Station: [7] Fungi

Fungi are fascinating. They exist in their own special realm, pretty much everywhere in the world. They’re neither plants nor animals, may be tiny and inconspicuous, or large and polymorphous – in other words, have many different shapes.

The bay boletus and the gypsy mushroom are edible and tasty. But some fungi may cause vomiting or diarrhoea, while others can damage the liver or kidneys and are so toxic that they may prove fatal. The most dangerous mushroom in Germany is the deadly webcap. What makes it so hazardous is that the effects of its toxins often only start to make themselves felt after about two weeks. By the time the symptoms start, it has already severely damaged the kidneys.

So if you go mushrooming, it’s important to only ever pick the ones you are absolutely 100% sure are common edible species.

The Nuremberg Natural History Society’s mycology department offers guided educational mushrooming walks. Participants can learn about unfamiliar species, or brush up on their knowledge. If you’ve been mushrooming in the woods on your own, you can even have the results of your foraging checked by one of our expert mycologists before you pop them a pan or pot and cook them.

Every Tuesday during mushroom season, you can find us in the city wall tower right next to the museum. We’re open from 7.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. And if you go online to nhg-nuernberg.de you’ll not only find details of our extensive programme, but also the addresses of expert mycologists as well as foraging tips with lots of information about fungi.

But fungi are not only tasty as food; they also play an important role in the cycle of nature, because they promote the decay of dead material. Without them, there would be no topsoil, and the forest floor would suffocate under metre-high mountains of lifeless material. Take a look at our second display case, which is devoted to wood-decay fungi and their fruiting bodies, to the symbiotic relationship between trees and fungi, and to parasitic fungi.