All mushroom pickers know that not all mushrooms in the forest are edible. To find them, you need to know exactly how they look, where they meet and what distinguishing features they have. We will talk about all this in our article. Photos, descriptions of edible mushrooms and their main signs you will find further.
What are they like?
Mushrooms do not belong to the plant or animal world, and form their own separate kingdom of nature. Currently, from 500 thousand to a million of their species are known. They populated all the geographical zones of the planet, reaching even the most remote cold regions.
In appearance and quality, these organisms are very diverse. They can be very useful and used in medicine, cooking or agriculture, and can only do harm. Species that have a pleasant taste and are absolutely safe to eat are called edible mushrooms. Inedible are those mushrooms that have low culinary properties, but they do not cause particular harm to health.
Really dangerous mushrooms are poisonous species. They contain toxic substances that cause disorders of the body's systems and can cause death. The most poisonous in the world is considered a pale toadstool, even a few grams of which are fatal.
Distinctive signs and names of edible mushrooms
Mushrooms are a very common food product. They are rich in proteins and other substances useful to us. However, they must be collected very carefully, otherwise an innocent dinner can end in a hospital bed.
Here are some of the most popular names for edible mushrooms:
- Porcini.
- Boletus.
- Polish or pansky mushroom.
- Ginger.
- Boletus.
- Autumn honey agaric.
- Pearl raincoat.
- Chanterelle.
- Annular cap.
- Kozlyak.
Going on a "hunt", you should carefully study the features of the fungus. Literally everything needs to be taken into account - the color and size of the cap, the shape of the legs, the type and smell of pulp, the presence or absence of fringe on his body. This information is easy to find on the Internet or in special directories, but it is better to go searching with experienced people.
For beginners in this matter, it is better to focus on tubular species (butterfish, white, boletus, etc.), among which there are very few poisonous ones. Under the cap of such mushrooms is a spongy layer, consisting of many vertical tubes or cells. In edible species, the tubular layer can be easily separated from the pulp.
Recognizing edible agaric is much more difficult. Dexterity is required here, because many of them are poisonous. The lower part of the cap of all lamellar mushrooms consists of vertical folds or plates. Of these, you can eat mushrooms, chanterelles, mushrooms, earrings, champignons, mushrooms.
Double mushrooms: edible, inedible and poisonous
There is an opinion that it is very easy to recognize poisonous species, they say, they will necessarily give out an unpleasant smell or unusual color. But not all of them look like fly agarics, so you should not trust such myths. In addition, there are a lot of edible and inedible double mushrooms, which differ from each other in only a few details.
The most dangerous pale grebe is easily confused with champignon. You can distinguish them by the plates: in the edible fungus they darken when ripe, in the poisonous mushroom they remain light. The green variety of grebe is very similar to the Russula green. Here you need to look at the presence of a ring around the leg, Volvo, various patterns and scales on the leg - all these elements are only in the toadstool.
The porcini mushroom also has two "twins" - the bile and the satanic mushroom. False species can be recognized by the dark mesh pattern on the leg, pinkish or red color of the lower part of the hat, as well as by the bitter taste (if you lick the hat). When you press the pulp of the leg, it turns pink in inedible mushrooms, and in the "right" type it remains white.
False mushrooms can be recognized by their olive color and the absence of a “skirt” from the peel on the leg. In real mushrooms, fringe is present, and the color is always brown. False chanterelle gives itself out to white juice, which is secreted when the pulp is broken. Its color is always very saturated from bright orange to reddish, and the hat is too smooth and even. A real fox has an even yellow hue, and the hat is wavy.
There are no general rules on how to distinguish an edible cap mushroom from an inedible or poisonous double. That is why it is important to know the features of each individual species that you are going to cook.
Oyster mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms are edible leaf mushrooms, the name of which is usually pronounced through the letter E. They live in groups, literally growing on top of each other. Their fruiting body is juicy and resilient. Unlike many cap mushrooms, it does not have a clear separation with the cap, but, on the contrary, flows smoothly into it, expanding upward. The oyster mushroom hat is continuous round or oval, in the center it bends strongly, raising the edges.
The top of the mushroom can reach from 5 to 30 centimeters. Color varies depending on the species. It can be gray, brown-olive, gray-violet or purple. The lamellar bottom of the hat (gimenofor) has a white color, but turns yellow or gray with age.
This genus includes oak, oyster, steppe, pulmonary, pink and other oyster mushrooms. Many of them have high nutritional value and contain vitamins (B, C, E, D2) and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron, iodine). Oyster mushrooms ordinary (bumps) are common in deciduous and mixed forests of the temperate zone. They grow on sick weakened trees and rotten stumps of oaks, birches, aspen or willows. At home, they are grown even on sawdust.
Butterflies
The edible mushroom of the oiler is known by many names: butterfish, oiler, butter butler, slippery Jack, etc. Its main name is due to the thin sticky skin on the hat, which shines and shimmers in the sun, as if it is covered with oil.
The surface of the fungus can be smooth or velvety, and can crack into small scales. The hat is usually neat and semicircular up to 15 centimeters in diameter. The color of different species ranges from ocher to brick or brown-brown. The fungus hymenophore is yellowish in color. Leg - white cylindrical up to 10 cm tall, downwards painted in reddish color.
Oil mushrooms are distributed mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, but some species are present in Australia and Africa. They do not climb into too shady places, prefer to grow on the side of the paths or among young low trees. Most often they are found in coniferous forests, but can live next to oaks or birches. They are collected from June to November, when the temperature drops below +16 degrees, they do not protrude.
Shiitake
The imperial mushroom or shiitake is widely known in China and Japan, because thousands of years ago it was served on the table to the ruler. Today it is used not only in cooking, but also used in cosmetology and medicine. Its name is translated from Japanese as growing on a chestnut (Shi tree).
The mushroom grows from 2 to 20 centimeters high with a hat from 5-20 cm. It has a thin, even leg, slightly narrowed downwards. The hat is convex and round, velvety to the touch. As the fungus grows, it can crack and become uneven. Gimenofor shiitake lamellar white, when damaged becomes brown. The color of the hat is always brown or light brown, resembles a shade of cocoa.
The mushroom grows in Southeast Asia and the Russian Far East. It lives on felled birches, oaks, chestnuts, hornbeams, mulberries and their stumps. It appears in the forests from spring to late autumn.
Boletus
Boletus or redhead is part of the same biological genus as boletus. A characteristic feature of these mushrooms is that most often they settle next to certain types of trees.
A characteristic feature of almost all boletus is a bright brick-red hat, reminiscent of autumn foliage. Only the white boletus has a light color. The mushroom cap is convex, 5–20 cm in size. The fruit body is dense and fleshy, the leg is thick, stocky, and has a club shape.
Absolutely all aspen mushrooms are edible mushrooms. They are common in mixed and deciduous forests of North America and Eurasia, sometimes grow in coniferous forests. From the name of the mushroom, we can conclude that it lives only near aspens, however, it can also be found under fir, oak, willow, hornbeam, birch, beech and poplar.
