20.06.2020

We learn to distinguish between edible mushrooms and inedible counterparts. Mushroom doubles - dangerous gifts of the forest Edible white mushroom and dangerous double

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Because poisonous mushrooms are often similar to edible ones, they can be confused. In some mushrooms the similarity is superficial, while in others it is so similar that even an experienced mushroom picker can mistake such a mushroom for edible.

White mushroom (boletus)

By appearance The porcini mushroom is similar to the inedible gall mushroom (Fig.).

Rice. Gall mushroom

boletus

The boletus can be confused with the inedible gall mushroom.

Distinctive features of porcini mushroom, boletus and gall mushroom

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	White mushroom	boletus	gall mushroom
	light brown, gray-brown, yellow-brown, dark brown	white, grayish, yellowish, brown brown, almost black	brown or brownish
		white, does not change color when broken	white, turning pink at the break, with a bitter taste
Tubular layer	white, then yellowish, greenish	whitish, then gray-brownish	white, then dirty pink
	white, covered with white mesh pattern	white, covered with dark brown scales	creamy, covered with a dark brown mesh pattern

Dubovik

Dubovik's counterpart is the poisonous satanic mushroom.

Autumn honey fungus

Most good taste Mushrooms grown on birch or oak trees and stumps have it, while the rest have lower taste characteristics.

The autumn honey fungus is similar in appearance to the summer honey fungus, the winter honey fungus, as well as the sulphur-yellow honey fungus and the poisonous sulfur-yellow honey fungus.

Summer honey fungus

Belongs to edible mushrooms, category IV. Only caps are consumed in boiled, fried, salted and pickled form.

Distinctive features of the oak mushroom and the satanic mushroom

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	dubovik	satanic mushroom
	olive-brown, yellowish-brown, grayish-brown, dark brown	whitish, greenish-yellowish or grayish-yellowish, sometimes with pinkish or rusty spots closer to the edges of the cap
	lemon yellow, turns blue when broken, then gradually becomes dirty yellow, odorless and tasteless	white, slightly yellowish or pinkish, at the break it first turns red, then turns blue, but gradually acquires its original color, with an unpleasant odor and bitter taste
Tubular layer	first greenish-yellowish, then bright red or brownish-red, turns blue when touched	first light yellow, then orange or red tint
	yellow, covered with pink-brown mesh or reddish dots	yellowish, covered with pinkish spots and rounded loops of a mesh pattern

Distinctive features of autumn honey fungus, summer honey fungus, winter honey fungus, sulphurous honey fungus and sulfur-yellow honey fungus

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	autumn honey fungus	summer honey fungus	winter honey fungus	Seroplate honey fungus	sulfur-yellow honey fungus
	gray or yellow-brown	yellow-brown or reddish-brown	honey yellow	ocher yellow	greenish-yellow, yellow-brown or sulfur-yellow
		brownish, with a pleasant smell and taste	light yellow or creamy, with a pleasant smell and taste	whitish, with a bitter taste	light yellow or yellow, with an unpleasant odor and bitter taste
Records	white, then light yellow with rusty spots	whitish, then rusty brown	light yellow or cream, then darker	pale yellow, then lilac-gray and purple-violet	yellow, then greenish and olive-black
	light brown above, dark brown below	brown, darker below	yellowish above, dark brown below	reddish-yellow above, darker below	light yellow above, yellow-brown below

Distinctive features of valuuy and false valuuy

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	value	false value
	ocher-yellow or brown-yellow, spherical, then flattened, slightly concave in the center	white or dirty yellowish, convex, then prostrate, sometimes with a small bump in the middle
	white, then yellowish, with a bitter taste	whitish, with a rare odor and a very bitter taste
Records	first white, then rusty-yellow, with brownish spots, attached to the stem	whitish, then yellowish or grayish-yellowish, slightly attached to the stem or free
	white or brownish, straight or thickened in the middle	white or dirty yellowish, slightly thickened at the bottom, covered with brownish scales

Serushka

Serushka can be confused with the faded milkweed and the smooth one.

Gladysh (common milkweed)

To remove the bitter milky juice, the mushrooms should be soaked and then poured with boiling water so that the flesh becomes elastic (Fig.).

Rice. Gladysh

Green russula

Green russula is similar in appearance to greenish russula and, which is very dangerous, to the deadly poisonous toadstool (green form).

Distinctive features of the white moth, white milkweed and smooth moth


		faded milkweed
	convex, then funnel-shaped, grayish-violet, with dark concentric rings	flat-convex, then funnel-shaped, gray-brown or lilac-gray	flat, with a small pit in the middle, violet-gray, yellowish-gray or reddish-gray, with or without concentric rings
Records	descending, rare, pale yellow	descending, frequent, white or yellowish-cream, turning gray when touched	descending or attached to the stalk, sparse, thin, yellowish or pink-cream
		white or grayish	white or cream
milky juice	white or watery, does not change in air	white, turns gray in air	white, outdoor becomes yellowish
	light gray, dense in a young mushroom, hollow in a mature one	slightly paler than the cap, hollow	same color as the cap, hollow

Russula yellow

The counterpart of yellow russula is the poisonous fly agaric.

Russula golden-red

Golden-red russula can be confused with the poisonous red fly agaric

Distinctive features of green russula, greenish russula and pale toadstool (green form)

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	green russula	greenish russula	pale grebe (green form)
	convex, then prostrate, bluish-green, lighter along the edges, with cream and stripes	flat-convex, curved-wavy, rough, gray-greenish, lighter edges	bell-shaped, then flat-convex, light or olive green, darker in the middle, silky
	white, thick, fragile	white, thick, strong	white, thin
Records	adherent to the stem, white or cream	attached to the stem or free, white or yellowish	loose, white
		membranous ring, tuberous thickening and absent vagina	in the upper part there is a membranous ring, at the base there is a tuberous thickening surrounded by a sac-like vagina

Distinctive features of yellow russula and toadstool mushroom

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	yellow russula	fly agaric
	hemispherical, then flat or funnel-shaped, bright yellow, smooth	flat-convex, with a small depression in the center, white, then yellowish-greenish, with large white flakes on the surface
Records	adherent to the stem, white, then light yellow	adherent to the stem, white, sometimes with a yellowish edge
	smooth, white, then yellowish or grayish, without membranous ring, tuberous swelling and vagina	white, with a white or yellowish membranous ring, a tuberous thickening at the base, enclosed in the vagina

Distinctive signs of golden-red russula and red fly agaric

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	golden-red russula	fly agaric red
	convex, then prostrate, orange-yellow or orange-red, with yellow spots	spherical, then flat-convex, bright red or orange-red in color, covered with numerous white or yellowish warts
Records	adherent to the stem, infrequent, light yellow	loose, frequent, first white, then yellowish
	pale yellow or yellow, smooth or slightly thickened towards the base, dense, without a ring, tuberous thickening or vagina	white, dense, then hollow, with a membranous ring, a tuberous thickening at the base, enclosed in the vagina

Distinctive features of the May mushroom, entoloma corymboses and poisonous entoloma

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	May mushroom	entoloma thyroid	poisonous entoloma
	creamy, yellowish or off-white	light gray or brown-gray	white, then yellowish, gray-brown in old mushrooms
	white, with a pleasant taste and floury smell	white, slightly watery, with a pleasant taste and floury smell	white, brownish under the skin, young mushrooms have a floury odor, old mushrooms have an unpleasant odor
Records	frequent, white or cream	sparse, wide, white, then pinkish	sparse, wide, whitish, then pinkish-yellow
	whitish, yellowish or creamy, slightly thickened towards the base	white, smooth, straight or curved, covered with longitudinal scars	white, slightly thickened at the base, silky, without scars

May mushroom (May talker, T-shirt, St. George mushroom)

The May mushroom is similar in appearance to the corymbose entoloma and the dangerous poisonous entoloma.

Entoloma corymboses, or Entoloma garden

Grows in deciduous forests, in meadows, forests, often in large groups, from late May to September.

The cap is up to 10 cm in diameter, light gray or brown-gray, bell-shaped in young mushrooms, then becomes prostrate, with a thick tubercle in the middle, the edges of the cap are curved, cracked (Fig. a).

The plates adhere to the stem, are sparse, wide, at first white, acquiring a pinkish tint with age. The pulp is white, slightly watery, thick, dense, with a pleasant taste and floury smell. Spore powder pale brown.

The stem of the mushroom is up to 10 cm long, up to 2 cm thick, white, smooth, straight or slightly curved, fibrous, hollow, covered with longitudinal scars.

Edible mushroom, category IV. It is consumed boiled, fried and pickled, and does not require pre-boiling. The corymbose entoloma is similar in appearance to the dangerous poisonous entoloma (Fig. b) and the May mushroom (Fig. c).

Greenfinch, or green row

Greenfinches are rarely wormy.

The mushroom is similar to the mildly poisonous sulfur-yellow rower.

Distinctive features of greenfinch and sulfur-yellow row

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	greenfinch	sulfur-yellow row
	greenish-yellow, darker in the center, brownish-green	bright sulfur yellow, darker in the center, lighter at the edges, without a green tint
	almost white, then pale yellow, tasteless, with a pleasant floury smell	yellow or greenish-yellow, with an unpleasant odor and bitter taste
Records	greenish-yellow, frequent	sulfur-yellow or greenish-yellow, rare
	greenish-yellow, almost entirely hidden in the ground, covered with small scales	sulfur-yellow, covered with small brown spines

Row earthy gray

The earthy-gray rower in appearance resembles the dangerous rower, pointed and poisonous rower.

Gray-pink fly agaric, or pink fly agaric, blushing fly agaric

You can use gray-pink fly agaric for food only if you are completely confident in its correct identification, since this mushroom can be confused with the very poisonous panther fly agaric.

Distinctive features of earthy-gray rowing, pointed rowing and poisonous rowing

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	earthy gray row	pointed row	poisonous row
	mouse-gray, covered with dark gray scales	gray or brownish-gray	off-white or brown-gray with a bluish tint, covered with gray-brown scales
	white, then greyish, with a pleasant smell and pungent taste	light gray, then almost white, with a pleasant floury smell and bitter taste	whitish, slightly grayish under the skin, tasteless, with a pleasant floury odor
Records	light gray, darkens with age	white or light gray	off-white with a greenish or yellowish tint
	white or light gray	white or light gray	white above, brownish below

Porchowka blackening

In appearance, the blackened puffball, just like the lead-gray puffball, looks like an inedible false puffball.

Float white

The white float's counterpart is the poisonous fly agaric. Also in appearance the white float resembles edible umbrella mushroom white and conditionally edible volvariella beautiful.

Distinctive features of the gray-pink fly agaric and panther fly agaric

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	fly agaric gray-pink	panther fly agaric
hat	dirty reddish or gray-pink, with dirty gray flakes on the surface	gray-brown, dark olive-brown, olive-gray, with numerous white warts
Pulp	white, turns red when broken, tasteless and odorless	white, with an unpleasant odor, the color does not change when broken
Records	white at first, with a reddish tint in mature mushrooms	white
Leg	white, then reddish-brown, striped white ring, reddish in mature mushrooms	white or brownish, ring striped white, quickly disappearing

Distinctive features of the blackened fluffwing, the lead-gray fluffwing and the common puffball

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	blackening fluff	lead-gray flutter	false raincoat
Shell	external - white, thin, disappearing; inner - first white, then black or brown, thin	external - white, thin, disappearing; internal - lead-gray, thin	dirty yellow or light brown, rough, thick, smooth, scaly or warty
	white, then yellow, later purple-brown, tasteless and odorless	white, then brown, tasteless and odorless	yellowish, then violet-black with white veins, gray-olive, with an unpleasant odor

White umbrella mushroom

The white umbrella mushroom grows in forest clearings, meadows and pastures, along roads, in parks, singly or in small groups, and is found from mid-July to October.

The cap reaches 10 cm in diameter, in young mushrooms it is rounded, with age it becomes umbrella-shaped, white, slightly brownish in the center, with a cracking surface covered with small angular scales and a ribbed edge. The plates are loose, infrequent, white. The pulp is soft, loose, white, with a pleasant smell and taste. The spores are white.

The stem of the mushroom is up to 10 cm long, up to 1 cm thick, slightly thickened downwards, white, under the cap on the stem there is a white membranous movable ring.

The mushroom is edible and belongs to category IV. Only the caps of young mushrooms, boiled, fried and dried, are suitable for consumption.

In appearance, the white umbrella mushroom is similar to the poisonous stinking fly agaric (fig.).

Rice. White umbrella mushroom

Volvariella is beautiful

Volvariella beautiful can be confused with the poisonous fly agaric.

Orchard or cherry

The mushroom is rare in deciduous forests, in forest clearings, sometimes in gardens and orchards, in meadows, alone or in small groups, from July to September.

The cap reaches 10 cm in diameter, irregular shape, at first convex, with age it becomes funnel-shaped and depressed, sometimes with a small tubercle in the middle, the edges of the cap are wavy. The surface of the cap is white or creamy, becoming gray with age. The plates descend along the stalk, frequent, white in young mushrooms, yellowish-pink in mature ones. The pulp is dense, white, with a mealy odor and pleasant taste. Spore powder is light pink in color (Fig.).

Rice. pendant

The stalk of the hanging tree is short, up to 6 cm long, up to 1.5 cm thick, narrowed towards the base, smooth, sometimes mealy, white.

Cherry blossom is edible and belongs to category IV. Can be eaten boiled and fried.

The twin of the hanging tree is the poisonous waxy talker, very similar to it in appearance.

Distinctive features of the white float, white umbrella mushroom, beautiful volvariella and stinking fly agaric

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	float white	white umbrella mushroom	Volvariella is beautiful	fly agaric smelly
	white, covered with white flakes that then disappear	white, slightly brownish in the center, covered with scales	white with dark gray center
	white, odorless, with a pleasant taste	white, with a pleasant smell and taste	white, tasteless and odorless	white, with an unpleasant odor
Records			white, then pinkish
		white, with white movable ring	white, widened base enclosed in the vagina	white, with a thin white ring, widened base enclosed in the vagina

Lepiota corypus

The mushroom is found in mixed and coniferous forests from July to October, in groups, sometimes forming witches' rings on the ground.

The cap is up to 8 cm in diameter, bell-shaped in young mushrooms, then becomes flattened, with a small dark tubercle in the center, white, yellowish-brown in mature mushrooms. The surface of the cap is covered with scales arranged in concentric circles; the color of the scales changes with age from white to reddish-yellow and brown. The edges of the cap are covered with small flakes. The plates are loose, frequent, white or yellowish. The pulp is thin, dense, white, has a pleasant smell and taste. Spore powder is pale yellow in color.

The leg of Lepiota scute is up to 6 cm in length, up to 1.5 cm in thickness, cylindrical, slightly widened towards the base, hollow. On the stem under the cap there is a flake-like ring, the same color as the surface of the cap. The leg up to the ring is smooth, whitish, below the ring it is covered with yellowish scales.

In appearance, Lepiota scutella resembles the inedible Lepiota comb (Fig.).

Rice. Lepiota corypus

Distinctive features of the pendant and the waxy govorovushka

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	hanging	waxy talker
	white, later with a gray tint, funnel-shaped, depressed, with wavy edges	white, with watery round spots, prostrate, slightly concave, with wavy downy edges
	dense, white, with a powdery odor and pleasant taste	dense, white, with a pleasant smell and taste
Records	descending along the stalk, frequent, white, then yellowish-pink	Plates descending along the stem, frequent, white or with a grayish tint
	white, tapered at the base, smooth or powdery	white, with a yellowish or grayish tint, thickened towards the base, smooth, pubescent below

Lepiota crest

The mushroom grows from late June to October in mixed and coniferous forests, on forest edges, clearings, meadows, and sometimes in vegetable gardens.

The cap of Lepiota combata is small, up to 5 cm in diameter, in young mushrooms it is bell-shaped, with age it becomes flat-convex, with a small reddish tubercle in the middle, whitish, with concentrically located brownish scales. The plates are free, frequent, and white. The pulp is thin, white, turns red when broken, has a sharp rare odor and an unpleasant taste. Spore powder is yellowish in color.

The stem of the mushroom is up to 8 cm long, up to 1.5 cm thick, smooth, slightly thickened towards the base, yellowish or yellowish-reddish. On the stem under the cap there is a narrow white or slightly reddish ring, which disappears when ripe.

The mushroom is inedible, according to some sources, poisonous (Fig.).

Rice. Lepiota crest

Distinctive features of Lepiota scutella and Lepiota combata

Mushroom parts	Mushroom
Mushroom parts	Lepiota scutera	lepiota comb
	white, then yellowish-brown with a dark tubercle in the center, covered with concentrically located white or reddish-yellow	whitish, with a small reddish tubercle in the middle, with concentrically located brownish scales
	white, with a pleasant smell and taste	white, turns red when broken, with a rare odor and unpleasant taste
Records	white or yellowish
	with a flocculent yellowish-brown ring; smooth, whitish up to the ring, covered with yellowish scales under the ring	yellowish or yellowish-reddish, smooth, with a narrow white or reddish ring that disappears when ripe

We have all heard that there are doubles of edible mushrooms, the use of which can be dangerous to our life and health. But what to do if you are going to the forest for the first time and don’t know how to distinguish edible from poisonous? That is why today we will tell you what real twin mushrooms look like.

And we will talk about fly agarics, gall mushrooms and silverfish. We’ll also tell you what mushrooms they are most often confused with.

Porcini mushroom's dangerous doppelgänger

We have all heard about the porcini mushroom, which is considered the standard. For example, mushroom pickers often evaluate their “harvest” by quantity. But, unfortunately, if you are not a professional, then this species can be easily confused with gall. So let's figure out how we can maintain our health.

We have already decided on the name of the dangerous double of the porcini mushroom. Now let's talk about how to distinguish it from the original. First of all, you need to pay attention to the leg.

If it is evenly covered with a light mesh, then it is most likely a white mushroom. But if the mesh is dark and located only on the upper part of the leg, then you need to look at this specimen more carefully. Then, in order to be sure whether it is a porcini mushroom or not, make a small cut on the stem.

If the flesh remains white a few minutes after the cut, then this is definitely an edible product. But if the flesh turns pink, then such a “harvest” should be thrown away immediately, since you managed to pick a gall fungus.

By the way, another double of the porcini mushroom is considered to be satanic. Its distinctive feature is a reddish mesh throughout the leg and a red tubular layer. And a few minutes after the cut, the flesh may turn dark purple.

Dangerous mushroom double champignon

This species is most often confused with the white fly agaric. And, as you know, it is quite dangerous for our lives.

The differences between champignon and white fly agaric are as follows:

Champignon

Egg-shaped cap. The pulp has a pleasant smell. After touching, the cap may turn yellow;
The plates are pinkish or light red. They may also be dark brown;
The leg has a cylindrical shape, expanding closer to the base. Approximately in the middle of the leg there is a small white circle with a yellowish coating.

White fly agaric

The cap is rounded-conical at the very top; closer to the bottom it becomes more spread out. The flesh of the cap has an unpleasant odor;
The plates are located very freely. Most often they are white. They may also be light pink;
The leg is thin, slightly swollen near the base. The ring on the stem is quite wide and striped.

If you know about such distinctive features, then the likelihood of consuming a poisonous product will become much less. Now you understand that you need to carefully examine all the mushrooms so that there is no dangerous harvest in the basket.

By the way, pale toadstools also belong to the family of white fly agarics. And a lot can be said about the consequences of poisoning with them. The fact is that all signs of poisoning with toadstool can appear some time after eating it. It is for this reason that people quite often do not even immediately remember what they ate. And, unfortunately, in most cases necessary help in case of poisoning they simply don’t have time. Therefore, when collecting forest beauties you need to be very careful.

Poisonous mushroom double honey fungus

Honey mushrooms are also quite popular among gourmets. And most often the sulfur-yellow false stump is confused with them. In fact, these two mushrooms are really similar to each other. Therefore, if you are not one hundred percent sure that you are putting a healthy product in the basket, then it is better not to touch it at all.

False honey mushrooms are distinguished by a gray-yellow cap with a reddish dot on top. The plates are also gray-yellow or greenish. The leg has the same light yellow color.

Signs of poisoning by false mushrooms

As you already understand, it is not difficult to confuse edible and poisonous mushrooms. Therefore, you need to clearly know what the consequences of poisoning may be. This way you can notice all the negative symptoms in time and consult a doctor.

So, the main symptoms of such poisoning include:

Severe nausea and vomiting;
Significant abdominal pain and diarrhea;
Heat. Although this symptom is individual, since someone can no longer get out of bed with a temperature of 37 degrees;
Hands and feet get cold.

Fly agaric poisoning has some peculiarities. In this case, one can note such signs of poisoning as delirium, the appearance of hallucinations, or the manifestation of a state that may be similar to insanity.

Such signs may appear within one and a half to two hours after eating a poisoned product. When the first symptoms appear, you should immediately call a doctor or ambulance. If you have to wait for a doctor for some time, try to lie down and drink plenty of warm water.

This way you will prevent the poison from spreading throughout all tissues in the body.

By the way, there is a risk of poisoning from edible mushrooms. But this can only happen if you wash them poorly. The point here is that the soil may contain spore-bearing bacilli, which are the causative agents of such a serious disease as botulism. Signs of such a disease include complete or partial blurred vision, headache, convulsions or difficulty breathing.

If you notice at least two of all the listed symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. After all, the consequences can be very negative.

As you can see, such gifts of the forest can significantly ruin our lives. And in case of unfavorable development of events, such poisoning can have a fatal outcome. Therefore, before eating a mushroom, be sure to make sure that it is non-poisonous.

If you don’t have such confidence, then you should show your “harvest” to knowledgeable people or throw it away out of harm’s way. Be healthy!

Summer has come. These are bright June days. On such a bright day you will walk into the refreshing shade of the forest, and the pungent, slightly sweet smell of mushrooms with unique shades will literally envelop you. Where is he from? After all, there are still few mushrooms in the June forest. The beneficial smell comes from the mycelium, penetrating forest floor, rotting stumps, fallen tree trunks, branches and the soil itself. The forest is warm and damp; thanks to the abundance of heat and moisture, the mycelium grows especially intensively and gains strength. But for mushroom pickers, June is also a good time. There’s something golden on an old birch stump: a lot of bright yellow mushrooms have covered it like a hat. These are summer mushrooms. I found two or three such stumps - and the basket was full. Honey mushrooms are one of the first summer mushrooms. Yes, this is not surprising. The wood of stumps and fallen trunks warms up faster than the soil, and retains spring moisture for quite a long time - and mushrooms appear and grow on it. But take a closer look. Among the yellow-golden caps of the summer honey fungus, as if saturated with water, flashed an even brighter cap, but not golden, but with a reddish tint, a cautiously poisonous sulfur-yellow honey fungus.

Summer honey fungus

An expert on Russian nature, S. T. Aksakov, wrote about such dangerous twin mushrooms: “It is noteworthy that many breeds of edible and good mushrooms, as they are sometimes called, have, as it were, accompanying toadstool mushrooms, somewhat similar to them in formation and color.” The poisons of false mushrooms cause very serious poisoning. Summer honey fungus, sulfur-yellow false honey fungus, often grow on the same stumps. The main difference is the records. In the summer mushroom they are yellow-brown, and when the mushroom is completely ripe they are brown.

Gray-yellow false honey fungus

The sulfur-yellow false honey fungus is first greenish, then yellow-green, the color of sulfur, and when the mushroom gets old, it turns lilac-brown. The autumn honey fungus, whose reign is in September, and the winter honey mushroom, which replaces it in October-November, also have twins. The yellowish-brown caps of these edible mushrooms often acquire a reddish tint, and then they are easily confused with the brick-red false mushroom that appears at the same time. Mushrooms can again be distinguished by their plates.

Autumn honey fungus

In edible autumn and winter honey mushrooms, even in overripe ones, they are always light white, creamy, yellowish. In the brick-red false mushroom, at first they are also light, whitish, but as the mushrooms ripen, they quickly become lilac-brown or even black-olive. Both edible honey mushrooms and false honey mushrooms usually grow in large groups; in each such group you can always find a mature mushroom with clearly colored plates.

Brown-red false honey fungus

Along the edges of vegetable gardens, on pastures, on the manured soil of gardens and parks, champignons appear in June - common and field. In our middle zone, their poisonous counterparts have not yet grown - the pale toadstool and some fly agarics. In June, champignons can be safely collected. But from July onwards, field champignon, which grows at the edge of the forest, as well as forest champignon can easily be confused with toadstool - one of the most dangerous mushrooms. There is no antidote for the poison of the toadstool yet.

The ominous glory of the toadstool as a deadly poisonous mushroom has been known for a long time.

Common champignon

From the times of Ancient Rome, a legend has come down to us that the Roman Emperor Claudius was poisoned with toadstool. The Emperor liked it so much delicate taste toadstool that he managed to issue a decree that only this mushroom should be served at his table. Claudius was probably the only person to talk about the taste of toadstool. Its poisons - phalloidin, falloin and amanitin - are especially insidious. They act slowly. The first signs of poisoning appear only after six to twelve hours, and sometimes even after a day, when the poisons have already penetrated the blood and managed to affect all the most important organs: hematopoietic, digestive, nervous system and when it is no longer possible to help the victim. That is why it is so important to know well all the signs of this mushroom. Death cap belongs to the family of poisonous fly agarics. Panther, toadstool and stinking fly agarics appear at the same time. With its grayish-green and whitish-yellowish cap and ring on the stem, this poisonous family resembles edible champignons. But the color of the plates gives them away. Their plates are always white or slightly creamy, while those of champignons are first whitish or dirty pink, and then dark brown or even black-brown from maturing dark-colored spores. In addition, the base of the leg of the fly agaric and pale toadstool is swollen, and there is a collar of large scales or warts on it. Poisonous fly agarics - toadstool-like and stinking - can also be confused with russula, which has a greenish or grayish cap, since the plates of russula and fly agaric are always white. You can confuse the fly agaric with the edible greenfly. Here, in order not to make a mistake, you need to carefully examine the stem of the mushroom. A fly agaric must have a ring on it, or at least traces of it, and a thickening at the base. The legs of russula and greenfinch are without a ring, slender, smooth. We have another good edible growing mushroom float, with which fly agarics are similar. It appears in July - August in clearings in a variety of forests. Like many fly agarics, the base of the float's leg is thickened, but there is no ring on it. The color of the cap is very different: from white to yellow-brown or saffron.

There is one exception among this genus of fly agaric mushrooms hostile to humans. In the southern regions of our country and in the Carpathians, Caesar mushroom is occasionally found. In the countries of Central and Western Europe there is a lot of it. On the streets of Sofia on Sunday. On an August evening you can see townspeople returning from the forests. Mesh bags and transparent bags are full of mushrooms that make you shiver just by looking at them! Bright red-orange “fly agarics” stick out from there, with a thickened stem, but without white scales on the cap. This is the famous royal, or Caesar, mushroom, which was served in Ancient Rome only to the table of the emperor and the most noble patricians.

Death cap

In August, when there are quite a lot of porcini mushrooms, gall fungus, or false white mushroom, is often found. It is bitter, but is not considered poisonous in literature. However, gall fungus that gets into a roast of porcini mushrooms can cause serious poisoning. This white double grows in pine trees spruce forests, advantage on sandy soil, is common. It is very similar to white in its shape and brown or brownish cap. But it is given away by the dirty pink color of the tubes, as well as by the pinkish flesh at the break. The porcini mushroom is called that because both its pulp and tubes are white. Only with age do the tubes turn slightly yellow or green. There is another difference - a mesh pattern on the leg. In the porcini mushroom it is white, while in the gall mushroom it is black-brown, clearly visible on a light stalk. Gall fungus usually accompanies all white September. IN Lately Mushroom pickers fell in love with young raincoats. And for good reason! These mushrooms are surprisingly aromatic, although their flesh is less tender. Puffballs are edible as long as they are pure white inside and out. With age, as they mature, their insides darken, turning into powdered brown spores. Their counterparts - false puffballs - are easy to distinguish. Even when young, they are purple-black with white streaks inside and quite tough. Collect mushrooms with caution and only those you know well. It doesn't matter if your cart contains less mushrooms. It will be a disaster if even one poisonous one gets there.

Origin of mushrooms

Scientists suggest that fungi originated from primitive flagellated organisms living in water - flagellates. This happened even before the divergence of the main line of living organisms into plants and animals.

Mushrooms are the oldest inhabitants of the Earth. Geological evidence suggests that they are coeval with primary fern plants and lungfish. Fungi already existed approximately 413 million years ago during the Devonian period of the Paleozoic era. They "very quickly" adapted to environment and reached their full development approximately 220-240 million years later, during the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era, when a variety of mammals, birds, insects, trees, shrubs, and herbs already lived on Earth.

Along with plants and animals, mushrooms are an independent kingdom of living organisms - this is the point of view of most scientists. The nature of metabolism and the presence of chitin in cell membranes bring fungi closer to animals, however, in terms of the method of nutrition and reproduction, in terms of unlimited growth, they are more akin to plants. Solving the question - what are mushrooms - is one of the most interesting problems of mycology - the science of mushrooms.

Cap mushrooms grow in 3-6 days and die in 10-14 days. But there are also long-livers among them. These are fungi that are part of lichens that live up to 600 years. The woody fruiting bodies of polypores live on trees for 10-20 years. As for the mycelium, in most mushrooms it is perennial, as they say, in particular, “witch’s rings”.

During the period of growth of fungal fruiting bodies, the pressure of the cell contents on their membrane (turgor pressure) increases sharply. It has been established that the pressure that such elastic cells and tissues exert on neighboring cells, tissues or surrounding objects can reach seven atmospheres; this corresponds to the pressure in the tires of a 10-ton dump truck and is more than three times higher than the pressure in the tires of a Zhiguli car. . That is why you often see how mushrooms break through asphalt, cement, and even concrete or the equally hard crust of desert takyrs.

Some mushrooms

Ram - this is the name given to two edible mushrooms from the genus of tinder fungi - branched umbrella mushroom. The mushrooms are very large, up to 4-6 kilograms. They consist of numerous caps (from several dozen to two or three hundred, and sometimes thousands), sitting on one thick stem. The ram grows at the foot of the trunks of broad-leaved trees in August-September.

Blagushka is a forest champignon. It got its name from the word “good”, that is, good, edible. Unlike its relatives - the champignon, lovers of open spaces - meadows, pastures, steppes, the sweetbush grows in the forest and often in an unusual place - on anthills! It is assumed that our ants, like tropical ones, feed on its mycelium.

Veselka is a mushroom from the group of puffballs or nutrevikas, with a strong, unpleasant odor that attracts flies that carry its spores. They also call it “stinky morel” for its folded, morel-like cap. It holds the record for growth speed - five millimeters per minute. The young, ovoid, white mushroom is edible. The mucous membrane of the young mushroom is used in folk medicine for rheumatism (“earth oil”). Grows in deciduous forests in July - September.

Oyster mushroom is a lamellar edible mushroom that grows on dead wood or weakened deciduous trees. Appears in May, hence the “spring mushroom”, “oyster mushroom”. In the Caucasus, this mushroom is called “chinariki,” probably because it grows there on the trunks of broad-leaved trees, including the eastern plane tree, or plane tree. The mushroom is successfully grown under artificial conditions from specially prepared mycelium. Can be grown on wood waste throughout the country.

Gladysh, spurge, is an edible mushroom with abundant milky juice, hence its second name. The reddish-yellow cap is very dense, fleshy, smooth, which is why the mushroom is called smooth. In salting it will not yield to saffron milk cap. Grows in broadleaf and mixed forests in August - September.

Mushroom cabbage is an edible mushroom from the horned family with the taste of morels and the smell of hazelnuts. Reminds me of a loose head of cabbage. It grows on the soil in pine forests in August - September, and is very rare.

The cap is 3-15 cm, from light beige to yellow or honey-brown with a yellow tint, with disappearing scales. The pulp is white. The plates are white to yellow, often with brown spots. Leg with flocculent scales, with a white membranous felt ring. Honey mushrooms grow on stumps, trees, and dead wood. They are dried, salted and pickled, after boiling them.

Where to look: stumps, trees.