Mushrooms in central Russia are countless. This conditional geographic formation includes dozens of regions, and each has its own mushroom places. The mushroom "assortment" depends on the nuances of climate, vegetation, soil, ecological situation and the degree of civilization - the more industrial enterprises and cities, the less mushroom harvests.
Edible mushrooms
The edible category includes mushrooms that do not contain any toxic substances - they can be safely used for cooking various dishes, dried, salted, pickled. Even in their raw form, they do not harm a person.
White mushroom
Description. This is the most important trophy for any mushroom picker. Delicious mushroom, which got its name for the preservation of its white color when dried. Features of the appearance of porcini mushroom (boletus):
- Hat. The color of the hat strongly depends on the growing conditions - it varies from light, almost white, to dark chocolate. The hat is at first hemispherical, then, straightening, it acquires a cushion shape. Convex and fleshy, slightly velvety. Diameter - up to 25 cm.
- Leg. Powerful, up to 20 cm in height. Thickness - up to 5 cm. Widened at the base. Color - white or light brown. At the top there is a mesh pattern. A significant part of the leg is hidden in the soil.
- Pulp. Dense, white. At the break, the color of the pulp does not change. The smell is weak, the taste is nutty.
Varieties. In the middle lane, pine and spruce boletus is practically not represented. Boletus is found here;
- Oak. Cushion-shaped, velvety to the touch, cap. The diameter of the hat is 8-25 cm. The color is variable - from coffee to ocher. Leg - 7-25 cm. Shape - cylindrical. Appears in May and grows until October. Prefers deciduous forests.
- Birch. The hat is initially cushion-shaped, then flat. Reaches 15 cm in diameter. The leg is barrel-shaped, up to 12 cm high. A smooth or wrinkled hat is painted in pale yellow or ocher shades. Grows in birch groves and mixed forests.
White oak mushroom
Birch mushroom
White mushroom can be confused with inedible bile mushroom
Where and when does it grow? Grows in all types of forests. The fruiting period is from June to October. At first, there are few boletus mushrooms, the main harvest usually falls on the second wave - in mid-July.
Mushroom flies are hungry for porcini mushroom, so the July boletus is extremely wormy.
Doubles. Inexperienced mushroom pickers can be confused with a gall fungus - at a young age it looks a bit like boletus. It is bitter and has a pinkish tubular layer, the flesh turns pink at the break - by this sign, the gall fungus can be easily distinguished from the "king of mushrooms".
Common chanterelle
Description. Common chanterelle is one of the most popular mushrooms. It is tasty, noticeable, not wormy and has abundant fruiting. External characteristics of the chanterelle:
- Hat. Yellow or orange. 4-6 cm in diameter, maximum 10 cm. Fleshy and smooth, with wavy folded edges.
- Leg. Solid, color similar to the hat. It makes one whole with her. Length 4-7 cm.
- Pulp. Elastic and dense, in color - the same as the hat, or slightly lighter. Smells slightly dry fruit. It tastes raw - spicy and sour.
Varieties. Several varieties of chanterelles grow in the forests of the middle zone, but they are not in demand among mushroom pickers:
- Tubular... With age, the hat becomes like an elongated funnel. Diameter - 1-4 cm. The pulp is elastic, with a pleasant mushroom smell. Color - light gray. The mushroom is inconspicuous and little known. Grows in damp mossy forests. Fruiting - September-early October.
- Gray. Gray wavy hat. Funnel-shaped. Diameter - 3-6 cm. There is no special taste or smell. Grows in deciduous and mixed forests. Fruiting from late July to September.
Chanterelle mushroom
Tubular chanterelle
Chanterelle mushroom
The common chanterelle can be confused with a poisonous false chanterelle
Where and when does it grow? It is found everywhere - in coniferous and mixed forests. Harvesting begins in June and lasts until September, the peak of the harvest is July.
Doubles. Sometimes confused with a false fox. To distinguish a real chanterelle from a false one is easiest in the place of growth. False mushrooms usually grow on decaying wood. They are not poisonous, they just taste bad.
Larch oil can
All boletus growing in the forests of the Central Russian region can be conditionally divided into two groups - pine and larch. The former are the majority, and the latter are 3-4 species. Almost all boletus are delicious mushrooms. Pine butterflies form mycorrhiza with pine, larch - with larch.
Description. The larch oiler has a cap, convex, like a pillow. The diameter of the hat is 3-15 cm. Its surface is bare and smooth, covered with mucus. Color - yellow-brown. There are variations - from lemon and orange shades to brown. The leg follows the color of the cap. In the upper part there is a yellow or white ring. The pulp is yellow.
If you cut a ripe butter dish, the pulp gradually turns from yellow to pink, red-brown or brown. But in young oil, the cut color does not change.
Varieties. In the middle lane, you can find another larch oiler - the clinton oiler (belted). A hat of rich brick-cherry shades, 5-15 cm in diameter. Faint smell and taste, but quite pleasant. Long stem - 5-12 cm. Fruiting from June to October in larch forests.
Where and when does it grow? Grows in larch forests. Fruiting - from mid-June to late October. Larch forests are found only in the north of the European part of Russia, and here you need to look for larch boletus. It also grows in artificial plantings - for example, in the Moscow region.
Doubles. There is no one to confuse oilers with, except perhaps with one of their fellows or with flyworms, but they are all edible, so gathering butter is one of the safest types of "quiet hunting".
Late oiler
Description. Late oiler is also called ordinary or real. This species occupies a leading place in the flavor rating among all butter oils.
Its external signs:
- The hat is red-brown. It becomes very sticky in wet weather. Diameter - 5-10 cm, at first hemispherical, then it opens, becomes flat. The skin is easily removable.
- The leg is 5-10 cm high. There is a white ring that darkens with age. The leg above the ring is yellowish, below it is brownish.
- The pulp is soft, yellowish, has a pleasant taste and smell.
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from June to mid-October. Grows in light pine forests. If the summer is hot, the boletus is extremely wormy. They grow abundantly throughout the middle zone - wherever there are suitable pine forests.
Doubles. There are no poisonous counterparts. Late butterflies are similar to some mushrooms. But since these mushrooms are edible, there is no danger in this similarity.
Real milk
Description. It is also called a wet or white milk mushroom. Appearance features:
- The hat at the milk-bearer is white-yellowish, always sprinkled with plant debris - pine needles, grass, leaves. The shape of the cap is first flat, then in the form of a funnel. Reaches 7-25 cm in diameter. Sticky and wet to the touch. The plates are frequent, white or yellowish.
- The leg is hollow, white or yellowish. In diameter - 3-9 cm. The shape is cylindrical.
- The pulp is white in color and has a firm but fragile structure. At the break, a white milky juice is released - a bitter taste. Has a strong fruity odor.
Varieties. In the forests of the European part of Russia you can also find:
- Black lump. A properly cooked mushroom is not inferior to a real milk mushroom in taste. The hat is olive or olive black. Concentric circles are visible. Diameter - 7-15 cm, maximum - 20 cm. The shape varies from flat to funnel-shaped. Fragile white flesh, darkening at the break. The leg is often hollow, 8 cm long. It grows from mid-July to late autumn in mixed and deciduous forests.
- Aspen breast. Large, off-white hat. Diameter - 10-25 cm. Round, saucer-shaped or funnel-depressed. Elastic white flesh, secreting milky juice. There is a strong fruity smell. It spreads locally in its favorite places - under aspens and poplars, with which it forms mycorrhiza. It grows from August to the end of October.
Real milk
Black lump
Aspen lump
Where and when does it grow? Grows in the Volga region, in small quantities found in all regions of the middle zone. Fruiting - July-end of September. Prefers deciduous and mixed forests. There are many mushrooms in Siberia, in the Urals, and in the Central Russian region - he is a rare guest.
In Western Europe, the lump is considered inedible, and in Russia it is the main competitor of the porcini mushroom, since ancient times it has been called the king of mushrooms. In terms of calorie content, it surpasses fatty meat! The protein content in dry matter reaches 35%.
Doubles. Can be confused with conditionally edible types of mushrooms. You can distinguish real milk from pepper, camphor, felt and golden yellow by their bitter taste.
Flywheel yellow-brown
Description. Technically, this mushroom is from the boletus genus, but according to folk taxonomy, it is considered a flywheel - because its cap is dry and velvety. Its external signs:
- Hat. It is transformed from hemispherical to semi-extended. Diameter - 7-12 cm. The color varies from clay to light brown.
- The leg is 5-10 cm high. Up to 2 cm in thickness. Dirty yellow. The flesh of the leg is firm and tough.
- The pulp is thick, pale yellow in color. The taste is unexpressed, and the smell is pleasant mushroom. Turns blue at the break.
Varieties. In the middle lane, in addition to yellow-brown, there are many varieties of mushrooms, but they are not in great demand among mushroom pickers:
- Green flywheel. The color of the hat ranges from olive brown to yellowish green. Diameter - 10 cm. Hat with loose fleshy flesh, turns blue at the break. Faint but pleasant taste and smell. It bears fruit all summer - until late autumn in all types of forests in central Russia.
- Red flywheel. The color varies from olive brown to yellow green. Diameter - up to 10 cm, height of the leg - 10 cm. It is found everywhere - in forests of any type, but in small quantities.
Mushroom flywheel yellow-brown
Green flywheel mushroom
Red flywheel mushroom
Where and when does it grow? They grow in mixed and pine forests. Form mycorrhiza with pine. Fruiting from mid-July to October. Loves acidic soils and high humidity.
Doubles. Mushrooms have no poisonous twins - a bright yellow tubular layer makes it easy to distinguish Mushrooms from other mushrooms. It can be confused with the pink-legged flyworm - a conditionally edible mushroom.
Boletus
Description. Several varieties are combined under the name "boletus", but many mushroom pickers believe that the real boletus or redhead is its popular name, this is a mushroom, which, according to the classification, is called "red boletus", here are its external signs:
- A spherical hat in youth seems to be pulled over a thick leg. As it grows, the cap opens, reaching a diameter of 5-15 cm. Color - red-orange, brick.
- The leg is up to 10 cm high. Cylindrical, white, covered with scales. Velvety to the touch.
- The flesh is white and firm. On the cut, it immediately darkens, becoming blue-black.
Varieties. There is no final clarity on the number of varieties. In the middle lane there are mushrooms, which are also considered as boletus, these are:
- Oak boletus... The hat is 5-15 cm, brick red. The shape is similar to the red boletus. The skin is velvety, extending over the brim of the hat. Cracks in dry weather. The pulp turns blue on the cut. It grows all summer, but, unlike its red counterpart, it prefers to form mycorrhiza with oak.
- Yellow-brown boletus... The hat is yellow-brown. Diameter - 10-20 cm. The leg is light, turns green-blue on the cut. No special smell or taste. It grows all summer - until October. Mycorrhiza forms more often with birch. In the forests of the Moscow region, in the Ulyanovsk, Kaliningrad regions, it can be found in large quantities, especially in the month of September.
Boletus oak
Boletus yellow-brown
Edible boletus can be easily confused with inedible false boletus
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting - from June to October. Forms mycorrhiza with pine trees. It is found in forests of various types; there are many redheads in the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions. This is one of the most common mushrooms.
Doubles. The false boletus (or bitter) has a bitter taste. It is also called a pepper mushroom - just lick the pulp to feel the difference. But it is better not to do this - you can distinguish a stranger by the pinkish pulp.
Boletus
Description. Common boletus signs:
- A hat measuring 15 cm in diameter, from light gray to dark brown. At first hemispherical, later - pillow-shaped. In wet weather, it is slimy.
- The leg is solid, cylindrical, reaching 15 cm in length, with a diameter of 3 cm. At the bottom it is slightly expanded. Covered with dark longitudinal scales.
- The pulp is white, slightly pink at the break. The smell and taste are pleasant mushroom.
Varieties. In the middle lane there are several other types of boletus, less popular and even unknown among mushroom pickers:
- White. He has a cream, pinkish or light gray cushion cap. Diameter - 3-8 cm. The flesh is white, with a weak mushroom taste. Fruiting from July to October. Occurs in damp places. It comes across often, but does not give abundant harvests.
- Multi-colored. A hat with a diameter of 7-12 cm, grayish mouse color. The pulp turns pink at the cut. Fruiting - from early summer to October. It is not often found in the Central Russian region, prefers the southern regions of Russia.
White boletus
Brown birch
Brown boletus is confused with bitter gall mushroom
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from early summer to November. Prefers deciduous forests. Forms mycorrhiza with birch. There are extremely bountiful harvests - mushroom pickers carry boletus boletus literally in buckets. There are many boletus boletus in the Moscow region, Ulyanovsk and Kaliningrad regions.
In many Western publications it is noted that only boletus caps are good for food, and the legs, they say, are tough. This is not true - the legs are very tasty and remain strong after cooking, while the caps acquire a gelatinous consistency.
Doubles. May be confused with gall fungus. In addition to its disgusting taste, it has a pinkish tubular layer and tuberous stem. The mushroom is not poisonous, but it can spoil the taste of cooked dishes.
Common mushroom
Description. Its second name is pine mushroom. Its external signs:
- Orange hat with concentric circles. The shape is round at first, then prostrate or goblet. The hat is smooth, slightly sticky in wet weather.
- The leg is thick and short - 4-7 cm. Smooth and smooth, hollow inside. Leg thickness - 1-2 cm.
- The pulp crumbles, releasing a milky juice that slowly turns green in the sun. It smells like fruit, and the flesh tastes sweet and spicy.
Varieties. Along with the common camelina, the spruce camelina is found in the forests of the Central Russian region. He has a yellow-greenish cap 6-12 cm in diameter. Concentric zones are noticeable. The taste is more delicate than that of common camelina. Dense orange pulp is fragile, at the break it first turns red, then turns green. Occurs from July to September in spruce forests and other forests.
Where and when does it grow? Distributed throughout central Russia. Does not like waterlogged soil, prefers sandy soils. It is harvested from mid-July to mid-October. Especially plentiful harvests of camelina are found in young pine forests and spruce forests.
Ryzhik is a record holder in digestibility. Therefore, salted mushrooms are not just an appetizer, but a full-fledged object of gastronomy. It is the only mushroom that tastes truly raw.
Doubles. The saffron milk cap has no poisonous counterparts. You will no longer find such a noticeable and beautiful mushroom in the forest. Inexperienced mushroom pickers confuse it with false saffron milk caps - these are mushrooms of the lactic family.
Row gray
Description. Row gray is the most popular mushroom in its family. It is often called dashed. External signs:
- The hat is open. Color - grayish, changes shades to purple. The edges are wavy. It reaches 12 cm in diameter. The shape is bell-hemispherical. The smooth surface of the cap is covered with radial fibers.
- The leg is white-gray in color and 10 cm high, rather thick - up to 2 cm wide. It develops in the depths of the litter.
- The pulp is dense, white-grayish. With a flour smell and taste.
Varieties. Along with gray rows, other edible rows can be collected in the forests of the Central Russian region:
- Violet. The color of the cap, 5-15 cm in diameter, varies from whitish to pinkish-brown. An autumn mushroom that grows in groups on forest edges - in coniferous and deciduous forests.
- Purple. The violet-lilac hat reaches 7-15 cm in diameter. Has a strong floral scent. It grows in late autumn in various types of forests.
Row gray
Violet row
Row purple
Where and when does it grow? The gray ryadovka bears fruit when other mushrooms are no longer growing. It grows until frost in coniferous and mixed forests. Produces bountiful harvests.
Doubles. It is easy to confuse with other rows, some of which are poisonous. Therefore, the collection of gray rows can only be started by those who can accurately distinguish this mushroom from other representatives of the row.
Common champignon
Description. Champignons are the most famous of the artificially grown mushrooms, but they grow naturally as well.
- The hat is white. In young mushrooms, it is spherical, later convex-prostrate with a turned-up edge. Diameter 8-10 cm, maximum 15 cm. The hat is dry and silky to the touch. Old mushrooms have brownish.
- Leg 3-10 cm long. Fibrous, smooth, white. Diameter - 1-2 cm.
- The pulp is fleshy and dense, it smells like mushrooms. On the cut it turns pink.
Varieties. In the Central Russian region, in addition to the common champignon, there are:
- Forest champignon. Hat, 5-10 cm in diameter, of an indeterminate brownish-pinkish shade. The surface of the hat is fibrous. The light flesh turns red at the break. Fruiting - August-September. Grows in coniferous forests, forming mycorrhiza with spruce.
- Champignon double... The hat is light brown, 4-8 cm in diameter. The pulp is firm and juicy, turning pink at the break. She has a mushroom smell and a sour taste.
Common champignon
Forest champignon
Champignon double
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from late May to late September. It grows in fertile, humus-rich soils. Found in meadows, pastures, orchards and orchards. Grows in groups. Widespread in the region. Selects well-lit areas.
Doubles. Can be confused with pale toadstool. It differs from the poisonous mushroom in the color of the plates - they are pinkish in the champignon. It can also be confused with yellow-skinned champignon - it is poisonous.
The mushroom picker talks about steppe mushrooms and shows how to look for them, and by what signs they can be distinguished:
Swamp russula
Description. The caps are initially spherical, with age becoming prostrate, flat, funnel-shaped or convex. The leg is cylindrical, even, often white.
Varieties. Among the countless number of russula found in the forests of the middle zone, the most popular and widespread are the following types of russula:
- Food grade. Hat with a diameter of 6-12 cm. Color - pale pink or dark red. The shape is plano-convex. Firm flesh with a nutty flavor and fruity aroma. It grows from summer to late autumn in the clearings and edges of various forests. The fungus is attractive for fishing. It grows abundantly in different forests - coniferous and mixed.
- Swamp... Diameter 7-12 cm. The color is pink-red with an orange tint. The pulp is white, tasteless, friable. Grows under coniferous trees.
- Green. The hat is light green in color, 8-15 cm in diameter. The flesh is white and thick, crumbly, with a pleasant, slightly pungent taste.
Food russula
Swamp russula
Green russula
Where and when does it grow? Russula grow in all types of forests. This is a numerous and unpretentious genus of mushrooms, found in abundance in the middle lane. They grow from June to October.
Doubles. Often confused with pale toadstools. You can distinguish russula by the absence of a ring - a "skirt", which grebes always have.
Morel real
Description. Morels are characterized by a porous mushroom body. Requires long-term heat treatment before eating. Real morel grows up to 15 cm in height. The mushroom is completely hollow. External signs:
- The hat is brown or gray-brown. The shape is rounded-spherical.
- The leg is yellowish or whitish, widened in the lower part, notched.
- The pulp is tasty, thin and brittle. Nice smell. Gourmets consider morel one of the most delicious mushrooms.
Varieties. Among the edible morels of the middle lane:
- Morel cap. This mushroom has a small cap-shaped cap. Its height is 2-5 cm. The color is first brownish and chocolate, then yellowish-buffy. Thin and light pulp with an appetizing aroma. It grows from mid-May on flooded soils among young lindens and aspens. One of the most delicious morels.
- Morel conical... Conical hat 4-8 cm high. Color - from brown to earthy. The pulp is thin, without a pronounced smell and taste. Grows in early May, prefers aspen forests. It is less common than the real morel.
Morel real
Morel cap
Morel conical
Where and when does it grow? They grow in spring - early May. They grow in parks, gardens, forests. Be sure to appear at the sites of forest fires - for 3-4 years.
Doubles. It is difficult to confuse with a false morel - they have an unpleasant smell. They smell like rotten meat. He has a slimy, dark olive-colored hat.
Dubovik
Description. Dubovik ordinary or olive-brown grows in deciduous forests. Often found in oak groves - forms mycorrhiza with oak. Similar to boletus. External signs of Dubovik:
- The hat is brown to light olive. Darkens over time to dark brown. The diameter is 6-22 cm. The form is hemisphere, it is almost open. In wet weather, slippery.
- The leg is 5-17 cm high. The color is reddish, dark orange, brown. Club-shaped. The red tubes turn blue when pressed.
- The yellow pulp turns blue on the cut. Has a rich taste and smell.
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from May to September. In the Central Russian region, it comes across only in the Leningrad region. The main places of its growth are concentrated in the Caucasus, Siberia, and the Far East. It grows on calcareous soils near oaks and birches in well-heated areas.
Doubles. None.
Oyster mushrooms
Description. These fungi grow on substrates of dead plant debris, in nature - on trees. In terms of the scale of industrial production, it is second only to champignon. Most of the popular oyster mushrooms growing in the Central Russian region have an eccentric shape - the leg is attached to the side of the cap. The leg is often rudimentary, tough and inedible - it is not eaten.
Varieties. The most popular edible oyster mushrooms:
- Oyster. This oyster mushroom is actively grown for sale. In nature, it bears fruit late - closer to October. The hat is funnel-shaped, ear-shaped. The color ranges from light gray to dark gray. The hats grow to form multi-tiered structures. The smell is pleasant, but weak. White pulp, aging, loses its softness. It grows on dead trunks and on weak, diseased trees.
- Oak. The shape of the hat is semicircular. Color - grayish white or brownish shades. Diameter - 5-10 cm grows not on oaks, but on any trees, but more often on spruces. In foreign sources, oak oyster mushrooms are classified as inedible mushrooms.
- Pulmonary. Less valuable mushroom than oyster mushroom. Appears at the end of May and bears fruit continuously until the end of September.
- Carob-shaped. The color of the hat, 3-10 cm in diameter, depends on age - it changes from white to gray-ocher. Funnel-shaped hat. The pulp is white, firm, does not smell without pronounced taste characteristics. It grows from May to September on stumps and dry deciduous trees.
Oyster mushroom
Oyster mushroom
Oyster mushroom
Oyster mushroom
Where and when does it grow? In the forests of the middle zone, oyster mushrooms of different species bear fruit simultaneously and one after another from April to November. They grow wherever there are stumps, dead wood, dead wood. Prefers poplar, willow, walnut, aspen.
Doubles. There are no poisonous analogues, only inedible ones - they can be easily recognized by their hard mushroom body, unpleasant smell and taste.
Volnushki
Description. A beautiful and noticeable mushroom that is taken for pickling. Pre-soak. External signs of waves:
- A hat with a diameter of 5-10 cm is pinkish. Concentric circles are visible on the surface, and fringes along the edge. The edges of the hat are tucked inward. Plastics are white at first, turn yellow as they grow.
- The leg is cylindrical. Length 3-6 cm. Solid at first, then hollow. Color - pale pink.
- The pulp is white or light creamy. It crumbles and has a faint smell - it smells like resin. A pungent milky juice is released on the cut.
Varieties. A white wave also grows in the middle lane. It differs from pink in the color of the hat - it is white in her youth, in old age - yellowish. Concentric zones on the cap are almost invisible. It has a pleasant sweetish scent. Grows from August to October, mainly in birch forests and marshy areas. In high seasons, it can be found in birch forests in huge quantities.
Where and when does it grow? It starts growing in mid-summer and bears fruit until October. Found in all types of forests - deciduous and mixed. Prefers to form mycorrhiza with old birches. There are many waves in the Kaliningrad region. Prefers northern latitudes, so large harvests of waves are harvested in the north of the Central Russian region.
In foreign catalogs, the wolf is recorded as an inedible mushroom, and in Russia it is very respected - if properly soaked, excellent pickles are obtained from it.
Doubles. It is impossible to confuse with other mushrooms, except with a relative - a white volnushka or a whitewash. Pink and white waves are very similar, especially if the first one fades in the sun.
Dung
Description. Dung bearers do not arouse interest among our mushroom pickers, but gourmets appreciate them for their incomparable taste. They are stewed right after cutting - so that they do not have time to deteriorate. Dung beetles are not suitable for pickles and other preparations. External signs of gray dung beetle:
- The hat at a young age has an ovoid shape, later it is bell-shaped. The surface is scaly, gray-brown in color. The hat is 3-7 cm high, 2-5 cm wide.
- The stem is 10-20 cm long. White, hollow and fibrous. There is no ring on the leg.
- The pulp is light shades, thin. The taste is unexpressed, but pleasant, almost no smell when raw.
Dungs are prone to self-digestion - if the mushroom is picked, they quickly deteriorate. The hats turn to black slime. Therefore, you need to prepare dung beetles immediately after cutting.
Varieties. The dung beetles are full of varieties - less known than the gray dung. Dung beetles are also found in the middle lane:
- White. This dung beetle tastes good, but looks unappetizing. A white hat 5-12 cm high. There is a dark tubercle in the center. Nice smell and taste. It grows from May to autumn in abundance - in gardens, vegetable gardens, dumps, garbage dumps, etc.
- Shimmering... Ripens rapidly in wet weather. It spoils quickly when cut. Boil for only 5 minutes. A hat with shiny scales. The leg is thick, white, hollow and long. It grows in the spring on rotting trees. The taste is worse than that of white.
- Romagnesi. Egg-shaped gray hat. Expanding, it becomes bell-shaped. The pulp is thin and light. Leg up to 12 cm high. Grows on roots and old wood.
White dung mushroom
Shimmering dung mushroom
Dung beetle mushroom Romagnesi
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from spring and all summer. It grows on fertile, manured soils, found on stumps of deciduous trees, in garbage dumps and in household plots.
Doubles. There are no poisonous counterparts.
Only young dung beetles can be eaten. Many sources indicate that this mushroom is not compatible with alcohol - it can cause mild poisoning.
Raincoat
Description. All raincoats are good for food only when young. As soon as the mushroom is ripe, its pulp begins to deteriorate. Mushrooms are spherical or pear-shaped, with a short false stem. The mushroom body (cap) is covered with thorn-like growths. They are popularly called dust collectors, flaps, tobacco mushrooms - for their ability to release spore powder into space.
Varieties. Edible raincoats of the Central Russian region:
- Thorny. Hemispherical mushroom body with a pseudopod. The diameter is 2-4 cm. The leg is 1-2 cm high. The mushroom body reaches 5-7 cm in height. At first, the mushroom is white, then it darkens - it becomes gray-brown. The pulp is white and firm with time it becomes yellow and flabby. Grows in forests of any type from May to late autumn.
- Pear-shaped. The shape of the mushroom body is pear-shaped. The leg is false, it can hide completely in the substrate or moss. The height of the mushroom is 2-4 cm. The color is white, with time it is dirty brown. There are thorns on the surface. The thick skin peels off like the shell of a boiled egg. It grows from July to September on the mossy remains of trees.
- Oblong head... A large mushroom, shaped like a club or a pin. Height - 7-15 cm. Color from white to brownish. Grows from July to mid-autumn in coniferous and mixed forests of central Russia.
Thorny raincoat mushroom
Pear-shaped raincoat mushroom
Mushroom elongated bighead
Where and when does it grow? They grow in the forests of central Russia. Fruiting period at the end of summer. They grow in glades, in the steppe, on the edges.
Doubles. Can be confused with a false raincoat - this mushroom has a darker skin and a purple hue of flesh. Young fly agarics also look like raincoats - until they have acquired a red cap.
Umbrella
Description. The umbrella is a mushroom from the champignon family. One of the few mushrooms that, along with porcini and mushrooms, has its own unique taste. All umbrellas have a domed hat and a slender stem. Hat diameter - 35-45 cm. Long legs - up to 40 cm. The surface of the caps is dry, scaly. Some varieties are considered gourmet.
Varieties. Edible umbrellas found in the middle lane:
- Motley. The hat is large - 15-30 cm in diameter, maximum - up to 40 cm. At first the hat is ovoid, then it becomes flat-convex, prostrate, in the middle there is a tubercle. Thick and loose flesh. Nice taste and smell. Leg - up to 30 cm. Leg - hard, brown, thickened at the base. It grows in July-October. It grows everywhere - in forests, fields, along roads, in gardens, etc.
- White... It is also called field or meadow. Diameter 6-12 cm. The edge of the whitish or creamy cap is trimmed with flaky fibers. The leg is long, hollow, sometimes curved. The taste of the white umbrella is slightly tart. It grows from May to frost everywhere. He especially loves humus soils.
- Blushing. Fleshy hat 10-20 cm. The hat is beige, brown towards the center.
Mushroom umbrella motley
Mushroom umbrella white
Mushroom umbrella blushing
Where and when does it grow? They grow from June to November. The exact time of fruiting depends on the type of umbrella. Most mushroom pickers are undeservedly ignored.
Doubles. Confused with poisonous counterparts. It looks like lead-slag chlorophyllum and a smelly fly agaric.
Summer mushrooms
Description. Summer mushroom is a mushroom that is good for cooking; it is not suitable for harvesting. External signs:
- The hat is yellow-brown in color with a diameter of 2-8 cm. In the center - lighter. At first, the hat is convex, with a tubercle in the center. Then - plano-convex. It becomes sticky in wet weather. The hat changes color if the weather changes - in rain it is brownish and translucent, on a sunny day it is matte, honey-colored.
- The leg is 3-8 cm long. The thickness is 0.5 cm. Cylindrical, harsh, can be curved. Color - brown, there is a brown filmy ring.
- The pulp is thin, light brown in color. Nice taste and smell.
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from June to October. The peak harvest is July-August. It settles on rotting trunks, stumps and dead woods. Prefers birch. Occasionally grows on coniferous trees. The yields are extremely abundant.
Doubles. Summer mushrooms have many twins, but the most dangerous of them is a sulfur-yellow mushroom. False honey is distinguished by its bright yellow color and lack of scales. It can also be confused with a bordered gallery - it grows only on the stumps of coniferous trees. Therefore, when collecting summer mushrooms, you need to bypass the stumps of coniferous trees, and not collect summer mushrooms in coniferous forests.
Autumn mushrooms
Description. This is the most productive mushroom of honey agarics. There are such harvests of autumn mushrooms that their collection is more like harvesting. This small fungus is used in cooking and for preparations - it is dried and frozen. Its external data:
- A hat with a diameter of 5-10 cm is gray-yellow or yellow-brown. At first it is spherical, becomes plano-convex with age. There is a tubercle in the center. The surface is covered with brown scales.
- The leg is 6-12 cm long. The diameter is 0.5-2 cm. At the bottom there is a tuberous thickening. In the upper part there is a white ring.
- The flesh is white, firm and fragile. The smell is pleasant, the taste is sour.
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting begins in late summer and lasts until frost. It grows in waves - in periods of 15 days. There are 1-2 especially heavy waves per season. The fungus forms huge colonies with densely grown mushrooms. It grows on any trees - dead and living, coniferous and deciduous.
Doubles. It can be confused with fleecy scaly - it has increased scaly, tastes bitter, and it smells like radish.
Inedible mushrooms
On the European part of Russia, about 150 species of poisonous mushrooms grow - this is about 3% of all varieties. There are mushrooms, the use of which can end tragically, up to death. Before going on a "quiet hunt", you should study the signs of poisonous mushrooms, by which they can be distinguished from edible species.
Death cap
Description. The most poisonous mushroom in the world. Its danger lies in its great similarity with some edible lamellar mushrooms. In youth, a toadstool looks like an egg wrapped in a film. You can distinguish a pale toadstool by the following features:
- The hat is hemispheric or flat. Color - olive with gray or greenish tints. The surface is fibrous, the edges are smooth. The size of the hat is 5-15 cm.
- The leg with a moiré pattern has a cylindrical shape. The leg is thickened in the lower part. The color is the same as the cap or lighter. Thickness - 2.5 cm, height - up to 15 cm. There is a film ring on the leg - on it you need to distinguish toadstool from edible lamellar mushrooms.
- The pulp is white. Almost odorless and tasteless. Only old toadstools emit an unpleasant sweetish aroma.
Where and when does it grow? Grows in mixed and deciduous forests. He loves fertile soils, settles near beech, oak, hazel - forms a fungus root with them. This mushroom can grow abundantly in some forests, in others - very close, not found at all. Fruiting in a toadstool is especially abundant from late August to late autumn.
Who can be confused with? Most often, toadstool is confused with russula, champignons, greenfinches. She especially looks like a green russula. It is necessary to distinguish a poisonous mushroom by the egg-shaped thickening at the bottom of the leg and by the "skirt" on the leg.
Honey honeydew
Description. This mushroom grows on stumps, near them, as well as on rotting wood. After 1-6 hours after use, signs of poisoning occur - from vomiting to loss of consciousness. External signs of sulfur-yellow honeydew:
- A hat with a diameter of 2-7 cm, first bell-shaped, then prostrate. The color is yellowish, yellow-brown, sulfur-yellow. At the edges, the cap is lighter, and in the center there is a tubercle.
- The leg is up to 10 cm long, 0.3-0.5 cm thick. Smooth, with a fibrous structure, hollow inside. Color - light yellow.
- The flesh is whitish or yellowish, bitter, smells bad.
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting from late May to late autumn. Grows on coniferous stumps. Grows in large groups.
Who can be confused with? Looks like edible mushrooms. The sulfur-yellow honey agaric is easily identified by the greenish plates.
Amanita porphyry
Description. The second name of the mushroom is gray fly agaric. You can identify this poisonous mushroom by an unpleasant smell and taste, as well as by external signs:
- The cap is gray-brownish, up to 8 cm in diameter; as the fungus grows, it changes shape from convex to outstretched. Later, the cap becomes brown-gray, with a purple tint. Thin white plates.
- Leg up to 10 cm in height, thickness - 1 cm. Often thickened at the base. There is a white or gray ring.
- The white pulp has a pungent and unpleasant odor.
Where and when does it grow? Grows in coniferous forests, found mainly in pine forests. It grows alone, does not form groups. The fruiting period is July-October. Habitat - from Kaliningrad to the Far East. Occurs in central Russia on acidic soils in moist coniferous forests.
Who can be confused with? If the gray fly agaric has an open hat, inexperienced mushroom pickers may mistake it for a russula. You can distinguish a poisonous mushroom by the ring on the leg - white or gray.
Amanita muscaria
Description. Poisonous psychotropic mushroom. The brightest in any forest. It is easy to recognize him by his striking appearance:
- The red hat reaches 20 cm in diameter. The shape changes from spherical to plano-convex. The top of the hat is dotted with white or yellow warty growths. The color ranges from orange to bright red. Often the flakes on the cap are washed off by rain from old mushrooms.
- Leg up to 20 cm high. At first dense, becomes hollow with age. White color. There is a white ring on the leg.
- The pulp is white, yellowish under the skin. There is no smell.
Where and when does it grow? It grows in forests of any type, but is most often found in birch forests. It grows alone and in groups from June to frost.
The symptoms of fly agaric poisoning appear very quickly - 20-120 minutes after the fungus enters the body.
Who can be confused with? It is difficult to confuse an adult mushroom with someone else. Unless the hat fades and the growths are washed off by the rain - then inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse it with a russula. But young fly agarics, which have light ball-shaped hats, can be confused with champignon.
Webcap
Description. Cobwebs are numerous in their genus of about 400 species. They look very much like toadstools. Many have an unpleasant smell. Among the inedible species, the most beautiful webcap is deadly:
- The cap is reddish-orange or reddish-orange with a diameter of 3-8 cm. The shape is conical or prostrate-conical, there is a tubercle in the center. The surface of the cap is covered with small scales.
- The leg is cylindrical, 5-12 cm long. Thickness - 0.5-1 cm. Color - orange-brown.
- The pulp is orange-ocher color. No taste. There may be a radish smell.
Where and when does it grow? Grows in moist coniferous forests. Prefers to grow on mosses and swampy soil.
Who can be confused with? It looks like edible spiderwebs - only mushroom pickers who thoroughly understand their varieties can pick these mushrooms.
Piggy
Description. The slender pig has been transferred from conditionally edible to the category of poisonous since 1981. However, many mushroom pickers still collect thin pigs and, treating them in a special way, eat them, repeatedly boiling them in water. Experts strongly advise against eating any pigs.
External signs of pigs:
- The hat is large, depressed in the center. The shape is wrong. Maximum diameter - 15 cm. Color - olive-brown, in old age - rusty. The hat is dry and velvety to the touch, covered with the smallest scales.
- The leg is short - up to 9 cm, and thick. Dense, cylindrical.
- The pulp is thick, yellow in color. There is no particular smell. The taste is bitter. Turns brown on the cut.
Where and when does it grow? Fruiting - from June to October. Prefers young birch forests, oak forests and shrubs. It grows near ravines, swamps, meadows, near mossy coniferous trunks, and also likes to settle on upturned roots.
Who can be confused with? It is often confused with milk mushrooms and russula. A fat pig is also often confused with a thin pig, which belongs to conditionally edible mushrooms. There is no single opinion on the edibility of fat pigs. But experts do not advise eating it - it accumulates muscarine - a poison that does not break down even during heat treatment.
Mushroom places
The middle zone of Russia is a broad concept, not formalized. This is a conventional term, not geographic, to which different sources refer to different areas and locations. The middle lane includes most of the regions of the European part of Russia - Moscow, Ryazan, Tver, Leningrad, Tula, Lipetsk and others. The middle strip stretches from the border with Belarus to the Volga region, from Karelia to the Caucasus.
Considering the scale of the territory called the middle zone of Russia or the Central Russian region, one can talk endlessly about its mushroom places. There are detailed mushroom maps for each area, which should be carefully studied before setting out on a "quiet hunt." Wherever you go - to Kaliningrad or Ryazan, there are mushroom spots everywhere.
Here are just a few examples:
- Karelia and the Leningrad region - have always been famous for high mushroom yields. It is full of boletus, aspen, mushrooms, honey agarics, saffron milk caps and other mushrooms. There is even such a thing as "mushroom tourism". People come to the Kaliningrad region from other regions of Russia specially for mushrooms. Famous for mushrooms are the Neman Lowland, the Krasnoznamensky and Nesterovsky timber industry enterprises.
- Ulyanovsk region. Here the Inzensky region is famous for its mushrooms, or rather the Pazukhinsky forest, in which there is an abundance of boletus, mushrooms, butter mushrooms, honey agarics, mushrooms, boletus, chanterelles, aspen mushrooms.
- Moscow region. Here they go for mushrooms to Odintsovsky and Taldomsky districts, in the direction of Zvenigorod. There are chanterelles, porcini and other noble mushrooms. And they come to Sergiev Posad district for spring mushrooms.
- Bryansk region. It is recommended to go mushrooming in the forests near the villages of Domashovo and Kokino. There are many mushrooms in Navlinsky, Suzemsky and Zhukovsky districts.
- Smolensk region. Long-term observations allow experienced mushroom pickers to name the most mushroom regions of the region, there are five of them - Monastyrshchinsky, Krasninsky, Velizhsky, Demidovsky, Dukhovshchinsky. There are a lot of honey agarics, chanterelles, noble mushrooms.
- Saratov region. Here Engels, Baltaysky, Saratov, Petrovsky, Tatishchevsky and some others are famous for mushrooms. Here milk mushrooms, aspen mushrooms, boletus boletus, boletus, chanterelles, mushrooms, boletuses grow in abundance.
- Vladimir region. There is also a splendid assortment of mushrooms - from boletus to boletus. Mushroom regions - Yuryev-Polsky, Muromsky, Gorokhovetsky, Vyaznikovsky, Suzdalsky.
The richest in mushrooms in the Central Russian region are Moscow, Kursk, Voronezh, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver, Ryazan and Kaliningrad regions.
In every region of the Central Russian region there are forests and copses where you can "hunt" for boletus, honey agarics, chanterelles and other delicious mushrooms.
Mushroom calendar
For mushrooms in the Central Russian region, you can go already in late April or early May, as soon as the first spring mushrooms appear - morels and lines. But most mushroom pickers do not go to the forest until June. Seasonality of growth of mushrooms by month - in table 1.
Table 1
Month | What's growing? |
June | Butterlets are in the pine forests, and boletus in birch groves. From the second half of June, white podgruzda begins to grow, which are collected until late autumn. |
July | In early July, mushrooms begin to grow, and by the second decade, porcini mushrooms and russules grow, which grow in any forests until frost. Since the second half of July, milk mushrooms and black podgruzdki, pigs and chanterelles are found. |
August | Boletus, milk mushrooms, mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, russula, boletus and other mushrooms grow actively. The first mushrooms appear at the beginning of August, and in the middle - whites and waves. |
September | The growth of summer mushrooms continues. In the second half of September, many mushrooms stop growing, but honey agarics, whites, whites, pigs, boletus and white pods are abundant. |
October | End of the mushroom season. As soon as the temperature drops to 4-5 degrees, you can hide the baskets. The last mushrooms that are hunted in October are honey agarics, and mushrooms, whitewaters and whites can also survive under the foliage. |
The middle zone of Russia has long been famous for its mushroom traditions - local residents know a lot about mushrooms and their harvesting. If you want to join the countless army of mushroom pickers, observe the main safety rule - never put unfamiliar and dubious mushrooms in the basket.
Author of the publication
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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