Mushroom and its description. Edible mushrooms of Siberia and the Urals
If you are not confident in your knowledge of mushrooms, collect only the most common and familiar to you personally!
White mushroom (boletus)
There is a special category of mushroom pickers who disdain all mushrooms except porcini mushrooms. " Well, just an empty forest, I only found about a dozen mushrooms!“- in their mouths, this does not mean at all that the forest is really “empty”: they just won’t bend over for the sake of everything else. You can do whatever you want with white: dry, pickle, salt, fry - and fry without first boiling. As a rule, they prefer to dry it so that they can eat mushroom soup in winter.
Porcini(Boletus edulis). © Michael Wood
A small boletus may be completely white, with age, his cap becomes brown, and then dark brown. Also, with age, the cap unfolds: in babies it is semicircular, with the edges adjacent to the stem, in white adults it is unfolded, simply convex, maybe even flat. The tubes (those on the underside of the cap) are first white, then light yellow, then greenish, even completely green. The boletus leg looks like a barrel, widened downward, white or cream.
White mushroom (Boletus edulis). © Dezidor The porcini mushroom also has other forms: reticulated (with a slightly cracked cap), dark bronze (with a dark brown, almost black cap), rooted (yellow-brown in color, with completely yellow tubes and stem and slightly blue flesh when cut) . There is a royal boletus with a red cap and yellow tubes and legs. They are all edible and very tasty.
Carefully! White mushrooms can be confused with the inedible gall and satanic mushrooms, as well as the poisonous pink-golden boletus.
. © Ak ccm 
. © H. Krisp 
. © Archenzo - gall mushroom, gall mushroom(Tylopilus felleus). An adult gall fungus has pinkish tubes and pores. It is not poisonous, but it tastes so bad that it is not without reason that it is called gall.
- Satanic mushroom, satanic boletus (Boletus satanas). The Satanic mushroom is distinguished by a red stalk (right under the cap it is yellowish) and orange-red tubes, the pores of which turn blue if you press on them.
- Pink-skinned boletus, pink-skinned boletus, rose-golden boletus (Boletus rhodoxanthus). Pink-golden, poisonous, the boletus looks like a satanic mushroom: it has red tubes, which also turn blue when pressed, and the leg is yellow, but with such a dense red mesh that sometimes it seems completely red.
Honey fungus
Honey mushrooms are also growing in large groups and, as a rule, every year in the same places. Once you find a honey fungus colony, you can “graze” on it every year.
Autumn honey fungus (Armillaria mellea). © MdE
These mushrooms grow in bunches on rotten stumps and fallen trees. The caps of mushrooms are brown, slightly reddish in wet weather, but in dry weather their color is closer to beige. The very middle and edges of the cap are darker than the whole
hat On the stem of honey mushrooms there is a ring (in young mushrooms the film of the ring covers the underside of the cap), the stem itself above the ring is smooth, below it is scaly, and hollow in the lower part.
Sulphur-yellow false honey fungus(Hypholoma fasciculare). © Rasbak Carefully! Summer honey fungus can be confused with the poisonous sulfur-yellow honey fungus. They differ in the leg (in the false honey fungus it is smooth, without scales) and in the color of the sulfur-yellow honey fungus, which is really sulfur-yellow, bright, with an orange center of the cap. And one more thing: the false honey mushroom has a very unpleasant smell, but the real one has a pleasant, mushroom smell. If this, of course, tells you anything.
Chanterelle
Chanterelles are good because worms do not like them. Therefore, if you come across a colony of these mushrooms, you can be sure that half of the forest harvest will not have to be thrown away. Chanterelles are less likely than other mushrooms to accumulate harmful substances, so they are completely harmless to the liver and kidneys. But at the same time they are very hard and are less digestible than others. Small foxes resemble the color of egg yolk; they turn pale with age, and older specimens can be almost white. The middle of the cap of an adult chanterelle is pressed in so that the mushroom is shaped like a funnel; Small mushrooms have convex caps. The stem, fused with the cap, tapers downward.
Chanterelle (Chanterelle). © James Lindsey Carefully! The common chanterelle can be confused with the inedible false chanterelle. They are no different in shape, but the color of the false chanterelle is very characteristic, bright orange. But in old age, mushrooms turn pale and become indistinguishable from edible ones.
Orange talker, or false fox(Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca). © H. Krisp But it doesn’t matter: after all, chanterelles always grow in large colonies; where there are old people, there are also kids, and by the color of these kids false fox can always be identified
Nigella (black milk mushroom)
Europeans consider nigella, one of the most common mushrooms in the Moscow region, to be inedible, and for good reason. Maybe they didn't soak it? Unsoaked black milk mushroom is really bitter. And the soaked one is even sweeter. Black milk mushrooms are perhaps the best mushrooms for pickling, hard, crispy, and do not lose their taste for a long time.
Black breast (Lactarius turpis). © Igor Lebedinsky They grow mostly under fir trees, and they grow in groups, which is not noticeable at first glance. Just, once you find a nigella, don’t move. Squat down and look at the ground for a long, long time. Mushrooms will “grow” right before your eyes! Most likely, you will even find out that you sat on a couple of milk mushrooms...
The cap of the nigella is brown or almost black, with an olive tint, in the middle there is a depression, the edges are rounded. White plates grow to the stem, the stem itself is brownish-green, tapering downward. The pulp is white or grayish and produces abundant milky juice.
Oiler
The flesh of baby butterflies is white, while that of adults is yellowish or completely yellow.
Butter mushrooms are good when pickled and fried, but you shouldn’t dry them: these mushrooms contain too much water, and after drying they will remain horns - legs.
A young oiler is slippery to the touch; with age, the cap becomes dry. It can be red-brown, ocher-yellow, grayish-orange, and the tubes and pores of all types of butterweed are yellow, in maturity they are closer to olive. A milky white liquid is released from the tubes
Pepper mushroom, or pepper buttercup(Chalciporus piperatus). © Ak ccm Carefully! Butterfly can be confused with an inedible pepper mushroom, not poisonous, but very spicy, truly peppery in taste. Only the oiler has small pores and yellow tubes, while the pepper mushroom has large pores and the tubes are reddish in color. And one more thing: if you break the pepper mushroom, its flesh will soon turn pink, but the flesh of the butterdish will not change color.
Boletus (boletus) and boletus
Boletus mushrooms can have a brown, gray or even black cap and white or cream tubes, which can turn dirty gray with age. Its leg is thinner and higher than that of the boletus, white, with brown or black scales. The only way to confuse the boletus is with the aspen boletus, whose cap is orange, brick-red or ocher-yellow. But don’t confuse it, it won’t get any worse, because both of these mushrooms are edible and very tasty.
It is best to collect mushrooms in a wicker basket: they will be ventilated and will not be crushed. Never use plastic bags, otherwise, when you come home, you will find that you have brought a shapeless, sticky mass.
Edible mushrooms Siberia, the Urals, the Russian North, in general, the entire taiga zone of our country. Taiga mushrooms, which we all love to hunt, because going for mushrooms is a quiet hunt that does not require shooting. Every autumn crowds of people go to the taiga and collect full boxes of various edible mushrooms. Mushrooms are a very nutritious food, although due to some of their characteristics, not all nutrients can be absorbed by our body. Mushrooms contain many essential amino acids, but many of them are not absorbed due to their chitinous shells, which do not dissolve in gastric juice. However, not all mushrooms are like this. And even if sometimes we don’t get as much benefit as we would like, we still can’t resist such an autumn delicacy. So:
White mushrooms of Siberia
Or Volzhanka, as it is popularly called, prefers to grow in birch forests or mixed ones in well-lit areas among grass. It forms mycorrhiza with birch, mainly with aged trees. Sometimes found in wetter places. A good harvest of these mushrooms can be collected in the forests of the northern climate zone. Usually grows in groups, but single individuals are also found.
The most favorable period for hunting for tremors begins at the end of July and lasts until the first half of September, although you can find this mushroom in June and October. The appearance of this mushroom looks like this:
- The cap is funnel-shaped, with a well-pressed center; as the mushroom matures, it takes on a flatter shape. The edges are turned down, and the surface is covered with thick, dense fibers arranged in the shape of concentric circles. The edge of the cap is well pubescent. The color is pink-orange, slightly reddish; in the sun the skin fades and becomes pale pink or whitish. The diameter rarely exceeds 10 cm, however, there are specimens with large cap sizes (up to 15 cm);
- the leg is short, up to 6 cm high and up to 2 cm thick, in the shape of a cylinder tapering towards the base or smooth, covered with fluff. It is very dense, but in adult mushrooms a cavity forms inside it. There are sometimes small pits on the outside. Surface color is pinkish;
- the flesh is fragile (in young mushrooms it is denser), cream or white in color; when damaged, it abundantly secretes white milky juice, which has a pungent taste and emits a light resinous aroma. At a break, when in contact with air, its shade does not change;
- the plates are frequent and narrow, descending along the stalk, of a whitish hue. There are also small intermediate plates;
- The spores are white.
Russula
How many are there? The name is the same, but they differ greatly in color. Lots of variety. The cap of all russula is covered with a film, and this mushroom is distinguished by the color of the film. But no matter what color the cap is, the flesh of the russula, like a porcini mushroom, always remains sugar-white. This is the most important difference and sign of a delicate mushroom called russula. Another common name for the mushroom is bruise. It grows everywhere in the Urals and Siberia. Scaly or greenish russula (R. virescens), green russula (R. aeruginea) and their analogues - have a dangerous poisonous double- pale toadstool. The fruiting period of these mushrooms coincides, they grow the same in mixed and deciduous forests, and even look similar in appearance with snow-white legs and plates, as well as grass-green or gray-green caps. Therefore, when collecting green-capped russula, they cannot be “tested on the tongue”, and “falsehood” cannot be determined by other typical characteristics of the toadstool. external signs- presence of a ring and a volva on the leg.
Gruzd
There is parchment, yellow, black, but this milk mushroom is dry. The cap is funnel-shaped on top, while the cap of the young mushroom is flat. The plates under the cap are frequent, the stem is dense, the same color as the cap; the pulp is brittle. Dry milk mushrooms have long been valued in Russian cuisine for their taste and aroma. One of the most popular edible mushrooms in Siberia, the Urals and the East European Plain. Dry milk mushrooms - common in coniferous and mixed forests. This species is called Russula delica, or podgrudok. In essence, it is a genus of russula. Real milk mushrooms are rare inhabitants of forests, they are much more difficult to find, they have a bitter milky juice. And the so-called dry milk mushrooms grow from July to October in birch groves, pine and coniferous forests, and their quantity can be simply incredible. Find these sturdy white creatures in dry, dark soil coniferous forests very simple. The defenseless white color stands out against the dark background of the earth and fallen pine needles. But among the grass, the search becomes more complicated: you need to carefully look at each tubercle. Dry breast has a white smooth surface. In young fruiting bodies it has a slight bluish tint; the blue color is even more noticeable with reverse side mushroom. The diameter of the cap can reach 20 cm, while at first the shape is always convex with a small hole in the center, the edges are turned down. The older the dry milk mushroom (photo below), the more the cap opens, cracks in dry weather, and in rainy summers it is certainly eaten away by slugs and flies. Over time, yellow and brown spots appear over the entire surface. Dry milk mushrooms - lamellar mushrooms, with white dense flesh, without a pronounced taste or smell
Chanterelle
The mushroom is edible; culinary experts undeservedly included it in the third category. The fox got its name because of its yellow color. The fungus is like an egg yolk, and when there are a lot of them, it’s like a living omelette frozen on the grass. Take a closer look at them and see how the delicate yellow folds of the plates fancifully branch out all the way to the ground along the tapering stem. The sinuous and raked edges of the corrugated caps are beautiful. deserve not only the attention of mushroom pickers, but also respect. Chanterelles are always growing large families, sometimes occupying entire clearings. When young, the mushrooms are convex, quite neat, aligned, sometimes arranged in rows. The more “older” ones have a high leg, an even cap, they are fleshy, dense - the joy of a mushroom picker. But the smell of chanterelles is especially pleasant; it is typical for this type of mushroom, and it certainly cannot be confused with any other. Some mushroom pickers, praising mushrooms, describe this smell as a mixture of steamed birch leaves and mint.
With age, only one thing changes in chanterelles: their elastic young body acquires a more rubbery structure, especially in dry weather, and becomes flabby in damp weather. Towards the end of summer, the cap of the mushroom takes the shape of a funnel, the edges of which often become uneven, as if torn.
Sometimes a mushroom picker wanders through the forest for a long time, especially if the weather is dry, looks at fallen trees, stirs up old leaves and suddenly comes out into a clearing strewn with chanterelles; even in dry times you can profit from these mushrooms by picking up quite a lot of them.
The first chanterelles, depending on the area, do not appear at the same time, some a little earlier, others a little later, but already now, at the beginning of July, they are definitely there in the forest. Heaps, stripes, circles are the favorite placement options for fox families. By the way, you can collect chanterelles not only in baskets, but also in buckets, bags, backpacks, this is the only type of non-fragile mushroom, and even the most productive species, in any area, especially if there is enough moisture in the soil, chanterelles make up about a quarter of all mushrooms of mixed forests.
Raincoat
- There is such a mushroom. It, unlike others, has a completely closed fruiting body, within which numerous spores are formed. There are no poisonous raincoats among them. If they are called that, it means they always appear after rain. The young fruiting bodies of puffballs are edible. They are tasty and nutritious when fried, in broths and soups. When dried and cooked, they retain their white color. In terms of protein content, they are superior even to porcini mushrooms.Valuy
Other names: bull, weeping mushroom And . This taiga mushroom is easy to recognize. The hat of young Valuevs is like a small slippery ball, and those of older ones spread out with a flat roof. Some mushroom pickers do not collect valui, because if they do it, the basket will fill up very quickly. But why disdain these edible mushrooms, although they belong to the third category? So, mushroom pickers need to know that the goby is very tasty in pickling, when there is only one there, i.e. without admixtures of other taiga mushrooms. Best time collecting values when they are born in herds. And don't be afraid of the acrid taste raw mushroom, it completely disappears in salting. But it is better to salt the valui in a hot way, i.e. Boil for 10 minutes before salting.
Champignon
Light gray mushroom. The most popular and widespread mushroom in the world. In nature they grow: in places with moist soil; based on big amount natural fertilizers; on lands rich in compost. In Russia, they can be found not far from human habitation, in the forest, in the meadow, in a forest clearing. The variety of species is so wide that it sometimes surprises even experienced mushroom pickers. The most common is the common meadow, which can be bought in any store and is successfully grown in a mushroom farm. All types of champignons are somewhat similar, but they also have noticeable differences. Meadow, or ordinary, is a white mushroom with a rounded cap, the edges of which are curved inward and pressed against the stem. Its weight ranges from 10 to 150 g. Meadow champignon is unpretentious and is able to grow near people’s homes, especially in rural areas. The cap changes shape as the mushroom grows. It retains its convexity, but becomes increasingly flatter. The plates underneath are loose, thin and wide. They are pinkish in color and gradually acquire a brown tint. The color of the cap itself is white, with grayish scales in the middle. There are meadow species with white-pink or gray caps, the surface of which is soft and silky to the touch.
The stem of this mushroom is dense, fibrous, and quite wide. Its diameter reaches 1-3 cm. The height of the leg is 3-10 cm. It is smooth, widened at the base. While the mushroom is young, its cap is connected to the stem by a white blanket, but over time this connection disappears, and a thin white ring remains. It may persist or completely disappear with the growth of the fungus.
A distinctive feature is its pulp, or more precisely, its color. Dense, white, when scrapped it changes, becoming pinkish. These mushrooms have a rather strong and pleasant mushroom aroma. Not just edible, but very tasty, meadow champignons are used to prepare a wide variety of dishes and are even eaten raw. Distinguish edible champignons from similar ones poisonous mushrooms, maybe by records. In champignons they are dark in color, while in poisonous mushrooms they are light, sometimes yellowish. According to their own dietary properties inferior in caloric content to many of the mushrooms presented above.
You don't have to wait until late summer to harvest edible mushrooms. Many delicious species inhabit the forest from June, and especially early ones - from spring. Knowing the types of some edible mushrooms will help distinguish them from dangerous ones.
Mushrooms that appear the earliest when proper preparation no less tasty than those collected in summer and autumn. The main thing is to distinguish them from poisonous species, also growing immediately after the snow melts.
Morels
They appear in areas well warmed by the sun's rays. Their cap is dotted with folds and indentations, which gives the morel a wrinkled appearance. The mushroom has several common varieties, so the shape of the cap may vary: be pear-shaped, elongated, conical.
Podabrikosovik
Scientific name: roseoplate thyroid. It has a brown stem and cap. The diameter of the latter ranges from 1 to 10 cm. The pleasant-tasting white pulp is traditionally used in canning. Grows in gardens and wild apricot groves.
Podabrikosovik
Oyster mushrooms
They grow in a suspended state on stumps, attached to them with a thin stalk. The color of the cap, which often grows up to 30 cm in diameter, varies from snow-white to brown. Oyster mushrooms usually form whole flocks, which makes them easier to collect.
Meadow mushrooms
These are thin lamellar mushrooms, appearing in May in clearings and forest edges in the form of “witch’s rings.” The diameter of the chestnut cap is very small: less than 4 cm.
Meadow mushrooms
Champignon
These valuable forest inhabitants appear in mid-May in regions with warm climates, choosing well-lit open spaces. The spherical cap is painted white, and the leg may have beige shades. Widely used in cooking, including for preparing gourmet dishes.
Gallery: edible mushrooms (25 photos)
boletus
They appear everywhere at the end of May. This is a cap mushroom that loves the sun. Boletus mushrooms usually grow in “families” around trees. Their hemispherical cap can be either white or dark brown, depending on the age of the find. It is important to distinguish between boletus and gall mushroom: the latter has a pungent, bitter taste and a pink layer of spores, while boletus mushrooms have gray spores.
boletus
Butter
Appear simultaneously with boletus mushrooms, but they prefer pine forests. Distinctive feature The oiler is a brown cap covered with a sticky film.
How to pick mushrooms (video)
Summer edible mushrooms
In summer they grow and spring mushrooms, to which new ones join. Avid lovers of quiet hunting have been going into the forest since June, and in August, which is the peak of fruiting, everyone else joins them.
Porcini
The first place in the list of summer species is, of course, white. This is a very valuable species because it has not only excellent taste, but also healing properties: contains substances that kill bacteria.
The appearance of “white” is difficult to confuse with others: A fleshy hat, colored in warm shades of brown, pink or even white, mounted on a plump stem. The pulp has a pleasant taste and aroma.
For its positive properties it is called the “king of mushrooms”. You can find “white” in forests with birch and pine trees, in open areas. But the mushroom itself prefers to remain in the shade, hiding under fallen trees or thick grass.
Porcini
Mosswort
Grows in forests that contain oak or pine trees. At first glance, the flywheel resembles an oil can, but the surface of its brown or olive cap is dry and has a velvety structure. Their diameter does not exceed 10 cm, but in a favorable environment this figure can become larger.
Russula
This is a small and very fragile mushroom that grows everywhere in large quantities. The color of the caps can be very diverse: yellow, pink, purple, white. White pulp, easily broken when pressed, sweet in taste. Russulas grow until late autumn, mainly in the lowlands of any forest, and are undemanding to soil. Despite the name, it is better to prepare russula: fry in breading, boil, add to soup and potatoes, or pickle for the winter.
Russula
Bitters
They grow in large “families” in well-moistened areas of mixed and coniferous forest. This lamellar mushroom does not exceed 10 cm in diameter. The cap of a young bitterling is almost flat, and over time it turns into a funnel-shaped one. Both the stem and the skin are brick-colored. The pulp, like that of russula, is fragile; if damaged, white juice may appear from it.
Chanterelles
These are mushrooms loved by many and make an excellent duo with potatoes when fried. They appear in June among moss in birch or pine forests.
Chanterelles grow in a dense carpet or are bright yellow in color (which is why they got their name). The funnel-shaped cap has a wavy edge. A pleasant feature of the mushroom is that it is almost always untouched by worms.
Varieties of edible mushrooms (video)
Edible autumn mushrooms
The beginning of September can be called the most productive time for picking mushrooms, when a wide variety of mushrooms grow in the forest. different types: starting with boletus mushrooms that appeared in May and ending with autumn mushrooms.
Honey mushrooms
Perhaps the most beloved inhabitants of the mushroom kingdom that appear in the fall are honey mushrooms (they are also called honey mushrooms). Some varieties begin to grow as early as late summer.
Honey mushrooms never grow alone: they “attack” stumps, logs and even healthy trees in entire colonies. One family can have up to 100 pieces. Therefore, collecting them is easy and quick.
Honey mushrooms are cap mushrooms of brown and red color.. The diameter of the brown cap, darkening towards the middle, is from 2 to 10 cm. These are mushrooms that have a pleasant smell and taste, so they are used for cooking in almost any form. Miniature young mushrooms with legs marinated in spicy brine are especially tasty.
Rows
A large family, representatives of which grow in orderly rows in pine or mixed forests. Sometimes they can form ring-shaped colonies . They have many species, most of which are edible. But there are also poisonous rows.
These are medium-sized mushrooms (the average diameter is 5–13 cm), the caps of which are painted in various colors. Their shape changes over time: old specimens are usually almost flat, with a knob in the middle; young ones can be cone-shaped.
Wet
This edible species, which is often confused with toadstools. Its cap is usually covered with mucus, but can also be dry. There are different types of mothweed, for example, spruce and pink.
How to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones
The task of a lover of quiet hunting is not only to find mushrooms, but also to distinguish edible from inedible and even poisonous ones. Knowledge and practical experience help with this. The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to know the characteristics of the species. But there is still general rules, allowing you to determine how safe the mushroom is for health.
Edible mushrooms
They have the following properties:
- pleasant “edible” smell;
- the bottom of the cap is covered with a tubular layer;
- they were chosen by bugs or worms;
- the skin of the cap is characteristic in color for its species.
There are general rules to determine how safe a mushroom is for health.
Inedible mushrooms
If there is any doubt about the suitability of a find for consumption, then it is better to leave it when the mushroom:
- has an unusual or bright color;
- it emits a sharp and unpleasant odor;
- there are no pests on the surface;
- the cut takes on an unnatural color;
- there is no tubular layer under the cap.
The variety of species does not allow us to derive an axiom on how to determine by appearance whether a mushroom is dangerous or not. They successfully disguise themselves as each other and are almost indistinguishable. Therefore, the main rule of all mushroom pickers is: “If you’re not sure, don’t take it.”
The main rule of all mushroom pickers is: If you’re not sure, don’t take it.
Which mushrooms appear first?
The first to emerge from the ground are usually poisonous mushrooms small size. They are thin, fragile and unremarkable; They grow literally everywhere: in forests, parks and on lawns along with the first grass.
The very first edible morels will appear a little later, from about mid-April in the middle zone.
The importance of edible mushrooms in human nutrition
Mushrooms are widely used in cooking. Their taste and smell are determined by extractive and aromatic substances. The product is used mainly after heat treatment: as an addition to vegetable and meat dishes, salads and snacks. Dried caps and legs are added to soups to give them a characteristic taste and aroma. Another common method of preparation is canning, in which spicy spices and plants are added.
Many people associate autumn primarily with mushrooms, although hunting for them begins in the spring. In total, there are more than 250 thousand of their species on Earth. All of them are divided into edible and poisonous. The former are rich in protein and minerals, the latter are dangerous for humans. Experienced mushroom pickers can easily distinguish one mushroom from another, but beginners should not rush and pick anything. You need to know that most edible mushrooms have “false doubles”, which are often unsuitable for consumption. Our photo fact today features the most popular mushrooms in the middle zone forests.
10th place. Common chanterelle.
The common chanterelle is an edible mushroom of the 3rd category. It has a light yellow or orange-yellow cap (up to 12 cm) with wavy edges and a stem (up to 10 cm). Grows in coniferous and mixed forests. (tonx)
9th place. Autumn honey fungus.
Autumn honey fungus is an edible mushroom of the 3rd category. It has a brown cap (up to 10 cm) of a convex shape, and a white thin stem (up to 10 cm). It grows in large families on tree trunks or stumps. (Tatiana Bulyonkova)
8th place. Aspen milk mushroom.
Aspen milk mushroom is an edible mushroom of the 2nd category. It has a white sticky cap (up to 30 cm) of a flat-convex shape, a white or pinkish leg (up to 8 cm). Grows in mixed forests. (Tatiana Bulyonkova)
7th place. Pink wave.
Pink volnushka is an edible mushroom of the 2nd category. It has a pale pink cap (up to 12 cm) with a small depression in the center and edges turned down, and a stem (up to 6 cm). Grows in mixed forests. (Aivar Ruukel)
6th place. Oil can.
Butterfly is an edible mushroom of the 2nd category. It has a brown oily cap of a convex or flat shape and a stem (up to 11 cm). It grows both in forests and in plantings. (Björn S...)
5th place. Boletus.
Boletus is an edible mushroom of the 2nd category. It has a reddish-brown cap (up to 25 cm) and a thick stalk with dark scales. Grows in deciduous and mixed forests. (Tatiana Bulyonkova)
4th place. Boletus.
Boletus is an edible mushroom of the 2nd category. It has a dull brown, cushion-shaped cap and a white thin stalk (up to 17 cm) with brownish scales. Grows in deciduous forests near birch trees. (carlfbagge)
3rd place. The breast is real.
The real milk mushroom is an edible mushroom of the 1st category. It has a white mucous cap (up to 20 cm) funnel-shaped with pubescent edges rolled inward and a white or yellowish stalk (up to 7 cm). Grows in deciduous and mixed forests. (Tatiana Bulyonkova)
2nd place. The ginger is real.
Real camelina is an edible mushroom of the 1st category. It has an orange or light red funnel-shaped cap with straightening edges and a stem of the same color (up to 7 cm). Grows in coniferous forests. (Anna Valls Calm)
1 place. Porcini.
The porcini mushroom is the king of mushrooms. Prized for its excellent taste qualities and aroma. The shape of the mushroom resembles a barrel. It has a brown cap and a white or light brown leg (up to 25 cm). Grows in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests. (Matthew Kirkland)
Kira Stoletova
Mushrooms are a separate kingdom, which has a huge variety of species included in it. People use only a small number of them in cooking. Some varieties are used in medicine. To recognize valuable specimens, you need to know what types of mushrooms exist and what they look like.
Classification of mushrooms
The criterion of edibility was taken as the basis for the classification. The entire kingdom was divided into:
Edible: This includes those species whose representatives are suitable for consumption even in raw or dried form. However, doctors recommend pre-heating them.
Conditionally edible: this group includes those species that are consumed only after prolonged heat treatment. Before cooking, they are soaked in water. Some types are boiled 2-3 times, changing the water each time. Also included in this group are those mushrooms that are consumed if they are not overripe.
Inedible mushrooms: they are divided into hallucinogenic and poisonous. The former cause hallucinations after consumption, while the latter are deadly. If you consume large quantities of hallucinogenic mushrooms, a person risks dying. For collection, use and distribution hallucinogenic mushrooms are subject to criminal liability. Hallucinations are images that appear in a person’s mind without the presence of the so-called. external stimulus. They are due to special chemical composition, which includes muscarine, psilocybin or psilocin.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Poisonous mushrooms, in turn, are divided into groups depending on the degree of their danger to human health:
- Deadly poisonous: are characterized by a pronounced plasmatoxic effect, because They contain the following toxic compounds: phalloidin, phalloin, phallocin, phallizin, amanitins, amanin, orellanin, etc. These include: pale grebe, fringed galerina, stinking fly agaric, plush cobweb.
- Mushrooms that affect nerve centers: they necessarily contain muscarine, muscaridine and other toxins with neurotropic effects. This group includes: fibers, whitewashed talker, panther fly agaric, lemon fly agaric, pink mycena, etc. The effects of toxins are not fatal.
- Mushrooms with a local stimulating effect: the group includes the vast majority of species, the consumption of which causes mild poisoning with gastrointestinal disorders. Among them: sulfur-yellow false honey fungus, brick-red false honey fungus, toad row, etc. Poisoning with mushrooms belonging to this group is extremely rarely fatal.
There is another classification according to which mushrooms are:
- Tubular: These include those species whose underside of the cap resembles a finely porous sponge.
- P lamellar: their inner (bottom) side of the cap consists of thin plates.
In a separate group are truffles and morels, which are also called “snowdrop” mushrooms. Morels got their name from the fact that they appear in forests at the end of winter, along with the first forest flowers.
Soil mushrooms are not of interest to mushroom pickers, because... are microscopic organisms.
Edible varieties
Boletus
The porcini mushroom (boletus) is the most popular member of the mushroom family. Due to its taste, it is considered the most valuable forest gift. On a thick stem there is a massive cap, porous on the underside, covered with smooth skin. There are white, cream and light brown varieties, less common are boletus mushrooms, the cap of which is painted dark brown: this distinctive feature determined by the region of growth. The structure of the hymenophore is tubular. The flesh is white or creamy. The color at the cut site does not change. There is a light nutty aroma.
Depending on the type of forest in which the boletus grows, there are birch, pine and oak varieties. Each of them has excellent taste and is used in cooking.
Oyster mushrooms
The peculiarity of oyster mushrooms is that they grow on trees and are considered wood-destroying mushrooms. Although most members of the fungal kingdom that grow on trees are of the opportunistically edible variety, oyster mushrooms are edible. The colony organism is a large number of thin, flat-shaped caps, which are arranged in rows one above the other. The skin covering the caps, which look like small saucers, is gray in color. The special thing is that they are easy to grow at home. They will not grow on the ground, because... They are not saprophytes, much less mycorrhiza-formers. The substrate for them is prepared from wood and other components, or tree stumps are used. At the break, the color of the fruiting body remains unchanged.
In order for oyster mushrooms to produce a harvest, conditions are created that are as similar as possible to their natural habitat.
Volnushki
Volnushki come in white and pink. The pink variety is called rubella. Her hat is concave in the center, the edges are slightly curved outward. The diameter of the round cap, covered with a thin skin, is 6-8 cm. The fruit body has a pleasant taste and a faint resinous odor. A white acrid milky juice appears on the cut. It grows in forests and meadows and loves moss.
Chanterelles
Chanterelles get their name because of their bright yellow or golden color. On a cylindrical stem, which is slightly thicker on top than on the bottom, there is a cap with a slightly depressed middle. The shape of the cap is irregular, the edges are uneven and wavy. White chanterelles also exist in nature, but they are rare.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
White chanterelle, or l. pale, or l. light is characterized by the presence in young specimens of smooth, downward-curving edges of the cap. As the fruiting body grows, a sinuous edge begins to form, but the bend decreases. This species differs from other representatives of the Cantarellaceae precisely by the color of the funnel-shaped cap - it is usually pale yellow or white-yellow. Even with a superficial examination, it becomes noticeable that the coloring is not uniform and resembles zonal spots. The white chanterelle prefers deciduous forests, areas where there is natural forest litter or where there is moss and grass. The first fruiting bodies can be found as early as June. September ends the season for collecting white chanterelles. According to the classification of edibility, the pale chanterelle species belongs to category 2. In terms of its taste, it is no different from ordinary (red) chanterelles.
You should not collect chanterelles in coniferous forests - specimens grown there usually taste bitter. The extract obtained from the fruiting body is used to get rid of helminths.
Butter
In nature, there are many types of butterflies, in particular the true m., the cedar m., the gray m., the white m., the larch m. and the yellow-brown m. The list of these varieties of tubular mushrooms can be continued. They are all similar in appearance. The mushroom grows on sandy soils and selects deciduous forests. The flat cap, painted light brown, has a tubercle. The thin skin, covered with the juice of a mucous structure, is easy to separate from the fruiting body. The leg is painted cream color.
Honey mushrooms
There are meadow, winter, summer and autumn varieties. They grow in groups. You will be able to find mushroom “family” groups near trees and stumps. On a thin stalk, there is a tubular rounded cap. The boletus is colored cream and light brown. The leg is the same color as the hat and is decorated with a skirt.
Boletus (Redhead)
Boletuses, or redheads, should be looked for, as he says folk wisdom, next to the aspen trees. On a thick and downwardly widened stem there is a cap of a regular hemispherical shape. The hat is colored cream, dark brown, less often in yellow. The leg, on which there are small dark scales, is white.
Saffron milk caps
Saffron milk caps grow in coniferous forests. On the cylindrical leg there is a concave cap resembling a funnel in shape. There is a coniferous smell, which the fruit pulp absorbs from the resin secreted by coniferous crops. The fruits grow in large quantities in the Ukrainian city of Liman (until 2016, Krasny Liman, Donetsk region).
Conditionally edible mushrooms
Conditionally edible varieties there are fewer mushrooms than edible ones. On the territory of Russia, the most common mushrooms found are milk mushrooms, green mushrooms (green rows), morels, serushkas (serukhi), certain types of truffles and russula, and some varieties of fly agarics. Rows grow in clusters, sometimes forming mushroom paths. Less common are the hare's moth, pig's ear (cow's lip, pig's ears), pink trumpet, gray-pink fly agaric, variegated hedgehog mushroom (elk's lip), "chicken" mushrooms (ringed cap) or yellow tinder fungi. The gray-pink fly agaric needs preliminary heat treatment at a temperature of at least 80 ° C in order to destroy the hemolytic rubescenslysin that is part of it and poses a danger to the body. This compound is capable of affecting blood cells - erythrocytes and leukocytes - destroying their cell membranes. This compound can manifest its abilities when it enters the blood directly.
Milk mushrooms
In nature, milk mushrooms are divided into yellow, white, and blue (spruce mushroom). They belong to the lamellar varieties and have a depression in the center of the cap. The color of the cap varies depending on the variety. The taste has bitterness due to the presence of acrid milky juice. Before heat treatment they are soaked in water.
greenfinch
Greenfinch stands out among other varieties due to the pale green color of its cap and stem. The edges of the cap are downward, the stem is long and slightly curved. There is a tubercle in the center of the cap. The color remains unchanged even after heat treatment, which was the reason for the apt popular name.
Morels
Morels have a thick stem, and the cap has an unusual folded structure. The apothecia (fruiting bodies) of morels are large, usually at least 6-10 cm, fleshy, and they have a clear distinction between the stem and the cap - by color. The cap can be either ovoid or conical in shape, always with a network of longitudinal and transverse folds, often oblique. They form cells lined with a hymenium (spore-forming layer), but the ribs separating them remain sterile. The edges of the cap are fused with the stem, which is hollow inside.
Before consumption, morels undergo long-term heat treatment.
Inedible mushrooms
This category should be avoided. They cause death even when consumed in small quantities. The most dangerous are the pale toadstool, the red fly agaric and the satanic mushroom. Powerful hallucinogenic mushrooms include red fly agaric, blue-green stropharia, and paneolus bell-shaped. Less common are bear's sawwort, hebeloma, variable arctic fox, panther's fly agaric (panther), orange or orange-red webwort, common stitch ("brain" mushroom), and multi-colored tramethes (tinder fungus).
Differences between edible and inedible mushrooms
When going on a silent hunt, you need to know the main differences between edible and inedible varieties:
- If, when broken, the mushrooms turn blue, bright red, or change color significantly, most likely they belong to the group of poisonous ones.
- A pungent and unpleasant odor also indicates inedibility.
- Among all the representatives of poisonous mushrooms, many have a skirt on the stem - the remnant of a private veil covering the spore-bearing layer. This feature is not the main one; this element is also present in a number of edible specimens.
- During cooking of poisonous fruiting bodies, the water changes color, acquiring a blue or greenish tint. This is also characteristic of some conditionally edible varieties due to the presence of hydrocyanic acid in their bodies, albeit in small quantities.
- The caps of edible varieties, unlike inedible ones, rarely have spots.
- The stem of poisonous mushrooms usually has at its base a well-defined tuberous thickening and a kind of sac surrounding it - a volva, a remnant of the general veil.
- Animals and insects avoid poisonous mushrooms, which is why their caps and legs often remain intact throughout the season.
It is worth putting in the basket those items that are familiar.
Unusual varieties
There are varieties with unusual appearance. These include the blue mushroom, bleeding tooth (the mushroom body is covered with drops of a red compound), red lattice mushroom, bird's nest (mold), lycogala (wolf's milk), combed barnacle, giant bighead, devil's cigar (Texas star). Some of them are found everywhere, others grow in certain countries.
Sometimes groups of mushrooms grow in forests in the shape of a circle, which is popularly called the “witch’s circle.” Previously, many associated this phenomenon with magic. Science has given a logical explanation for this phenomenon. Sometimes the mycelium grows equally quickly in all directions. When the main mushroom growing in the center dies, new ones grow along the edges of the mycelium, forming a circle and absorbing all nutritional compounds from the soil. As a result of this, a circle appears to be trampled under the feet of some unknown person (and in the Middle Ages there was no doubt that a witch did this) in a very inaccessible place for people, with mushrooms growing along its edges (like an arena barrier).
Medicinal varieties
Ganoderma, maitake (Grifola curly) or mutton mushroom, kombucha have medicinal properties. In oncology, red camphor mushroom, also called antrodia camphor, is widely used. It grows in Taiwan and is a treasure of the country. It contains substances that eliminate tumors. Not only does it help fight cancer, but it also gets rid of toxins.
The exotic species iiitake (Japanese mushroom) is also of interest to doctors. It can be grown in a garden plot or in a greenhouse. Japanese and Chinese doctors have long known about it medicinal properties. In its homeland it is called the “elixir of youth” and is used to treat various diseases.
Popular in modern world and black muer mushrooms, growing on trees. They are rarely found in Russia. The dried black fruiting bodies resemble charred paper. Their use in cooking is no different from preparing forest boletus. Black mushrooms taste like seafood.
There are also varieties about the edibility of which there is currently no accurate data, i.e. Some people collect them and are happy, while others pass by with caution. These include the bright red Sarcoscipha. These small mushrooms are shaped like deep red cups. The diameter of the bowl does not exceed 3 cm, which is why they are not of interest to mushroom pickers. Appear in forests in early spring.
The smallest mushroom in the world is the slime mold, and the largest grows in the USA and is called armillaria, or dark honey fungus. Most of it is located underground (mycelium) and occupies about 900 hectares in the territory national park Malheur, which is located in eastern Oregon.
Conclusion
Mushrooms are a large kingdom containing a huge variety of species. Forest gifts - mushrooms - are collected carefully so as not to put poisonous representatives of the group into the basket. They will appear after the spring rains. There is no point in going to the forest earlier.
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