Mushroom experts warn pickers not to trust identification apps

As mushroom season gets underway in Switzerland, SRF warns that pickers should not rely on identification apps, including those powered by artificial intelligence. Experts recommend taking finds to a mushroom inspection centre, and Switzerland has dozens of them.

The season is expected to be modest this autumn, particularly on the Swiss Plateau, after a hot and especially dry summer. Mushrooms can still be found in some places, but apps are not yet fully reliable, experts say.

A photo cannot show an app the trees and soil around a mushroom, which can help rule out species. Apps also cannot smell a mushroom or assess the texture of its flesh, both of which can be important for identification.

Mushrooms are classed as edible, inedible or poisonous, but there is no general rule for telling which category one belongs to. It is not true, for example, that all young mushrooms or all mushrooms with pores underneath their caps are edible. Anyone collecting mushrooms to eat should be able to identify them with certainty and is advised to have them checked.

Experts estimate there may be up to 3.2 million mushroom species worldwide. What people pick in the forest is the fruiting body; the main organism, called the mycelium, often lies underground or in dead wood. Mushrooms tend to grow in late summer and autumn, while morels usually appear in spring. They may return to the same spots each year if those places have not been significantly disturbed.