Bohemia and Their Love Of Mushrooms.

What originally grew from poverty and making-do in tough times, is now a national pastime in the Czech Republic.

Recognised for the high nutritional value and growing wild, mushrooms were an inexpensive way of getting families some much needed nourishment. The hard times and living in poverty are long gone, but the tradition of foraging for mushrooms is alive and well. Today, over 70% of the population go mushroom picking between July and September.

The Czech's love of nature is in their DNA, and the urge to head out to the forest and pick wild mushrooms, berries and forest fruits is flourishing. On average the Czech's gather 20,000 tonnes of mushrooms, approx. 9000 tonnes of blueberries and 1000's of tonnes of assorted forest fruits and berries annually. An average family can pick 8kgs of mushrooms in one year.

There are fourteen hundred different species of mushrooms which grow within their borders and the knowledge passed down through the centuries, from generation to generation, has served the Czech people well. Identifying poisonous and non-poisonous varieties can be very difficult, as their differences are minimal and hard to detect.

The Czech Mycological Society was established in 1921. One of the oldest of its kind in Europe, the Society's focus on the prevention of accidental poisoning, uses of edible mushrooms, fungi conservation and wildlife protection, greatly added to the Czech people's already impressive wealth of knowledge.

Home to fungi enthusiasts, amateur Mycologists and collectors of edible mushrooms, the Czech Mycological Society has been offering education and advise through lectures, journals and exhibitions for many years. The Society operates over 40 branches throughout the country with a Mushroom Advice Centre also located in the capital city of Prague, where mushrooms can easily be bought in and identified.