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Sporalo
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About

Mushroom knowledge, freely shared

Sporalo shows where and when to look for nine highly sought-after mushrooms in France, in Belgium, in Switzerland, in Luxembourg, in Germany, in Austria, in Czechia, in Spain, in Italy and in the United Kingdom and Ireland: ceps, chanterelles, morels, hedgehog mushrooms, black trumpets, funnel chanterelles, wood blewits, saffron milk caps and parasol mushrooms. It is entirely free.

100% freeAll the maps, forecasts and pages, with no paid version.
No advertisingNo banners, no sponsored content.
No accountNothing to create, nothing to provide to see everything.
No trackingNo cookies, no audience tracking.

Why this site exists

Mushroom picking is traditionally wrapped in secrecy: you keep your spots to yourself, you are wary of questions, you pass on little. This culture has its charm, but it also has a downside. It makes people believe that knowing when and where to look is a privilege reserved for a few insiders, and it has allowed some services to sell, sometimes at a high price, information that rests largely on public data.

Sporalo was born from the opposite conviction. Created by a picking enthusiast, it brings together open weather and environmental data and the knowledge published by research, and makes them freely available to everyone. It does not reveal anyone's spots: it explains which conditions favour growth, and where they come together.

Transparent about its method

Weather, forests, tree species, soils, relief: everything comes from public, open data (Open-Meteo, IGN, Statbel, swisstopo, OFS, data.public.lu, BKG, Destatis, Statistik Austria, ČÚZK, Eurostat, INE, JRC, ESA WorldCover, ISRIC, OpenGeoHub, OpenLandMap, Copernicus). The factors taken into account, the way they are combined, the checks against real observations and the scientific publications used are detailed on the Method & sources page. The model's limits are also set out there plainly.

A discreet publisher

Sporalo is run by a private individual who prefers to remain anonymous: what matters is the data and the method, not the person. The site does not track your browsing either: no cookies, no audience measurement. See the legal notice for details and the contact form.

Picking responsibly

  • Before picking, it is up to you to check that you have the right to do so on the plot where you are: a good score is not a permit. A forest may be private, reserved for hunting, protected, or subject to an order that limits or bans picking.
  • Respect private property and local regulations: many municipalities and forests limit the quantity picked per day.
  • Cut or gently twist off the stem, leave very young and old specimens, and never rake the ground.
  • Never eat a mushroom without certain identification. If in doubt, show your harvest to a pharmacist or a mycological society; if you have symptoms, call 112 (999 in the UK) or a poison centre.