One day just over two weeks ago, Monica Björklund decided to join different mushroom groups on Facebook. She went out into the woods and began to photograph different types of fungi. One of them was the very rare Suillus asiaticus. It was Folkbladet first to tell.
- I was a little interested in mushrooms but think it's scary to walk around alone in the forest. When I then decided to look for mushrooms other than just chanterelles, I found this one, she says.
"Just looked like autumn leaves"She was tired of never finding chanterelles and lifted her eyes when she saw Suillus asiaticus. Then she posted a picture on Facebook - it got many likes. Two days later, she was contacted by fungus expert Mikael Jeppson from Gothenburg who asked her to go out into the forest and find the fungi again and send them to him.
- I had been around a bit everywhere in the forest and was also told by a hunter not to walk around in the same forest as they hunt, she says and continues:
- Finally I found the mushrooms again. Then I was really happy. They looked just like autumn leaves, bright red and round.
"It's a little fun"Mikael Jeppson was surprised by Monica Björklund's finding:
- It's a little fun. You are constantly discovering new fungal species, there are more than we know about, he says.
The fungus that originated from Siberia has only been seen once before in Sweden, then in the Kalix area. Now it is on the dryer at Monica Björklund's home, then it will be sent to a public herbarium for public viewing.
The question is - can mushrooms be eaten?
- I don't really know, says Mikael Jeppson.