Santa Cruz de La Palma a paradise for mushroom lovers

By Christian Volbracht Nov 8, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands - Santa Cruz de La Palma is the unlikely destination for mushroom lovers in search of chanterelles, porcini mushrooms and other mycological rarities.

Situated on the island of La Palma, the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands, the area in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife offers a wide selection of mushrooms as late as the month of December.

'Don't stand on them or pick them,' Rose Marie Daehncke warns as visitors to the 85-year-old woman's farm walk by rows of porcini mushrooms. The large edible maitake mushrooms, magnificent sweet chestnuts and poisonous panther cap also remain undisturbed by the group.

La Palma is the most lush of the Canary Islands and is a popular destination for hikers. However it is also an insider tip for mushroom lovers because all sorts of mushrooms, including hedgehog mushrooms and milk caps, can be collected here long after the normal European harvesting season has come to an end.

Mycologists travel here from all over the world to investigate rare mushrooms that don't grow elsewhere. There is also the added advantage of being able to relax on a sandy beach after a hard day's mushroom picking.

'The main season for mushrooms is from the end of November to January,' explains Daehncke, a photographer and mushroom expert, who was once head of the Black Forest mushroom exhibition in Hornberg, Germany and who also produced a book containing colour photos of 1,200 mushrooms.

She has made her home near San Isidro far away from the hustle and bustle of the capital in a house nestled in a park full of laurel trees and chestnut trees.

Daehncke has lived on La Palma since 1979 during which time she has documented over 1,000 different types of mushrooms on the island, including 15 varieties previously unknown to mycologists. She has even found rare mushrooms on old banana trees.

Mushroom collectors can be seen in the pine and laurel forests in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Eucalyptus, avocado and indigenous dragon trees are also present. European deciduous trees are absent from the Canary Islands with the exception of the chestnut tree.

The heart-shaped island is divided by the Cumbra volcanic ridge. The western part of the island is drier than the east while it's cooler in the north, meaning that each region has its own specific fungal flora. A car is essential to reach the most interesting areas as well as warm waterproof clothing due to the regular rainfall and fog.

The most fascinating areas for hikers are to be found in the barren volcanic mountain areas in the south of La Palma.

The landscape around Fuencaliente is scarred by regular bush fires although the hardy pine trunks remain undamaged and new green pine needles are already re-appearing. Milk caps, rare chanterelles and often huge number of yellow root truffles grow beneath the ash and rust-coloured pine needles.

The small, yellow spheres, called nacidas by the locals, are virtually unrelated to real truffles. 'Palmeros mushrooms can be eaten without any concerns,' says Daehncke. Nacidas are delicious when fried in a pan and are virtually the only type of mushroom served up in local restaurants. They have a texture similar to the baked island cheese.

Daehncke criticizes the people of La Palma for their lack of interest in mushrooms. For years, she taught people all about mushrooms, hosted exhibitions and even organized massive mushroom paella events in the forests but nothing came of her efforts. 'Nobody seemed interested in taking things further,' she says with a hint of resignation in her voice.

It's not surprising, therefore, that she is delighted at the researchers who have come to visit her on the island and learn about La Palma's unique world of mushrooms. The mycologists are allowed stay free of charge in rudimentary accommodation situated in the middle of the laurel forest in Los Tilos.

Mushroom collectors who know little about what they are doing and are unable to distinguish poisonous mushrooms from edible ones are less welcome. 'The danger from poisonous mushrooms isn't high,' says Daehncke reassuringly.

The appropriately named green death cap (amanita phalloides) is very rare but the poisonous panther caps, toadstools and the dangerous jack-o'-lantern mushroom, which is often found at the base of olive trees, are relatively common.

Daehncke also knows a few recipes for mushroom gourmands, for example an exotic salad consisting of red tremiscus helvelloides and grapefruit. She recommends grilling the yellow nacidas and flavouring them with a little salt.

The first task though is to find the mushrooms. A pine forest situated in Riachuelo on the way to Cumbrecita where huge numbers of delicious saffron milk caps and large porcini mushrooms grow is the perfect place to start.