With the onset of the mushroom season, lovers of "silent hunting" in crowds head to the forest. This fascinating occupation will bring a lot of pleasure only if a person knows how to identify edible and poisonous mushrooms.
Tubular mushrooms
They are distinguished by a hat with a clear outline, a tubular lower layer, which during the ripening period of the fungus is easily separated from it. This group includes porcini mushrooms familiar to everyone since childhood, aspen mushrooms, boletus boletus, boletus, butterdish, etc.
Among them, there are several inedible mushrooms (pepper, bile), which have a rather unpleasant bitter taste, so they require preparation before eating. Inexperienced mushroom pickers may not be afraid to confuse the tubular mushrooms poisonous and edible, since almost all of them are very useful and nutritious.
Forming a symbiosis with only certain tree species, representatives of this group grow mainly in forests and parks.
Lamellar
They are found almost everywhere, because they are completely undemanding to any conditions and soils. They grow both in forests and in open spaces. The inside of the caps of these mushrooms is covered with distinct radial-type plates containing a spore-bearing layer.
The cylindrical shape of the leg consists of filamentary fibers tightly adjacent to each other. Sometimes on it you can see a ring resembling a frill. This is the remainder of the film, which covers the lower part of the cap of the young fruiting body and breaks off as it grows, remaining on the leg.
Lamellar mushrooms are very diverse. Edible and poisonous differ from each other in some external signs, but novice mushroom pickers nevertheless often confuse them.
If there is no complete certainty that the mushroom is not poisonous, it is better to refuse it. The fact is that among the lamellar mushrooms there are many deadly. The most famous of them are pale grebe and fly agaric. Such fungi, parasitizing on trees, can even destroy wood. If a pale toadstool is ingested in an amount of 1 mg per 10 kg of a person’s body weight, it can be fatal.
Edible agaric mushrooms are considered very beneficial. These include milk mushrooms, saffron milk mushrooms, traps, openings, russula and many others. For their excellent taste, they have long been highly respected. The main thing during the collection is to be able to distinguish edible and poisonous mushrooms. This will help to avoid unpleasant situations associated with poisoning.
Mushroom umbrella
This is another popular edible mushroom, the shape of which resembles an umbrella, hence the name. Widespread on many continents (in Eurasia, Australia, America), it deserves special attention. In Russia, it can be found everywhere - in the Far East and Siberia, in the southern and northern regions. This mushroom grows not only in forests, fields and parks, but even in vegetable gardens.
Due to the high content of fiber, saturated fatty acids, chitin, potassium, amino acids and various vitamins, the umbrella is considered a healing mushroom. It is able to neutralize bacteria, have an antitumor effect, rejuvenate the body. It is used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cleanse blood vessels, improve blood composition, and brain activity.
In order not to confuse the umbrella mushrooms (edible and poisonous), you need to carefully look at the hat. It has a matte light brown color and dark scales (for example, they are white in the fly agaric). The plates are cream or dark beige. The skirt on the leg moves without much difficulty. Mushroom umbrella is especially useful when fresh, when all its beneficial properties are preserved.
Inedible mushrooms
There are also mushrooms that are not classified as edible, but nonetheless toxic substances are not present in them. They do not cause poisoning, but slight digestion during their use is not excluded. Often in a basket of beginning mushroom pickers you can find mustard or bile mushroom that looks like a white mushroom. It can be distinguished by pinkish pulp and an unpleasant odor.
Therefore, going to the forest, you should be aware that there are not only edible and poisonous mushrooms. There are those that are difficult to poison, but it is not recommended to eat. Similar mushrooms are very common in our area.
Types of Poisonous Mushrooms
Poisoning manifests itself in different ways. Depending on the effect on the body, all poisonous mushrooms are divided into three categories:
- Having an effect on the digestive system. Poisoning is manifested in a mild form - in the form of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Deaths make up no more than 1%. This group includes poisonous champignon, false honey agaric, poisonous entoloma.
- The clitocybe fungus, the fly agaric panther, the fly agaric red, the inotsibe striped and others affect the nervous system. In addition to nausea and vomiting, they can cause impaired consciousness, hallucinations. Recovery occurs after 1-3 days.
- The most severe poisoning is caused by the use of mushrooms that affect the liver and kidneys. The recovery period is very long, it can last from several weeks to six months, and the fatal outcome is 35%. This effect has a pale toadstool (yellow, white, green), the cobweb orange-red, lines.
