A fertilizer maker in Hyogo Prefecture has claimed it succeeded in artificially cultivating “bakamatsutake,” a mushroom species close to precious matsutake, for the first time in the world.

Once mass production of bakamatsutake, whose scientific name is Tricholoma bakamatsutake, is ready, consumers will be able to enjoy its matsutake-like taste and flavor at low cost, according to Taki Chemical Co., in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture.

Bakamatsutake mushrooms live together with beech family plants and thus are found in beech and oak forests, not in red pine woods where matsutake mushrooms grow.

The growth season of bakamatsutake comes about one month ahead of the matsutake season, according to the company.

It is said that they were named baka (stupid) matsutake because they fail to grow in the same place and the same season as matsutake. But Taki Chemical said bakamatsutake is often described as tasting and smelling better than matsutake.

Domestically harvested matsutake mushrooms sell for ¥40,000-¥50,000 per kilogram, although their prices vary depending on when and where they are picked.

But even matsutake-specialized sellers said they have no idea about prices for bakamatsutake mushrooms due to their rare appearance at retail stores.

At Taki Chemical, a staff researcher who studied mushrooms at university started developing a full artificial cultivation method for bakamatsutake about six years ago.

Although an institute has cultivated the mushrooms on plants in symbiosis, the researcher, in a world first, has successfully grown them on artificial mushroom beds, the company said.

Pointing out that the artificial cultivation will make it possible to ship bakamatsutake mushrooms at any time of the year, a Taki Chemical official in charge expressed hopes that the company will develop a stable production system and launch the bakamatsutake business three years from now.

“We’d like to supply products cheaper than matsutake mushrooms,” the official said.