Love to pick mushrooms, but don’t know too much about them? Programmers, administrators of amateur forums and sites, and simply not indifferent people are already trying to solve this problem. Today, there are many ways to identify mushrooms from the photo. Let's find out how to do this, and how safe these methods are.
Smartphone apps
A huge number of people gather mushrooms from pure excitement, but not many decide to cook their findings. This is right, because there are very few who really understand them, and you can’t expect anything pleasant from food poisoning.
The developers of programs for smartphones have decided to improve the situation and help the townsfolk in a difficult task. You can find dozens of mushroom detection apps on Google Play or the App Store. Many of them work as an ordinary directory, which contains a catalog with images and descriptions of hundreds of species of mushrooms with a list of all their features and even recipes for cooking. Others require you to upload a photo of the object of interest in order to compare it with the foundation. The most popular programs are:
- Myco - Mushroom Guide;
- "Directory of mushroom picker";
- "Mushrooms: Big Encyclopedia."
Applications based on artificial neural networks are considered truly innovative. Unlike other programs, they are able to learn, which means that it is assumed that the definition of mushrooms in this way will be better and more accurate. The first of these applications was Mushroom, but today it has a lot of imitators. All programs work online, and in order to recognize the mushroom, you must connect to the Internet, and then point the screen at it.
Thematic forums and sites
For those who do not like to use applications, there are other ways to identify mushrooms. There are many directory sites on which all the known information on poisonous, inedible and edible species is detailed, tips are given on where and during which period they can be found. It is better to familiarize yourself with them before going to the forest in order to know in advance what to pay attention to.
If mushrooms are already collected, but there are doubts about their suitability, it is always better to go to the thematic forum. The most avid "hunters" sit there, who are happy to share their knowledge and answer all questions regarding their favorite hobby.
There is also a specialized site Wikigrib, where you can download existing images of the mushroom, and commentators will write if they recognize it. For independent search for answers there is a resource Gribnikoff. In order to determine the type of fungus with its help, it is necessary to enter its key features in the provided boxes next to the questions. To do this, you will have to carefully look at your find and analyze the shape of the cap, the thickness of the legs and other important features.
Disadvantages of determining mushrooms from a photograph
Applications, special programs and directories-directories are created to help beginners better navigate mushrooms, get acquainted with their main distinguishing characteristics. But you need to be very careful with them.
Firstly, the database often does not include the entire list of known mushrooms. Some of them are simply not listed in the catalog. Secondly, the image you made may be fuzzy or have the wrong angle, which will lead to a distortion of the result. Thirdly, the definition of mushrooms in appearance is only one way of recognizing them, which does not always work. Sometimes this requires additional information, such as skin moisture, odor, or surface roughness.
What to pay attention to?
Many people have some idea of what a porcini mushroom, oyster mushroom, or oiler looks like. But in a “silent hunt, ” accurate knowledge is important, not conjecture.
When determining the fungus, it is important to consider all its features. First of all, it is important to pay attention to:
- The shape of the hats. It can be flat, spherical, convex, funnel-shaped, conical, and also symmetrical or not.
- The shape of the legs. It can be thick or thin, long or short, cylindrical, curved, narrowed or extended downward.
- Smell. A number of mushrooms have a characteristic aroma. For example, forest champignon smells like almonds or anise, butter smells like fruits, apples.
- Color of pulp, hats, legs.
- Dry or wet surface of the fungus.
- Gimenofor - the area under the hat. In edible species, it most often has the appearance of a porous sponge, and in false species it consists of plates. But it happens and vice versa, for example, in russula.
- Area of growth. Each species has its own "favorite corners", for example, certain trees, clearings, stumps. In addition, near the road or industrial zone, mushrooms will certainly absorb dirt, and it is better not to collect them in dubious places.
