but they can also come back for another round in late September.
There are some similar speices that we want to be aware of if we pick these mushrooms for food. In early May there are just a few.
Spruce Cone Caps & Fir Cone Caps
This is the most numerous group. We have several different Spruce and Fir trees and speices of caps that grow with them.The Spruce Cone Cap (Strobilurus esculentus) grows in May, might be possible to find in Helgeland in April and perhaps not until June in Finnmark.
There are millions of Spruce Cone Caps in the forest but they are hard to spot. It is also good to be aware of the Mycena mushrooms that grow here too. They are not edible. Luckilly it is possible to separate them on looks and the smell. Oh, the smell of the Mycena is quite something.
See me smell a Mycena on the short clip below
Douglas Fir-Cone Cap (Strobilurus trullisatus or lignitilis). There are actually two different speices but that can only be identified with a microscope. One of the spieces, trullisatus can grow on Pinecones as well.
On my YouTube channel you can join me in the forest where I look for Spruce Cone Caps. If you like please follow and share, thank you <3
Pinecone Caps
Pinecone Caps (Strobilurus stephanocystis) grows on Pinecones, they are not easy to spot. The Pinecone Cap can also be mistaken for the Strobilurus tenacellus, also a Pinecone Cap but this one has a bitter taste. As long as you are certain it´s a Strobilurus it is safe to taste to find out.
Separating the Spruce Cone Cap from the Pinecone Cap is no easy task. On the picture you can see the Pinecone Cap to the left and the Spruce Cone Cap to the right. Can you see a difference? In general the Pinecone Cap has a warmer, more red tint. But to make it even more confusing the Spruce Cone Cap can grow on Pinecones as well.
On my member pages you can read more about these mushrooms, se maps on finds and much more. The member pages are only in Norwegian.
Sources: Norges sopp og nyttevekstforbund, Trøndelag sankeri , Mushroom expert.com, and Dansk svampeatlas.
Some sources can provide information that´s not updated or is different. Regarding classification of edibility I always use the official Norwegian list because it is update to local conditions and is verified by experts in the fields of medicine and mycology.
We have Arctic Pinecone Caps in spring
07/05/2025
There are 4 different speices of Pinecone Caps (Strobilurus) in Northern Norway, as far as I have been able to find. In total there are 10 different known species and they all grow on pinecones. All are edible, and most are good.
Boletus might be the most sought-after genus of mushrooms in Europe and the answer is "YES", we have them here in Northern-Norway too. We call them "Steinsopp", that would translate to "Stone mushrooms". Not applicable to the colour, but the shape could be kind of stone like I think.
Leccinum mushrooms in Northern-Norway
02/02/2025
Leccinum is the most numerous mushrooms of the edible species in Northern Norway. If you know your Leccinums you will never have to leave a mushroom foraging walk with empty baskets. Learn about them here