Among the little-known mushrooms there is a completely exotic mushroom - an edible mushroom. This species includes three varieties: the umbrella is white, colorful and blushing. All of them belong to saprotrophs, grow at the same time, appear in the same places. The fungus is an edible umbrella that amazes the imagination with its size; on spacious sunny edges it reaches unprecedented sizes: the diameter of the hat is 50-60 cm, the height of the legs is 40-45 cm. It seems strange that these specimens are edible.
Umbrella - a mushroom (photo above), which belongs to 4 categories. Although few mushroom pickers dare to collect these giants due to their similarity with fly agarics and grebes. The lamellar fruit body has a hat on average 15-25 cm in diameter, but it can also be much larger. In young mushrooms, it is always egg-shaped, convex, then straightens, becoming like an umbrella. The hat has a kind of tubercle in the center. Large brown flakes remain in the adult fruit body on the entire surface of the fungus. The edges slightly hang down, have a fringe. A very specific type of hat suggests that this type cannot be edible in any way. Giant sizes and unusual appearance are more reminiscent of fly agaric and grebe.
However, the younger the edible mushroom is, the safer and tastier it is in the cooked dish. Its flesh is loose, white in color, very dense, in older individuals it is cottony, but with a pleasant aroma and characteristic mushroom taste.
The leg is very long, brown, with a diameter of 2-3 cm, a height of up to 30-50 cm. At the point of contact with the ground it is always thickened. The surface is scaly, the pulp is hard, because of which the legs are often rejected during processing. There is a ring on the body, which can be easily moved up and down, since it attaches freely. Edible umbrellas have a characteristic “snake” or scaly pattern, and there are no poisonous analogues - this is the main distinguishing feature.
The plates contain white spore powder. In a young mushroom, they are white, then reddish veins appear. The reddening umbrella is distinguished by a smooth leg and browning pulp at a break.
You can find edible mushrooms umbrellas around the globe. Their distribution is so wide that almost any deciduous or mixed forest boasts these giants. They can also be found in fields, meadows, in park areas. Fruit bodies appear at the height of summer and grow until the end of September, especially persistent ones easily survive the October frosts, however, they lose their beautiful appearance. You can see them in the clearings, edges, along the roads and even in garden areas. In well-lit places, it can form impressive colonies, the so-called “witch rings”.
Edible mushroom is usually not harvested for future use; it is good in boiled and fried form, but is not suitable for preservation. At the same time, only hats are taken from especially large specimens for cooking. When choosing them, you need to be extremely careful. As soon as the head of the umbrella opens completely, the mushroom becomes unfit for consumption.
