Winter honey mushrooms: description of appearance and differences from false mushrooms. Winter honey mushrooms photo and description Winter honey mushrooms description

Winter honey fungus (Flamulina velvetypodia) is a good edible mushroom of the Flamullina genus and the Ryadovkov family.

External characteristics

Hat: the winter honey fungus initially has a hemispherical hat, after which it opens and acquires a honey or dark brown hue. The center of the cap becomes darker. If the weather is predominantly humid, the cap becomes slimy. Winter adults have dark brown spots.

Pulp: creamy, delicate color, watery with a delicate and pleasant taste and aroma.

The plates: cream-colored, adherent, not frequent, gradually darken with age. The mycelium of winter honey fungus has a white tint.

Leg: has a cylindrical shape, in the upper part the tone matches the tone of the cap, at the bottom the tone is darker. The length of the leg is from 4 to 8 centimeters, thickness – up to 0.8 centimeters. The leg has an increased level of rigidity.

Spreading

When to collect and where to grow? Winter mushrooms are found from late autumn until the onset of severe winter cold. The place of growth is stumps and fallen rotten trees. Most often found in deciduous forests. If conditions are favorable, mushrooms can grow throughout the winter. They are unpretentious to grow, they just need moist and cool air.

Similarity

During the period when snow appears, winter honey fungus is quite difficult to confuse with other varieties, since at this time nothing else grows. During late autumn, winter mushrooms can be confused with other types of tree destroyers. How to distinguish? The difference that makes the mushroom cap white is the white spore powder, as well as the presence of rings on the leg. Hummingbird spindlefoot (false honey fungus in winter) - a mushroom of questionable food quality with a red-brown cap and a red-red stalk twisted at the bottom, can be found on old oak stumps.

Calorie content

Winter honey fungus flammulin has low level: per 100 grams of product there are 22 kilocalories. Winter honey mushrooms have the following energy value: per 100 grams of product - 2 grams, 1 gram and 0.5 grams.

Beneficial features

The beneficial properties of mushrooms from the honey mushroom family are familiar to many. Winter mushrooms perfectly support the vital functions of the entire body, filling it with essential minerals and vitamins. The product in its chemical composition contains a large amount of... This product, when used correctly, can help cope with many diseases of different etymologies and even vitamin deficiency and chronic fatigue.

Regularly adding winter honey mushrooms to your diet will help reduce the likelihood of developing cancer.

For men, one of the most important reasons for using this product is its positive effect on potency.

Use in cooking

Autumn and winter honey mushrooms have very pleasant tender pulp, a light aroma and delicate taste. They are often used for pickling and pickling. They can also be boiled or fried with the addition of sauces and vegetables. Honey mushrooms are added to soups, vegetable stews, salads, and snacks. It is important to remember that before you start cooking these mushrooms, you need to completely remove the dark edges from the caps, as they will add bitterness. This is a universal product and can be added to any dish - it all depends on taste preferences.

Chefs like to add honey mushrooms to the filling of pies and meat rolls, thus giving the dish a light and interesting taste. Chefs use winter mushrooms with caution, since during the cooking period mucus forms on them, and although it does not affect taste characteristics dishes, but at the same time affects their appearance.

Benefits and treatment

It is worth noting the enormous benefits of winter mushrooms. People from northern countries This product has long been used to treat anemia, lung diseases, viral diseases, and they have also been used as an incredible natural powerful tonic. Thanks to the chemical composition rich in vitamins, the product supports the state of the immune system and the functioning of the entire body as a whole. Honey mushrooms contain polysaccharides that block the development of malignant cancer cells.

Decoctions, infusions and mushroom extracts restore blood pressure and have a positive effect on the condition circulatory system and to strengthen the heart muscle.

Harm

To date, the harm that winter mushrooms can cause to the body has not been determined. They have no poisonous counterparts in winter, since other mushrooms simply do not grow during this period of time. Yes, there are several warnings for using this product: they should not be added to children’s diets, consumed in moderation in old age, and not consumed if you have allergic reactions.

Primary processing and preparation

How to cook? The collected winter mushrooms must first be thoroughly washed and boiled (this removes all the sand and dirt from the mushroom). After the honey mushrooms have been boiled, you can begin to cook them directly. This process takes 20 minutes. They can be fried, stewed, baked. At the end of cooking, you can add some breadcrumbs to the dish. In order to preserve the product for a long period of time, after boiling the mushrooms need to be dried and placed in freezer either pickle or dry.

It is worth remembering that the marinating process must be hot. The caps need to be boiled twice in different containers, then they are placed in a jar and poured with hot marinade with spices. The jar is quickly rolled up and left for at least 3 weeks. You can also dry salt them. Boiled and dried mushrooms should be dried, placed in a jar, sprinkled thoroughly with salt, and rolled up. There are many recipes for dishes using winter mushrooms; you can also use your imagination, since the mushroom is universal and goes well with the most unpredictable foods.

In addition to culinary qualities, winter mushrooms also have healing properties. However, it must be taken into account that the mushroom pulp contains a small amount of toxins that are destroyed during cooking. Therefore, you should always start preparing winter mushrooms by boiling them in boiling water for at least 20 minutes.

Chemical composition of mushrooms and beneficial properties

The fruiting body of flammulina contains a large amount of amino acids and protein, surpassing many fruits and vegetables in this indicator. Winter mushrooms contain zinc, iodine, potassium and other trace elements. In addition, the fruiting bodies of the fungus contain antioxidants, due to which flammulina are used in cosmetology and pharmaceuticals.

The use of winter mushrooms in medicine and cosmetology

In Japan, inaketake (the name given to flammulina in Japanese) is valued for its ability to inhibit the development of tumors and neoplasms, including malignant ones. In addition, the healing properties of winter mushrooms are manifested in supporting and strengthening the immune system. They lower blood cholesterol levels and have a restorative effect on the liver. Cosmetologists use flammulina as a means to rejuvenate and nourish the skin.

Who should refrain from eating winter mushrooms?

Flammulina, like all mushrooms, is a rather difficult food to digest. It is not recommended to use them for people with diseases of the digestive system, as well as with individual intolerance. Women should not use flammulina during pregnancy and lactation.

Important! Winter mushrooms, like any other, are completely contraindicated for children under 10 years of age, since before this age the stomach does not produce the enzymes necessary to break down such food.

We must remember that despite all our beneficial features, flammulina, like other mushrooms, are capable of accumulating radionuclides, heavy metals and other harmful substances. Therefore, their collection should be carried out away from automobile and railways, outside industrial zones and contaminated areas.

How to cook winter mushrooms

Winter mushrooms are suitable for preparing many dishes. Their dense, cream-colored flesh has good taste and aroma. They make an excellent filling for pies. Inaketake, or inoki, can often be found in recipes for various Korean and Japanese salads. Flammulina is suitable for home canning, for example, for cooking mushroom caviar.

Latin name: Flammulina velutipes.

Genus: Flammulina.

Family: Ordinary, also included in the Negniuchkov family.

Synonyms: Agaricus velutipes, Collybia velutipes, Collybidium velutipes, Gymnopus velutipes, Myxocollybia velutipes.

Russian synonyms: flammulina velvety-footed, collibia velvety-footed, winter mushroom. In the West they are most often found under the Japanese name "enokitake".

Cap: rounded-convex, becomes flatter with age. The diameter is from 2 to 8 cm, but some large specimens can reach 10 and even 12 cm. The color of the cap varies from yellow or honey to orange-brown. In most cases, the edges of the cap have a lighter shade than central zone. Mucous, smooth, with a slight drying it takes on a glossy appearance. Pay attention to the caps of edible winter mushrooms by looking at the photo.

Leg: cylindrical, tubular, dense, velvety, 3-8 cm high, up to 1 cm thick. The upper part has a lighter shade (yellow), and the lower part has a darker shade (brown or red).

Flesh: thin, hard at the bottom edge of the stem and softer at the cap. White or light yellow, with a faint pleasant smell and taste.

Laminae: sparse, slightly adherent to the stem, sometimes shortened. The color of the plates in young individuals ranges from cream to yellowish-white, darkening with age.

We invite you to look at a few more photos of the winter honey fungus in the forest:

As you can see, they have a brighter color than representatives of other types of edible honey mushrooms. Knowing what winter mushrooms look like in the photo, it will be much easier for you to find them in the forest.

Edibility: conditionally edible, belongs to category 4.

Winter honey fungus benefits.

Winter honey mushrooms are a relatively new phenomenon for Russian mushroom pickers, so let’s talk about it in more detail. About 20 years ago it was not collected at all. And it never really occurred to me to go mushroom picking in January!

Now the winter honey fungus has become famous, it is grown, sold in stores, and is firmly established in books.

It is not surprising that flammulina gravitates towards anthropogenic landscapes. Where there is a person, there are weakened trees. In addition, flammulina came to us not so long ago and, moreover, from the south, from places characterized by milder winters.

And the winter temperature in the city is always several degrees higher than in the “wild forest,” which makes the winter honey mushroom very “pleasant.”

Note: flammulina is almost the only mushroom that can withstand the colossal pollution of large cities. It is practically the only one of all cap mushrooms that can grow along the sides of major highways in the city center. But collecting it in such conditions, as well as close industrial enterprises and highways are under no circumstances allowed. Any mushrooms, whether edible or not, have the ability to accumulate various harmful substances contained in the soil and atmosphere, including heavy metal ions. So collect them in the forest or on personal plot, that is, where you are quite sure of the cleanliness of the air.

Apparently, you should answer the question that may have arisen in your mind after meeting flammulina, namely: why does it need to grow at such an inopportune time?

The answer is quite simple. It is well known that any living beings (no matter animals, plants or mushrooms) are in constant competition with each other for living space and for food.

The time of fruiting of winter mushrooms is one of bright examples the result of this competition. Almost all of our forest tree fungi are spread by spores. Wind, rain, birds and insects carry them, and, once in favorable conditions (in our case, on damaged areas of bark, branches, trunks and roots), the spores germinate, giving rise to a new fungal organism. All this happens, of course, in the summer and autumn. Imagine what an incredible struggle for habitat occurs between billions of spores of hundreds of different species of fungi. What about flammulina? It has adapted to fruiting in winter, that is, at a time when it (its spores) has practically no competitors, no growing mushroom actively spreading its spores. This is the reason for the formation of the fruiting bodies of winter mushrooms, which is so strange at first glance.

Flammulina has long been a cultivated mushroom. The history of its cultivation in Eastern countries goes back more than 1000 years. Currently, flammulina ranks third in the world in terms of production among cultivated mushrooms (world production is up to 150,000 tons per year).

Studies of the composition of fruiting bodies conducted in Japan showed the content of the substance flammulin in mushrooms, which significantly delayed the growth of cancerous formations. Winter mushrooms contain substances that lower cholesterol levels in the blood and slow down the development of atherosclerosis. In this regard, in a number of countries they are used to obtain therapeutic, preventive and medicines, as well as hygiene drinks and cosmetics. In terms of protein and amino acid content (including essential ones), the winter mushroom is superior to berries, fruits and vegetables. Its amount in fruiting bodies ranges from 28–33%, and in terms of the content of minerals and microelements (phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iodine, manganese, copper, etc.), the mushroom is superior to vegetables and is comparable in composition only to milk and beef.

Thus, flammulina is a complete food product containing all the substances necessary for the growth and development of the human body.

Winter mushrooms are also used for the production of cosmetics (creams, masks and lotions containing 5–25% aqueous-alcoholic extracts from the mycelial culture). Creams and lotions are used for dry and flaky skin. The rejuvenating effect when using masks is observed already on the tenth day of the corresponding course.

According to the latest micromorphological and molecular studies, the winter mushroom is represented in the European part of Russia by four closely related species - F. velutipes, F. ononidis, F. fennae and F. rossica (the latter also grows in the Asian part of Russia). Distinguishing them without a microscope is not possible and has no practical significance for mushroom pickers or from a medicinal point of view.

Winter honey fungus has medicinal properties. Winter honey fungus (Flammulina velutipes)

Syn.: winter mushroom, flammulina velvety-footed, collibia velvety-footed, honey fungus-snowball, flammulina, enokitake, fire mushroom, enoki, jingu.

Winter honey fungus is a species winter mushrooms from the genus Flammulina, family Oryadovaceae, or Tricholomovaceae. It is a cosmopolitan mushroom, i.e. grows throughout the globe with the exception of Antarctica. Flammulin, which counteracts malignant tumors, was found in the winter fungus. In Russia it is not used for medicinal purposes.

In medicine

Winter honey fungus is not included in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation. In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese medicine, preparations and infusions from honey fungus are used in the prevention and treatment of malignant neoplasms (sarcoma, cancer, melanoma), as well as malignant diseases of the blood and lymphatic system - lymphosis, leukemia, lymphogranulomatosis.

The thing is that winter honey mushroom contains a substance that prevents the active development of sarcoma - flammulin. Hence the second name of the mushroom - flammulina velvetypodia. Also in Eastern medical practice, the mushroom, due to its medicinal properties, is used for liver diseases and gastrointestinal ulcers.

In the above medical practices flammulin mushroom also serves for the prevention and treatment of benign tumors: adenoma, fibroma, fibroids, mastopathy. In the 1990s, the first clinical data on the antitumor properties of winter honey fungus were obtained in Russia, and therefore the first biologically active food supplements with antitumor, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects appeared.

However, these supplements soon quickly faded away due to controversial opinions about their effectiveness, so in Russia the winter mushroom is currently not used for medicinal purposes.

Contraindications side effects

Contraindications to the use of flammulina and treatment with this mushroom are pregnancy, lactation, individual intolerance to the components of the mushroom, childhood up to ten years (the stomach lacks the necessary enzymes that allow mushrooms to be processed normally). Honey mushrooms are contraindicated for people who have digestive problems, have diseases of the liver and gallbladder (these organs are responsible for the production of enzymes that break down foods, so consuming honey mushrooms will lead to regular indigestion) and kidneys, gout (due to the high concentration of purine, honey mushrooms can cause deterioration health conditions).

In cooking

Popular in Japanese cuisine. It is a constant component in Korean salads, however, unlike champignons and Asian shiitakes, winter honey fungus is able to completely retain its surprisingly soft and pleasant taste in combination with a refined aroma in salads.

The soft fruiting body of the winter honey fungus makes it possible to obtain mushroom caviar from it. Flammulina is also suitable for kneading minced meat and preparing fillings. Winter mushroom goes well with meat, fish, poultry, and almost all vegetables. It is salted, pickled, dried, preserved, and mushroom powder and extracts are made. Of course, winter honey fungus is also consumed fresh.

However, there is information that the pulp of the mushroom may contain a certain amount of unstable toxins, so the winter mushroom must be properly boiled before eating.

In the cosmetic industry

Flammulin mushroom is widely used in the production of cosmetics: lotions, masks, creams. As a rule, such products contain 5-25% aqueous-alcoholic extracts from the mycelial culture. Lotions and creams made with the addition of flammulina are necessary for flaking or dry skin. According to cosmetologists and people who have tried products containing flammulina, the rejuvenating effect of masks is observed on the 10th day (if used correctly).

Video on how to cook winter mushrooms. Recipe.

Syn.: winter mushroom, flammulina velvety-footed, collibia velvety-footed, honey fungus-snowball, flammulina, enokitake, fire mushroom, enoki, jingu.

Winter honey fungus is a species of winter mushrooms from the genus Flammulina, family Ryadovaceae, or Tricholomovaceae. It is a cosmopolitan mushroom, i.e. grows throughout the globe with the exception of Antarctica. Flammulin, which counteracts malignant tumors, was found in the winter fungus. In Russia it is not used for medicinal purposes.

Ask the experts a question

In medicine

Winter honey fungus is not included in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation. In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese medicine, preparations and infusions from honey fungus are used in the prevention and treatment of malignant neoplasms (sarcoma, cancer, melanoma), as well as malignant diseases of the blood and lymphatic system - lymphosis, leukemia, lymphogranulomatosis.

The thing is that winter honey mushroom contains a substance that prevents the active development of sarcoma - flammulin. Hence the second name of the mushroom - flammulina velvetypodia. Also in Eastern medical practice, the mushroom, due to its medicinal properties, is used for liver diseases and gastrointestinal ulcers.

In the above medical practices, the flammulin mushroom also serves for the prevention and treatment of benign tumors: adenoma, fibroma, fibroids, mastopathy. In the 1990s, the first clinical data on the antitumor properties of winter honey fungus were obtained in Russia, and therefore the first biologically active food supplements with antitumor, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects appeared.

However, these supplements soon quickly faded away due to controversial opinions about their effectiveness, so in Russia the winter mushroom is currently not used for medicinal purposes.

Contraindications side effects

Contraindications to the use of flammulin and treatment with this mushroom are pregnancy, lactation, individual intolerance to the components of the mushroom, children under ten years of age (the stomach lacks the necessary enzymes that allow mushrooms to be processed normally). Honey mushrooms are contraindicated for people who have digestive problems, have diseases of the liver and gallbladder (these organs are responsible for the production of enzymes that break down foods, so consuming honey mushrooms will lead to regular indigestion) and kidneys, gout (due to the high concentration of purine, honey mushrooms can cause deterioration health conditions).

In cooking

Popular in Japanese cuisine. It is a constant component in Korean salads, however, unlike champignons and Asian shiitakes, winter honey fungus is able to completely retain its surprisingly soft and pleasant taste in combination with a refined aroma in salads.

The soft fruiting body of the winter honey fungus makes it possible to obtain mushroom caviar from it. Flammulina is also suitable for kneading minced meat and preparing fillings. Winter mushroom goes well with meat, fish, poultry, and almost all vegetables. It is salted, pickled, dried, preserved, and mushroom powder and extracts are made. Of course, winter honey fungus is also consumed fresh.

However, there is information that the pulp of the mushroom may contain a certain amount of unstable toxins, so the winter mushroom must be properly boiled before eating.

In the cosmetic industry

Flammulin mushroom is widely used in the production of cosmetics: lotions, masks, creams. As a rule, such products contain 5-25% aqueous-alcoholic extracts from the mycelial culture. Lotions and creams made with the addition of flammulina are necessary for flaking or dry skin. According to cosmetologists and people who have tried products containing flammulina, the rejuvenating effect of masks is observed on the 10th day (if used correctly).

Classification

Winter honey fungus (Lat. Flammulina velutipes) is a species of winter mushrooms from the genus Flammulina (Lat. Flammulina), family Oryadovaceae, or Tricholomataceae (Lat. Tricholomataceae).

Botanical description

The cap of the winter honey mushroom has the shape of a hemisphere and is spread out. Its color is yellow-brown or honey. In the center the cap has a darker shade. When it's humid outside, the mushroom cap is slimy. It has been noted that adult flammulins are often covered with brown spots.

The flesh of the winter mushroom cap has a watery structure, creamy color, pleasant taste and a refined mushroom aroma. Flammulina's plates are adherent, infrequent, and have a cream color, which becomes darker as the fungus matures. The spores produce a white powder.

The leg of the winter honey fungus has a cylindrical shape, the upper part of the leg has the same color as the cap and the lower part is darker. The length of the flammulina leg is from 4 to 9 cm, and the thickness is up to 8 mm. The leg of the winter honey mushroom is quite tough.

Fruits seasonally, in autumn and spring. During winter thaws, it continues to bear fruit, so it often hides under the snow at this time, for which it received another name - honey fungus-snowball. During their fruiting, winter honey mushrooms, as a rule, gather in large mushroom groups; a competent mushroom picker can see both young and old specimens there. It is worth noting that the fruiting bodies of these mushrooms are located at decent heights (sometimes above 3 meters), so it can be difficult to get them.

You can confuse winter honey fungus only with two other types of mushrooms - summer honey mushroom and edged galerina ( poisonous mushroom). In order not to confuse these mushrooms, you should know that the period of mass fruiting of winter honey fungus is completely different from the period of fruiting of the two above-mentioned species. To be safe, you should know that the galerina has a ring on its leg, but the winter honey fungus does not.

Spreading

Regions of distribution on the map of Russia.

Procurement of raw materials

The collection of winter mushrooms falls on late autumn And early spring. In flammulins, as a rule, only the upper part of the stem and cap are cut off. In more detail, the dark part of the stem of young honey mushrooms is cut off during collection; only the caps of old ones are left. They are collected in wicker baskets. In a bucket or bag, mushrooms are quickly compressed.

They should not be collected near industrial enterprises. Since the honey fungus tolerates winter frosts with a bang, without losing its taste qualities and nutritional value, it can be collected both frozen and thawed. It should be especially noted that in Russia winter honey fungus is not prepared for medicinal purposes.

Chemical composition

Chemical composition winter mushroom is characterized by a high content of carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, vitamins B1 and C, and minerals, including copper and zinc. Flammulin, which counteracts malignant neoplasms, was found in the fungus. Winter honey mushroom also contains vitamins B2, B5, B9, PP, alimentary fiber, phosphorus, potassium.

Pharmacological properties

Biochemical studies of the winter mushroom have shown that it contains a high content of antioxidants, including the classic mushroom antioxidant called ergothioneine. Another antioxidant, proflamin, showed its effectiveness in the following way: an experiment using it on muscles with cancer increased their life expectancy by 85% compared to the control group.

The antioxidant ergothioneine is characterized by a powerful stimulation of the human immune system, which, in turn, allows it to be used as a vaccine against the occurrence of tumors and other neoplasms. Long-term experiments were conducted in Japan, which showed that those who took drugs with ergothioneine, unlike the control group, did not have a single case of lymphoma or prostate cancer.

Studies also conducted in Japan have shown that winter honey fungus contains substances that fight tumors (cancer cells). Flammulina is able to suppress the growth and formation of metastases in sarcoma-180. In addition, experiments have shown that not only amino acids, but also flammulin polysaccharides have a fairly high antioxidant effect, which allows them to be used as anticancer agents.

Flammulina is not called an anti-cancer mushroom for nothing. Chinese biochemists have shown that the polysaccharides of this fungus, isolated from a mycelial culture, are natural immunomodulators that can “awaken” antitumor cells. The Chinese cite as an example a map of Japan, where the level of cancer is inversely proportional to the level of flammulin consumption in the region.

Winter honey fungus contains substances that reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and slow down the development of atherosclerosis. Therefore, in some eastern countries, medicinal, therapeutic and prophylactic preparations and cosmetics are obtained from the winter mushroom. Scientists have identified antibacterial and antiviral pharmacological properties of the winter mushroom. For example, lectin and P-D-glucan in the mushroom increase the level of antioxidant production in the body, because lectin is an immunomodulatory protein.

According to research by English doctors, the immunomodulatory properties of flammulina help balance the immune system and maintain healthy liver function.

Laboratory studies conducted in China have confirmed the ability of winter honey to have beneficial effects on degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia.

The anti-inflammatory active components of winter honey fungus contribute to human health and help reduce the risk of general malaise. The detoxifying nature of these active substances also protects against the occurrence of diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Let's return to Japan. Research conducted in the field of Japanese dietetics has shown that regular consumption of this mushroom not only prevents, but can also cure liver and stomach diseases and suppress the growth of Staphylococcus aureus.

Use in folk medicine

For serious colds or pneumonia, this mushroom is passed through a meat grinder or blender in combination with raspberry jam. The resulting mass is taken in teaspoons. Since the mushroom is known for its anti-cancer properties, for liver cancer, healers recommend taking a steam of winter honey fungus with chalk and aloe.

In Russia, the winter mushroom is not officially used for medicinal purposes, however, for example, in remote Siberian villages, healers make an alcohol tincture from it to heal lacerations and to treat perineal ruptures during childbirth in domestic small and large livestock. It is worth noting that no one has clinically proven the effect of folk treatment with winter honey mushroom, so such procedures are carried out at your own peril and risk.

Historical reference

More and more botanists agree that the winter honey fungus with its closest relatives must be “removed” from the Rowadovaceae family, placing it in the independent Physalaraceae family. If this happens, the rows will not only lose the winter mushroom, but also the autumn honey fungus, xerula, strobilurus and other species.

Winter honey fungus is a relatively new phenomenon for Russian mushroom pickers. The fact is that 15 years ago no one in Russia collected these mushrooms at all. And who would even think of going for mushrooms at the end of November or early March. Nowadays, only the deaf do not hear about this mushroom.

The flammulin mushroom is practically the only one that can withstand the simply colossal conditions of pollution in megacities. This is almost a one-of-a-kind mushroom that manages to grow along the sides of the largest city highways in the city center. But collecting it there is more expensive.

Literature

1. Vavrish P.O., Gorovoy L.F. Mushrooms in the forest and on the table. - K.: "Harvest", 1993. - P. 204. - 208 p.

2. Grunert G. Mushrooms / trans. with him. - M.: “Astrel”, “AST”, 2001. - P. 90, 91.

3. Mushrooms: Directory / Transl. from Italian F. Dvin. - M.: "Astrel", "AST", 2001. - P. 97. - 304 p.

4. Lesso T. Mushrooms, key / trans. from English L. V. Garibova, S. N. Lekomtseva. - M.: “Astrel”, “AST”, 2003. - P. 114.

5. Kirk P. M., Cannon P. F., Minter D. W., Stalpers J. A. et al. Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungi. - CAB International, 2008. - P. 401.

6. Cannon P. F., Kirk P. M. Fungal Families of the World. - CAB International, 2007. - P. 198-199, 247-248.

Among mycologists studying the properties of winter mushrooms (flammulin), there is still no consensus regarding the classification of these mushrooms. Some attribute Flammulina velutipes to the Ryadovkov family, others - to the Negniuchnikov family. Despite the fact that these fruiting bodies are assigned category 3-4, those who like to wander through the forest in winter have gotten used to collecting flammulins to dry or pickle.

The winter period is significantly underestimated by nature lovers and mushroom pickers. Most residents still consider only summer and autumn to be mushroom season. In fact, scientists have shown that winter mushrooms retain their basic properties, they can be used as food and made into medicines.

On this page you can read a description of winter mushrooms, learn about their distinctive features and beneficial properties.

Distinctive signs of winter mushrooms

The cap of the winter honey mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) is 2-8 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 10 cm, at first round-convex with edges curved down, then convex-spread. A distinctive feature of the species is its slimy, smooth, yellowish or yellowish-brown, orange-yellowish, yellowish-reddish cap.

The leg is 3-8 cm high, 4-9 mm thick, cylindrical, dense, elastic, often curved. Second distinctive feature species is the color of the leg: in the upper part it is light, yellowish or yellowish-reddish, in the lower part it is brownish and later black-brown, hairy-velvety.

The flesh at the cap is tender, soft, at the stem it is hard, yellowish, without a distinct smell or taste.

The plates are sparse, wide, wavy, weakly adherent to the stalk, later free, yellowish-white, notched-toothed.

Variability. Over time, the cap becomes flat and a brownish-yellow spot appears in the center of the cap.

As you can see in the photo, the color of the plates of winter mushrooms varies from white to reddish-yellow:

Photo gallery

The stalk is initially solid, fibrous inside, and later hollow.

Similar inedible species. The caps of penetrating gymnopilus (Gymnopilus penetrans) and hybrid gymnopilus (Gymnopilus hybridus) are similar in color and shape, differing in the plates that are adherent and descending along the stem.

Similar poisonous species. The deadly poisonous moth, or bright gymnopilus (Gymnopilus junonius), is similar in orange-red cap and shape, but are distinguished by significantly more frequent adherent plates of light yellow color. This coincidence is significant only in autumn, since they are not present in winter.

Cooking methods. Winter mushrooms are one of the most healing. They have no equal in their anti-inflammatory and antitumor effects. Therefore, in Japan and other countries they are bred and used dried or after heat treatment of no more than 80-90 degrees in order to preserve their healing properties. Only the caps are used, dried and pickled.

They are edible in the autumn and at the beginning of winter, they are of the 3rd category, and at the end of winter - of the 4th category.

Are common features winter mushrooms:

• a convex cap in young specimens and almost flat with downward-curved edges later;
• rare plates with bridges; in mature specimens they are free and not attached;
• velvety leg;
• the leg in the upper part is sometimes flattened, but always lighter than the middle and lower parts, which are brownish or even brown-black;
• period of appearance: October-November;
• collection and growth period - all winter until spring, maximum reproduction - from November to February; maximum collection - in November or October, depending on the climate, the May wave of these mushrooms occurs;
• withstand several thaws in winter, during these periods they reproduce, throwing out spores that are carried by the wind or birds;
• the color of the cap is highly variable from light yellow to bright red depending on the tree: spruce, oak, aspen, elderberry, larch, etc., the surface is also highly variable - from matte and fleecy to smooth and mucous-mirror;
• the edges of the cap have a slightly lighter, often yellowish tint;
• the flesh is yellowish, the smell is pleasant, mushroomy, the taste is soft, attractive, less sour and spicy than that of autumn honey mushrooms, and more often slightly sweetish, piquant, 3rd category in terms of edibility;
• They grow most often on the trunks of rotting trees from the base to a height of 2-3 meters, but they are also found on stumps;
• grow very widely, most often in deciduous forests, giving preference to aspen, maple, ash, elm, willow, linden, poplar, oak, less often on birch, elderberry, rowan, shrubs, but also found on coniferous trees: spruce, pine, thuya , larch; in addition, they grow in parks and gardens on fruit trees and currants, gooseberries, lilacs; They can often be found in the parks of large cities, for example, in Moscow and St. Petersburg;
• spores penetrate trees and shrubs through cracks in the bark and cuts and places of broken branches;
• grow in large groups, which is why they are classified as honey mushrooms.

Look at the photo of what winter mushrooms look like, the description of which is presented above:

Photo gallery

Just 15-20 years ago, few people collected winter mushrooms. And this applies to autumn harvest, and there were extremely rare mentions of the winter harvest in general. However, among edible mushrooms they are the most abundant in winter. Thanks to the fact that to us from South-East Asia They began to bring similar mushrooms cultivated there for a long time (these mushrooms are called flammulins), and also due to the promotion of their amazing healing properties, they are now becoming popular. In addition, they are the most delicious winter mushrooms. They can be collected in winter, even under snow, and during this period they have no poisonous doubles.

Essentially, picking mushrooms such as winter mushrooms extends the “mushroom” season throughout the year! They grow not only in forests, but get along well in city parks and even in gardens and on summer cottages. They can be seen in the parks of huge cities on trees such as poplar, aspen, willow, oak, and ash.

Pay attention to the photo - flammulin mushrooms are bright, yellowish-reddish:

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Depending on the tree, they have surprisingly bright colors, ranging from pearlescent reddish and brown.

Winter mushrooms have not yet been studied as well as autumn mushrooms. That is why it is difficult to find descriptions of their forms in Russian literature. At the same time, even in the middle zone there are at least three of these forms, since they differ greatly in color depending on the trees and places of growth.

During thaw periods in November, December, January, February and March, winter honey mushrooms can release spores and thus reproduce and expand their habitat. During the period from December to March, winter mushrooms have no poisonous counterparts, but from September to November they may have inedible and poisonous ones similar mushrooms: three species of gymnopiles (penetrating - Gymnopilus penetrans, hybrid - Gymnopilus hybridus, fiery - Gymnopilus junonius) and two types of galerines (bordered - Galerina marginata and moss - Galerina hypnorum).

All mushrooms have the ability to accumulate heavy metals. This property is widely discussed and in some cases is of key importance. Scientists from Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov carried out research on the accumulation of heavy metals - cesium - by fungi. As a result, fungi were identified that weakly accumulate heavy metals and radiocesium. This is a motley umbrella, oyster mushroom, summer and winter honey fungus, a real raincoat.

Habitat: On stumps and dead trunks of deciduous trees, as well as on living trees, especially aspen, poplars and willows, they can withstand frost.

Slightly dried winter mushrooms become harder in cold weather, but they can still be picked or cut; winter mushrooms fall into this category.

Mushrooms that are caught in the frost when they begin to grow freeze, as if in a refrigerator; they cannot be cut, but you can pick them by carefully tapping them with a ski pole or simply with a stick and moving from side to side, pick them up at the base with a knife, it is not allowed to chop them with an ax, since this damages the tree trunk.

Winter fiery honey fungus

Habitats of the fire honey fungus (Flammulina velutipes, f. fl ammans): on stumps and dead trunks of deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as on living trees, especially oak, spruce and some other deciduous trees.

The cap of the flammulina mushroom is 2-8 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 10 cm, at first round-convex with edges curved down, then flat-convex with a slight curve of the edges downwards with a smooth surface. A distinctive property of the species is the unusually beautiful and bright mucous-mirrored surface of the cap with a yellow-red, orange-red and orange-brown color in the middle. The edges of the cap may be lighter - yellowish-brown or yellow.

The leg is 3-8 cm high, 4-9 mm thick, cylindrical, dense, elastic, often curved. The second distinctive feature of the species is the color of the leg: in the upper part it is light, yellowish or yellowish-reddish, in the lower part it is brownish and later black-brown, almost black, hairy-velvety.

The flesh at the cap is tender, soft, at the stem it is hard, yellowish with a pleasant mushroom smell in young specimens. The taste of the caps is slightly sweet and piquant.

The plates are sparse, wide, wavy, weakly adherent to the stalk, with short bridges, free, yellowish-white, notched-toothed. Variability. Over time, the cap becomes flat and a darker colored spot appears in the center of the cap. After frost, the mirror-mucous surface becomes matte. The color of the plates varies from whitish to yellow. The stalk is initially solid, fibrous inside, and later hollow. Methods of preparation: use only the caps, pre-boil them, boil them, dry them, salt them, pickle them.

Winter honey fungus light yellow

Habitats of the winter light yellow honey mushroom (Flammulina velutipes, f. pallidus): on stumps and dead trunks of deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as on living trees, especially larch, spruce and some deciduous aspen trees, they can withstand frost. After frost, the mucous-mirrored surface becomes matte, but remains light.

Season: appear in October - November and then remain frozen under the snow until spring; they are able to reproduce (throw out spores) during thaws in winter.

The cap is 2-7 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 10 cm, at first round-convex with edges curved down, then flat-convex with a slight curve of the edges downwards with a smooth surface, smooth. A distinctive feature of the species is the mucous-mirrored, smooth, light yellowish surface of the cap, sometimes with a slight brown tint in the middle.

The leg is 3-8 cm high, 4-9 mm thick, cylindrical, dense, elastic, often curved. The second distinctive bending of the species is the color of the leg: in the upper part it is light, yellowish or yellowish-reddish, in the lower part it is brownish and later black-brown.

The flesh at the cap is tender, soft, at the stem it is hard, yellowish, with a pleasant mushroom smell. The taste is not as spicy and sour as that of autumn honey mushrooms, but slightly sweet and piquant.

The plates are sparse, wide, wavy, weakly adherent to the stalk, later free, yellowish-white, notched-toothed.

Variability. Over time, the cap becomes flat and a darker yellow spot appears in the center of the cap. The color of the plates varies from whitish to cream. The stalk is initially solid, fibrous inside, and later hollow.

Methods of preparation: use only the caps, pre-boil them, boil them, dry them, pickle them.

These photos show honey mushrooms growing in winter:

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Beneficial properties of winter mushrooms

Winter honey mushrooms, or flammulins, have exceptional, most powerful medicinal properties, preventing the proliferation of cancer cells, as well as reducing cholesterol levels in the blood and slowing down the development of atherosclerosis.

In any organism, cells degenerate and cancer cells form. The body produces a special enzyme - perforin, which tracks them and destroys them. After a person reaches the age of about 40 years, the efficiency of perforin production decreases and the likelihood of cancer cell formation increases. In cases where perforin is no longer produced, cancer cells begin to rapidly divide. In 1963, a high-molecular substance with an antitumor effect on Ehrlich cancer cells was isolated, which is a water-soluble polysaccharide called “flammulin” - from the name of the winter honey fungus Flammulina velutipes. Lentinan was isolated from the honey mushroom polysaccharide, which affects the production of perforin, increasing its amount many times.

As a result, a powerful impetus is given to the body’s fight against the division of cancer cells! It follows from this that taking a water or alcohol infusion of honey mushrooms just once a year maintains the production of perforin at the proper level, and this does not allow cancer cells to multiply. Honey mushrooms in any other form are also useful for the production of perforin. However, it should be borne in mind that with prolonged heat treatment, these beneficial properties decrease sharply. Therefore, the most suitable for these purposes are salted and dried honey mushrooms, which are not subjected to heat treatment, or canned and pickled with a short cooking time - no more than 5-7 minutes.

This makes clear the well-known expression from Japanese literature that if you consume 50-100 g of honey mushrooms every day, you will never have cancer.

In this case we're talking about about the use of salted honey mushrooms or dishes from dried and canned honey mushrooms with a short cooking time and without thermal exposure.

Winter mushrooms began to be intensively collected in Russia only in the last 15-20 years after their appearance on the market and in enoke mushroom stores, which have the same Latin name, but in view artificial breeding have a different appearance. Enoke, or winter mushrooms, are brought from the countries of Southeast Asia, where they are artificially grown and known for more than 1000 years. In Russia they began to be grown on Far East. There are unusually beautiful mirror-slimy, pearlescent-orange forms of winter mushrooms.

In Russia, these mushrooms are called so because they remain on tree trunks all winter until spring and have the unique ability to eject spores and thus reproduce during thaw periods. In Japan, these mushrooms are grown on sawdust, and they are famous for their healing properties. In terms of the strength of their antitumor effects, they occupy first place among all mushrooms and other agents. Creation of appropriate drugs based on them and enhanced propaganda in media mass media focused attention on these mushrooms and contributed to the creation of a wave of mushroom pickers for winter mushrooms.

Winter mushrooms on a high rotting trunk grow mainly with south side and therefore can serve as a kind of compass.

Cosmetic products are made from winter mushrooms.

Beneficial properties of winter mushrooms:

• this species has the positive property of low accumulation of heavy metals;
• according to the results of research conducted at Moscow State University, they belong to the first group of mushrooms that least accumulate harmful substances;
• Medicines and cosmetics are made from them; according to research by Japanese scientists, winter honey mushrooms, or flammulin, have exceptional, the most powerful healing properties that prevent the proliferation of cancer cells, as well as reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and slow down the development of atherosclerosis;
• in protein and amino acid content (28-33%) superior to berries, fruits and vegetables;
• the content of minerals and trace elements (phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iodine, manganese, copper) is superior to vegetables and comparable to milk and beef;
• contain all the beneficial substances necessary for the healthy development of a person at any age.

Thus, novice mushroom pickers are not recommended to collect winter mushrooms in the autumn due to the presence of similar poisonous species Galerin and Gymnopilian. Only in winter period these poisonous counterparts do not exist. This property makes the winter collection of winter mushrooms extremely safe and interesting.