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Hedgehog mushroom

Hydnum repandum — Good edible, beginner-friendly.

Never eat a wild mushroom or plant identified only from a website, book or app. Several deadly species look almost identical to edible ones, and mistakes can be fatal. Learn from an experienced forager in person, be certain of every specimen, and when in doubt, throw it out.

What it is

A cream to pale-orange mushroom whose great advantage for beginners is the underside: instead of gills it has a bed of tiny hanging spines that rub off easily. It has a mild, slightly sweet taste and never goes maggoty as fast as many others.

Where and when to find it

Mixed and conifer woodland. In season roughly August to November.

Look-alikes and safety

It is one of the safest wild mushrooms to learn because nothing dangerous shares its feature: soft, brittle spines hang under the cap instead of gills or pores. No deadly European mushroom has spines like this.

Nutrition

Low in energy, firm texture, mild sweet flavour. As with all wild food, the health value only matters once you are completely certain of a safe identification.

More wild foods

Source: Edibility and look-alike notes follow standard mycological and botanical references for the region. This page is a starting reference, not an identification authority. · checked 2026-09-04

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