Gyromitra Esculenta - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

Gyromitra esculenta grows on sandy soil in Temperate coniferous forest and occasionally in deciduous woodlands. Among conifers it is mostly found under pines (Pinus spp.), but also sometimes under aspen (Populus spp.). The hunting period is from April to July, earlier than for other species, and the fungus may even sprout up with the melting snow. It can be abundant in some years and rare in others. The mushroom is more commonly found in places where ground has been disturbed, such as openings, rivulets, washes, timber clearings, plowed openings, forest fire clearings, and roadsides. Enthusiasts in Finland have been reported burying newspaper inoculated with the fungus in the ground in autumn and returning the following spring to collect mushrooms.

Although more abundant in montane and northern coniferous woodlands such as the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range in northwestern North America, Gyromitra esculenta is found widely across the continent, as far south as Mexico. It is also common in Central Europe, less abundant in the east, and more in montane areas than lowlands. It has been recorded from Northern Ireland, from Uşak Province in Western Turkey, and from the vicinity of Kaş in the Antalya Province of Turkey's southern coast.