Summer honey fungus and its dangerous twin name. Summer and autumn honey fungus, and their doubles

2017-07-19 Igor Novitsky

As a rule, by the word “honey mushrooms” we mean autumn mushroom, which is called real honey fungus or autumn honey fungus. Any novice mushroom picker knows how, where and when to look for it. Summer mushrooms are a little less known, but are still very popular even among novice mushroom pickers.

Summer honey fungus is a good edible mushroom belonging to the Strophariaceae family. Thus, it is rather distantly related to autumn honey fungus, which belongs to the Physalacriaceae family of fungi. However, higher in the classification they already belong to the same biological groups.

As you can see in the photo, summer mushrooms in general have a lot in common with the appearance of their autumn “cousin”. The diameter of the cap is from 3 to 6 cm. While the fruiting body is young, the shape of the cap is convex, but as it ages it takes on a flat shape with a clearly visible wide tubercle in the center.

The color of the cap in rainy weather is brown, in clear weather it is dull honey. The edges of the cap are often several shades darker than the central part. Distinct grooves are clearly visible along the edges of the cap. The skin is always smooth and slightly slimy.

On the underside of the cap there are many thin plates, either adherent or slightly descending. In young mushrooms they are light, in old ones they are darker.

The height of the leg rarely exceeds 7 cm with an average diameter of about half a centimeter. The leg is quite dense, although not hard. Closer to the top it is lighter than the cap, below it is darker. Below the level of the ring on the leg, small dark scales are often clearly visible.

The description of summer mushrooms also states that while the mushroom is young, the remains of a blanket in the form of a thin filmy ring are almost always clearly visible on the stem. However, mature and old mushrooms, as a rule, no longer have it. There are no remnants of the coverlet on the cap at all.

The pulp in the cap is very thin and quite watery. The color is pale yellow-brown. The flesh in the stem is always a little darker and coarser. The taste is soft and pleasant, often with a subtle aroma of fresh wood.

Summer honey fungus, like its autumn relative, grows in dense groups on dead rotting wood, less often on diseased but still living trees. It is found everywhere on deciduous wood, but in mountainous areas it can also live on spruce trees. The fungus is widespread in deciduous and mixed forests temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. Moreover, in arid regions its population is an order of magnitude smaller than in humid ones.

Summer honey mushrooms grow throughout the warm season, that is, from April to November. In regions with mild winters, for example, in coastal areas, they can grow all year round.

Summer honey fungus and its dangerous double

For an inexperienced mushroom picker, there may be a problem in distinguishing the summer honey fungus from the dangerous poisonous galerina carinatum mushroom. Galerina is a fairly close relative of the summer honey mushroom, so difficulties in distinguishing them are indeed possible.

Galerina is also widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, including Europe and northern Asia. Like honey mushrooms, it grows on rotting wood, but prefers coniferous rather than deciduous trees. The mushroom is extremely poisonous and, in terms of the toxins it contains, is similar to the main killer mushroom in Russia - the toadstool. Eating galerina causes severe liver damage, including death. Signs of poisoning are classic: vomiting, diarrhea, hypothermia.

Now about how to distinguish summer honey mushrooms from false mushrooms, that is, from galerina. The mushroom picker must always remember that the galerina:

• grows by coniferous wood, and not on deciduous;
• for the most part it is slightly smaller in size;
• on the lower part of the leg it does not have the scales characteristic of honey mushrooms.

The differences are most difficult to notice on old mushrooms, so experienced mushroom pickers strongly recommend collecting only young honey mushrooms, the species of which is much easier to determine.

Summer honey mushrooms are considered good edible mushrooms, which are suitable for food even in their raw form. They are classified as the fourth category, that is, in terms of their nutritional characteristics they are close to oyster mushrooms, rows

and raincoats. The domestic literature notes that it is best taste qualities summer mushrooms appear in boiled and lightly salted form. But most mushroom pickers willingly use other types of processing, including frying. In other words, there is not much difference in how you cook summer mushrooms - it will always be delicious.

As with most other mushrooms that grow on wood, the most delicious and tender part of the fruiting body is the cap, while the stem is much tougher and more fibrous. Young mushrooms are usually used whole, while the stem of older mushrooms is often discarded. However, this approach is wasteful, because the legs can be twisted in a meat grinder and made into an excellent mushroom sauce for meat and other dishes.

Summer and autumn honey mushrooms are rich in vitamins, amino acids, proteins and microelements. Honey mushrooms also have a reputation as a natural antiseptic, equal in strength to garlic and even pharmaceutical antibiotics.

Regular consumption of summer mushrooms helps prevent cardiovascular diseases, liver pathologies and even cancer.

Growing summer mushrooms at home

While in Russia summer honey mushrooms come to the table almost exclusively from the forest, in some European countries This mushroom is grown on an industrial scale. In our country, entrepreneurs do not grow honey mushrooms due to the fact that this mushroom spoils too quickly and is not as convenient for commercial cultivation as champignons, tasteless against honey mushrooms, but stored for a long time.

Fortunately, the Internet has given us a lot of opportunities for exchanging ideas and goods, so today anyone can purchase honey fungus mycelium in specialized online stores. Well, in some major cities You can also buy mycelium in a regular offline store that sells seeds and seedlings of cultivated plants.

On sale you can find mycelium in different “packaging” - both in the form of grain infected with mycelium, and in the form of infected wooden sticks. If for some reason you cannot purchase ready-made mycelium, then you can always use mushroom spores that you personally collected in the forest.

If after clearing the garden you have several stumps, then it is not at all necessary to uproot them. They can become an excellent “bed” for growing summer mushrooms. Of course, the stumps of wild trees - aspen, alder or birch - are better suited for these purposes. But, given that we are talking about garden trees, you can try to do this trick with apple or pear trees. By the way, if your site is located next to a grove or even a forest, then you can try planting edible summer mushrooms there.

Planting, or rather inoculation (a more suitable term for mushrooms), occurs by introducing pieces of wood infected with mycelium (sold in stores) into pre-drilled holes in the stumps. These holes, no more than a centimeter in diameter, are made both on the side surface of the stump and on the cut. The introduced mycelium is sealed with moss, and it is advisable to temporarily cover the stump with branches. Also, if possible, the ground around the stump should be moistened from time to time.

The inoculation procedure is best carried out in autumn or spring. The first harvest should be expected the next or second year after planting. Fruiting, depending on the size of the stump and the type of tree, lasts from 4 to 7 years.

In fact, this method is no fundamentally different from the one described above. However, it is convenient in that your “bed” is not tied to a specific point on the ground and you can grow mushrooms in any place on your site that you consider convenient for these purposes. In addition, having the ability to move the chocks indoors, you will also be able to better control the time when to collect summer honey mushrooms.

Chops are chosen for inoculation deciduous trees(preferably birch). Moreover, it is strongly recommended to take freshly cut trees, since it will be much more difficult to grow mycelium in dried wood.

You can choose the size of the chocks yourself, as you wish. The main thing is that they are no less than 15 cm in diameter and 25 cm in length. The inoculation procedure follows exactly the same pattern as on stumps. However, after the mycelium has been introduced into the chocks, it is advisable to place them for 3 - 4 months in a dark, cool (15 - 20 degrees) room with good air humidity (about 85%). A basement or cellar is perfect for these purposes. Under such conditions, the chances that the mycelium will take root are significantly increased.

When summer honey mushrooms grow, they require a lot of water, so it is recommended to cover the logs folded in the basement with reeds or reeds to maintain moisture and, if the room is not enough level humidity, it is recommended to water the floor around the chocks from time to time. At the same time, it is very important to monitor the temperature of the room and the chocks themselves, not allowing them to heat above 30 degrees. At high temperature the mycelium may die.

It is best to start all this work in the fall, so that at the end of March - beginning of April you can move the chocks into the garden. Their arrangement can be any pattern, the main thing is that they are no closer than 30 cm from each other. The lumps themselves need to be buried in vertical position, deepening 10 - 12 cm into the ground.

It is very important that the mushroom bed in the garden is constantly in the shade and in no case exposed to direct rays of the sun, which will simply dry out the chocks along with the mycelium. And even in the shade, the logs still need to be protected from drying out, constantly moistening the soil around them.

The optimal temperature at which summer honey fungus and its mycelium grow is 18 - 25 degrees with air humidity of at least 80%. If all conditions are met, the first harvest should be expected within 3 to 4 months after inoculation. That is, in the beginning - mid-summer. Fruiting lasts on average 3 - 4 years, and then the chocks are depleted. This period can be extended by using logs bigger size and diameter.

By the way, a kind of special case of this method is the dripping of large logs inoculated with mycelium not in a vertical, but in horizontal position. The digging is done to half the diameter of the log. Otherwise, everything is exactly the same.

It is important to note that summer and autumn honey mushrooms eventually spread their mycelium beyond the wood, drawing nutrients from the adjacent soil. For this reason, after the logs/logs are completely depleted after a few years, new batch should be dug in another place, or the top layer of soil should be completely replaced.

Despite the simplicity of growing honey mushrooms on stumps and logs, this method, unfortunately, is completely unsuitable for the south and middle zone Russia, since the summer in these regions is too hot and such mushrooms simply cannot survive outside the forest biome. Fortunately, there is an alternative method that allows you to grow summer honey mushrooms in any region and all year round. We are talking about greenhouses.

To grow mushrooms, instead of solid wooden chocks or logs, sawdust, which are mixed with small shavings in a ratio of 2 to 1. To increase the nutritional value of the substrate, 7.5 g of starch and 25 g of corn and oatmeal are also added per 1 kg of this mixture. First, sawdust and shavings are briefly boiled in boiling water, and only then mixed with the indicated additives. The resulting mixture is sent to glass jars, flower pots or other suitable container, which must also be sterilized first. Mycelium is introduced into the cooled substrate in the form of inoculated grains or sticks.

Then the container with the substrate and mycelium is sent to a cool (15 - 18 degrees) humid (85%) room for 1 - 3 months. No lighting required. After the specified period, the jars are transferred to a lighted room with the same temperature and slightly drier air (75%). When the summer honey mushrooms begin, it will be possible to collect several waves of harvest, but in this case there is no need to talk about several years of fruiting. At the end of the season, the containers need to be filled with fresh substrate.

Collecting honey mushrooms can be called a pleasant activity, since they grow in large groups and in just a few hours of searching you can collect several baskets of these gifts of the forest. Almost every experienced mushroom picker probably knows what honey mushrooms look like, but even if you have never picked mushrooms yourself, you are probably familiar with honey mushrooms from jars from the supermarket.

In today's article we will learn to distinguish edible species from false ones and find out the main characteristics of honey mushrooms with photos and descriptions.

What do honey mushrooms look like?

Edible honey mushrooms are one of the most popular and productive mushrooms. This family includes many species, including both edible and inedible.

The difficulty is that they have very similar features, although they are still different. Therefore, it is so important to be able to distinguish an edible species from a similar false one.

By what criteria can you distinguish them from other mushrooms?

Many novice mushroom pickers do not know how to distinguish real species from false ones. In order not to put a poisonous mushroom in your basket, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the distinctive characteristics of inedible and edible varieties (Figure 1).

The criteria described below will help novice mushroom pickers distinguish real forest gifts from false ones:

1. On the stem of the real one, a membranous ring is clearly visible, which is absent in inedible ones.
2. Edible ones have a characteristic mushroom smell, poisonous ones smell unpleasant.
3. The caps of real mushrooms are distinguished by an inconspicuous light brown color, while inedible ones are much brighter and more provocative.
4. The caps of young specimens of real varieties are covered with scales, which are absent in poisonous ones. However, as the fungus matures, the scales disappear, making differentiation difficult.

Figure 1. Characteristics of true and false species

In addition, the records on back side hats also have their differences. So, in poisonous ones they are yellow, sometimes green or even olive-black. The edible plates are colored cream or yellowish-white.

False honey mushrooms: photo

Under false species imply inedible, conditionally edible and poisonous, which in appearance are very similar to the real ones. They are also easy to confuse because they grow in the same places - on stumps, tree trunks.

However, when it comes to human health and life, the mushroom picker has no right to make a mistake. He must be absolutely sure that it is edible. collected mushrooms. Therefore, experienced mushroom pickers always advise not to select the mushroom you like if you have the slightest doubt.

Peculiarities

The easiest way is to study and learn how to identify poisonous mushrooms from a photo. But we also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the distinctive characteristics that will help you determine what inedible and edible species look like (Figure 2).

All fake varieties have a number of common features, distinguishing them from edible:

1. There is no ring on the stalk of the poisonous one, which is characteristic of real species. At the same time, the leg itself is too high. Real forest varieties reach a height of only 4-6 centimeters.
2. The smell of inedible ones is earthy and unpleasant, instead of a pronounced mushroom one.
3. Poisonous caps have a bright color that catches the eye, for example, brick red.
4. The plates on the back of the fake cap are painted in dark, almost black tones.
5. Taste is not an indicator of its edibility: very often poisonous mushrooms have a good taste.
6. Poisonous ones grow for some time in spring and autumn, while real ones can be found almost all year round.

Figure 2. Characteristics of poisonous species

If the previous signs are not enough, you can check the reaction of the fungus when it comes into contact with water. If the cut turns blue or black, you are dealing with an inedible or poisonous specimen, so it would be better to get rid of it quickly.

Edible honey mushrooms: photo

Among more than three dozen species united under common name honey mushrooms, only 22 species have been scientifically described. Among them there are both edible and conditionally edible specimens, as well as inedible and poisonous ones. Most of all, mushroom pickers know such edible varieties as summer, winter, autumn, meadow.

All of these mushrooms grow mainly on deciduous trees or on the remains of their wood. In mountainous areas they are also found on trunks coniferous trees. Representatives of this family, under favorable conditions, weather conditions They bear fruit for almost a whole year.

Peculiarities

Although each type has its own characteristics, there are common features, inherent in all edible mushrooms of this family, and the easiest way to evaluate their distinctive characteristics is from a photo.

True varieties grow in large groups on stumps and protruding tree roots. Young specimens have semicircular caps, which become prostrate with age. The caps are colored in tones ranging from honey yellow to rusty brown. In addition, they are often covered with small scales, which partially disappear as the fungus matures. Typically, the diameter of the cap is from 4 to 10 cm, and the plates on its back side are light in color in young mushrooms, and yellowish or brown in mature ones.

In edible species, the legs are thin, reach a length of 5 to 15 cm, and are hollow inside. But the most important sign that the specimen can be eaten is the leathery ring located on the stem. It is formed from a blanket that protects the young mushroom. In fake varieties, such a ring is either absent or only small remnants of it are visible. The flesh of this specimen has a pleasant mushroom aroma and is colored light brown, which does not change when in contact with water.

How to distinguish honey mushrooms from false honey mushrooms

To all lovers quiet hunt It is necessary to be able to distinguish real mushrooms from inedible and poisonous ones, because the health of loved ones depends on this. The same applies to honey mushrooms, among which there are many inedible ones.

Note: For example, a dangerous double summer look is a poisonous brick-red false honey fungus. Its convex cap is colored bright Orange color, and the blanket hangs from its edges in the form of flakes. The autumn one has a double, very similar in appearance, the only difference is the cap and stem bright yellow color. In addition, its surface is devoid of characteristic scales.

All poisonous varieties differ from real ones in the color of the plates under the cap (Figure 3). If the edible ones have plates painted in a light cream color, then the inedible ones have dark shades: sulfur-yellow or black-olive. You should also pay attention to the leg: in real ones, the leathery ring under the cap is clearly visible on the leg, which cannot be said about the false ones. Some poisonous species They are classified as conditionally edible, but you should know that their safety for humans has not been proven.

What is the difference between a simple honey mushroom and a false one?

The difficulty in distinguishing between ordinary and false varieties is that they all grow in large groups in the same places: stumps, trunks of fallen trees, protruding roots. In addition, all species bear fruit at approximately the same time period. Of course, you can learn to distinguish between inedible and edible species from photos, but knowing them distinctive characteristics still necessary.

Figure 3. Basic criteria for distinguishing poisonous and edible species

There are additional external signs, which help distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible ones:

• The hats of the fake ones are usually painted in bright, flashy colors: sulfur-yellow, brick-red, while the hats of the real ones have muted, light brown tones.
• Edible young specimens are characterized by scales located on the cap and stem. Over time, these scales partially disappear. Inedible mushrooms lack scales on their surface.
• On the back of the cap of any mushroom there are plates. In real ones, they are light cream or yellowish-white tones. Poisonous ones are greenish or olive-black.
• On the false legs, the leathery ring, which is characteristic of all edible species, is poorly visible or completely absent.

All edible specimens have a pleasant mushroom aroma, while poisonous ones are characterized by an unpleasant earthy odor.

You will find more information about the differences between false and real varieties in the video.

Meadow honey mushrooms: how to distinguish from false ones

Meadow species grow in groups in open spaces: forest edges, pastures, fields. They are easily recognized by their yellow cap with an almost transparent ribbed edge. At the same time, the shape of the cap of young mushrooms is bell-shaped, while that of mature ones is spread out with a wide tubercle in the center. In wet weather it darkens and becomes sticky.

Note: Meadow grasses have several similar species, among which are collibia and poisonous talker (Figure 4).

Collibia differs from meadow collibia in having more frequent plates white and a tubular-hollow leg. In addition, it has a not very pleasant smell. Collibia settles in deciduous and coniferous forests, where it can be found from late spring to early winter.

Figure 4. Edible and inedible meadow varieties: 1 - real meadow honey mushrooms, 2 - collibia, 3 - whitish talker

The whitish talker, like the meadow honey agaric, prefers open, flat spaces, growing in groups. The main difference is the absence of a central tubercle on the mushroom cap, as well as a large number of plates running down the stem. The pulp of this poisonous mushroom has a floury smell.

More information about meadow honey mushrooms is in the video.

Summer honey fungus (Kuehneromyces mutabilis) is an edible species belonging to the Strophariaceae family. Such honey mushrooms are also well known under the names variable kyneromyces, linden honey mushrooms or talkers.

Summer honey fungus is an edible species belonging to the Strophariaceae family.

Summer honey mushrooms belong to the class Agaricomycetes. The fruiting bodies of the variety are represented first by a convex and then a flat cap, with a well-defined and fairly wide tubercle. On rainy days, the cap becomes translucent and has a brownish color, and on dry days the surface is matte, honey-yellow. There are clearly visible grooves on the edges of the cap., concentric rings and darkened fields are sometimes observed.

The soft part of honey mushrooms has a thin and watery structure, pale yellow-brownish color, with a pleasant and light woody aroma, as well as a delicate and mild taste. The cap plates are of an adherent or slightly descending type, relatively frequently located, light brown or brownish-brown in color. The leg is quite high and relatively thin, with a characteristic ring and small, numerous dark scales in the lower part.

Varieties of honey mushrooms (video)

Season and features of collecting summer honey mushrooms

Honey mushrooms can grow quite freely even on rotten wood, at a height of several meters, but they also feel great on low and decaying stumps. In some cases, large groups of fruiting bodies can be found in tall grass, under trees or in leaf litter, under oaks, birch and hazel. The denser and more impassable the forest, the closer the fruiting bodies are to each other.

As practice shows, forest summer honey mushrooms prefer to settle near deciduous trees, but in mountainous regions, colonies of such fruiting bodies are quite often found even on spruce trees. The mycelium of summer mushrooms has become widespread in the territory of deciduous and mixed forest zones northern temperate climate.The season for collecting fruiting bodies lasts from April until the November cold snap, but in areas with a mild climate, almost year-round fruiting can be observed.

Summer mushrooms belong to the class Agaricomycetes

What do false twins of summer mushrooms look like?

There are several varieties that are classified as poisonous and have their own appearance very reminiscent of summer honey fungus.

False honey fungus sulfur-yellow

Nyr.fasciculare belongs to the family Strophariaceae (Strorhariaceae) and the genus Hyfoloma (Nypholoma). Poisonous mushroom grows in large groups from mid-summer until the first ten days of autumn. It has a bell-shaped or prostrate, yellowish, yellowish-brown or sulfur-yellow cap with light edges and a reddish central part. The pulp is light yellow or whitish in color, with a bitter taste and disgusting odor. The leg is smooth, fibrous, with a hollow interior. Chocolate-brown spores Brown.

False honey fungus sulfur yellow

Nyr. Sublateritium belongs to the family Strophariaceae (Strophariaceae) and the genus Hypholoma. Poisonous or inedible mushroom grows in groups or colonies on rotting wood from July to November. It has a rounded-convex or semi-prostrate, orange or brick-red cap with a cobweb-fibrous cover and a dark central part. The pulp is quite dense and fleshy, yellowish in color, bitter in color. The leg is narrowed at the base, yellowish-brown, without a ring. Spores are purple-brown in color.

False honey fungus brick-red

Psatirella Candolla

Psat.candolleana belongs to the Psatyrella family(Psathyrellaceae) and the genus Psathyrella (Psathyrella). A poisonous or conditionally edible variety that grows in large groups or colonies from May to mid-autumn. It has a hemispherical, bell-shaped or wide-conical cap with a rounded elevation in the center and wavy-winding edges. The surface is covered with almost smooth, with a small and disappearing scaly pattern, brownish or yellowish-brown skin. The pulp is fragile and thin, white in color, without a pronounced taste or aroma. The leg has a characteristic thickening at the base, white or cream color, slightly silky. The pores are brownish-purple in color.

Psatirella Candolla

Psatirella water-loving

Psat.piluliformis belongs to the family Psatyrellaceae and the genus Psatyrella. A poisonous or conditionally edible variety growing in clumps or large colonies in autumn period. It has a bell-shaped, convex or almost flat cap with a grooved or cracked edge and a round-shaped elevation in the central part.

The surface part is represented by smooth, dryish, dark brown or yellowish-brown skin. The pulp is watery, quite thin, brown in color, with a bitter taste, without a distinct odor. The stem has a hollow interior, sparsely curved, not too dense, with a smooth and silky, light brown surface. The spores are purple-brown.

Features of summer mushrooms (video)

Growing summer mushrooms in the garden

Most often, honey mushrooms are grown in the local area if, after sanitary clearing of the area, several stumps remain. Inoculation should be carried out by transferring small sections of wood with mycelium into pre-drilled holes in the stumps. The most optimal diameter of the holes for the growth and development of mycelium is 0.8 cm. The mycelium placed in the holes is covered with moss. Infection of stump wood with mycelium occurs in spring or autumn, A middle period The fruiting period of such an artificial mushroom plantation, as a rule, does not exceed seven years.

An alternative option is to grow summer mushrooms on wooden logs. In this case, fruiting bodies can grow in any convenient place in the garden plot. For this method, it is necessary to first prepare logs obtained from any deciduous trees, but freshly cut birch is best suited. The dimensions of the logs are not of fundamental importance, but the optimal, most convenient to care for, is a diameter of 15-17 cm with a length of a quarter of a meter.

Most often, honey mushrooms are grown in the local area if, after sanitary clearing of the area, several stumps remain

To perform inoculation, you need to drill holes in the wood in advance, then introduce mycelium into them and place the logs in a room with temperature conditions within 15-20oC and humidity at 85%. Most often, basements or a cellar are used for this purpose, where the chances of mycelium survival are significantly increased.

Caring for mushroom plantings is not difficult - it is enough to protect the mycelium from negative direct effects sun rays, as well as provide honey mushrooms with a sufficient level of humidity at all stages of growth and development. It is very important to remember that summer honey mushrooms are able to quickly spread their mycelium beyond the stumps or logs, so there is a strong depletion of the soil adjacent to such plantings. It is for this reason that every three or four years, top part soil in such an area must be replaced without fail with a layer of new and nutritious soil substrate.

How to pickle honey mushrooms (video)

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Kira Stoletova

Honey mushrooms are valued for their taste and versatility. The problem is that they have dangerous doubles. The most poisonous is the false summer honey fungus. The insidious false honey mushrooms are similar to their edible counterparts, so cases of poisoning are not uncommon. To prevent this from happening, it is imperative to study the types of poisonous counterparts.

Description of summer honey fungus

Summer honey fungus is collected in deciduous forests. The species grows in entire families on dead wood or stumps. Harvest occurs from mid-April to November.

The description of the species is as follows:

• The size of the mushroom caps reaches 6-7 cm. In young mushrooms it has a neat convex shape, in old ones it takes on a flat shape with a small tubercle at the top.
• The color of summer honey fungus depends on the level of humidity. If the forest is dry, the mushrooms will have a matte golden yellow color, with small grooves along the edge. If the forest is humid, the mushrooms will have a brown or ocher tint and will show through a little in the light.
• The cap of the honey mushroom is slightly slimy, smooth, and moist to the touch. The leg is strong, thin, grows up to 7 cm. Under the cap on the leg there is a white or yellowish ring, below the ring there are scales. The plates are firmly attached to the cap.
• The spores are dark in color with a brown tint.
• The pulp is thin, dry, fibrous in the stem, watery in the cap.
• When broken, the mushroom has a pleasant woody smell.

Beneficial features

Summer honey mushrooms are a storehouse of useful substances. It contains vitamins E, C, PP, some B vitamins. Mushrooms also contain valuable microelements: phosphorus, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc, sodium, potassium and calcium.

The mushroom has an antibacterial effect, and drugs based on it successfully treat a number of bacterial diseases. The special properties of this mushroom make it possible to treat staphylococcus.

These mushrooms practically do not accumulate heavy metals.

In addition to the above, regular consumption of mushrooms contributes to:

• normalization of heart function;
• improving performance;
• increasing immunity;
• eliminating intestinal infections;
• eliminating constipation;
• eliminating stress;
• improving memory;
• resorption of blood clots.

Harm and contraindications

Honey fungus will not harm if you choose high-quality and edible fruits. But there are still contraindications:

• These mushrooms should not be given to children under 7 years of age: a child’s stomach is not able to digest mushrooms at all.
• They are contraindicated for people with serious diseases of the stomach and intestines.

Dangerous twins

The honey fungus has dangerous counterparts, so poisonous that they can be fatal.

False summer honey fungus

False summer honey fungus is the most dangerous false brother edible mushroom, it is also called sulfur yellow poisonous mushroom. In the central part of Russia, the false summer honey fungus will have a red-brown cap, in the south it will be sulfur-yellow.

According to the description, the flesh of the mushroom, when broken, has a sulfur-yellow color. The stem is thin, there is no ring on it, characteristic of edible mushrooms. The plates are yellow-green. The mushroom tastes bitter.

Galerina bordered

Galerina fringed is similar to edible honey mushrooms, but it has a number of differences:

• the cap of the galerina fringed is red in color with a transition to yellow at the edges;
• leg with a ring, but without scales;
• when broken, the mushroom has a powdery smell;
• does not form intergrowths.

Galerina chooses coniferous forests for growth.

Inedible brick red honey fungus

Based on the name, the mushroom has an orange, almost red color. The stem lacks the ring characteristic of this species. The pulp is light yellow, bitter.

On young mushrooms, the plates are gray; as the mushroom matures and ages, they acquire a brown or yellowish-olive hue.

How to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones

It’s easy to distinguish false honeypots from edible ones, you just need to take a closer look:

• at poisonous mushrooms there is no white “skirt” on the leg;
• the pulp of false honey bees is bitter and has an unpleasant, specific odor;
• records on poisonous plants dark, closer to brown and olive, on edible ones - always white or cream in color.

According to the description, harvesting is carried out on next year after sowing. Honey mushrooms grown at home will produce a harvest for 3-6 years. On the stumps of hardwood trees, the mycelium will produce a harvest longer.

Growing this type of mushroom on personal plot can lead to infection fruit trees. The mycelium destroys the wood of the tree and it dies.

Conclusion

Honey mushrooms are one of the most popular mushrooms eaten. Unfortunately they have insidious doubles, which are similar to their edible counterparts, but are easy to distinguish. This type of mushroom is easy to grow at home; the plants do not require special premises, and the level of illumination is not important to them.

Sometimes during the mushroom season, dubious specimens end up in mushroom pickers’ baskets, which cause confusion among novice pickers.

False honey mushrooms are sometimes very similar to, they grow in similar conditions and their fruiting period is at the same time.

Types of mushrooms

The favorite place of settlement is on tree stumps. It is because of this that they were nicknamed honey mushrooms (popularly called honey mushrooms).

In total, more than 30 species of honey mushrooms are known, of which 22 species have been studied and described in detail. However, this has more scientific than practical significance.

Usually only 3 species are collected edible honey mushrooms, known to any mushroom picker:

• summer honey mushrooms;
• autumn honey mushrooms;
• winter mushrooms.

And among the false mushrooms, the following are worthy of attention:

• seroplate (edible);
• brick-red (conditionally edible);
• sulfur-yellow (poisonous).

This one is deadly dangerous mushroom very often confused with summer honey mushroom.

Indeed, it can be quite difficult to distinguish them. Sometimes this can only be done in the form of a spore. Therefore, it is not recommended to collect summer honey fungus on stumps and remains of coniferous trees.

Autumn honey mushrooms and galerina are not at all similar in appearance. The autumn honey fungus is more substantial, it has a thick leg covered with scales and flakes, thick flesh and a round scaly cap. Such honey mushrooms grow in large colonies, while Galerina is a solitary species.

The winter honey fungus bears fruit at a completely different time than the fringed galerina and is almost never confused with it. In isolated cases, it was found among colonies of edible honey fungus during warm winters.

Signs of edible honey mushrooms

In order not to confuse edible fungi with poisonous ones, it is useful to remember the following differences:

1. The most noticeable sign is that twin honey mushrooms do not have a membranous ring on their stem, a remnant of a protective blanket.
2. The cap of a real honey mushroom has a creamy-brown or yellowish-ocher color, while false honey mushrooms always come in richer tones: from yellow to reddish-brown.
3. The cap is covered with small light scales, while the false ones have smooth caps. The exception is large specimens of real mushrooms; as they age, they often lose their scales.
4. The plates at the bottom of the cap of edible honey mushrooms are usually light and yellowish. And false ones can be bluish, gray or olive-black.
5. Edible honey mushrooms have a pleasant mushroom smell, while false mushrooms have a musty, earthy smell, sometimes quite pungent and persistent.

Take note: The main condition for safe mushroom picking is caution and prudence.

Don’t get excited when you see delicious colonies of mushrooms. You should calmly inspect them, and if in doubt, it is better not to risk it.

How to recognize false mushrooms in the forest, see the following video: