home » Makeup » Brown honey fungus. For a novice mushroom picker: be careful, false honey mushrooms

Brown honey fungus. For a novice mushroom picker: be careful, false honey mushrooms

Honey mushrooms- this is predominantly autumn mushrooms. They usually grow in heaps, groups and, as is customary, on old stumps of deciduous trees, on fallen trunks or next to them. The best honey mushrooms are small ones; they are best suited for frying, pickling, and pickling. Honey mushrooms that are overgrown are not very attractive and are best suited for mushroom caviar, but usually no one collects them.

Edible honey mushrooms

These are several varieties of mushrooms that at first glance are most similar to honey mushrooms. They are very similar both in appearance and in the places in which they grow. False honey mushrooms also grow in groups, flocks on stumps, old trees and near them.

What is the main difference between a real honey mushroom and a false one? The main difference is that real honey mushrooms have a skirt on the leg at the level of the lower edge of the cap. In a very young honey mushroom, the area under the cap is covered with a film, which subsequently breaks off and forms a skirt. Important! Not a single type of false honey mushroom has such a ring.

There is a popular rhyme: “The edible honey mushroom has a ring made of film on its leg. And all the false honey mushrooms have bare legs to the toes.”

Remember! Edible honey mushrooms have a ring on the stem under the cap that remains after the protective film. The color is brownish-gray, the smell is pleasant, the cap is covered with brownish scales. The plates under the cap are light.

Edible honey mushrooms

Varieties of false mushrooms photo

Also look at the edible honey mushrooms in the photo very carefully, because in field conditions there will be nothing to compare the found instances with:

Honey mushrooms in the photo

Yellow-red edible honey mushrooms in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Yellow-red varieties of edible honey mushrooms are decorated with velvety caps 5-15 cm in diameter; in young specimens they are hemispherical, later convex, fleshy, covered with red scales in at a young age, completely red, later yellow places appear on the edge of the cap and where the light did not reach due to a fallen leaf or twig. The caps are dry, not slimy. The plates are often yellow or golden yellow. The leg is cylindrical, 6-15 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, yellow-red, velvety.

The description of edible mushrooms should be continued by saying that they grow in mixed and coniferous forests on stumps, trunks and roots coniferous trees, on the roots of dry pine trees.

Fruits from July to October.

Poisonous double of honey mushroom yellow-red - sulfur-yellow row (Tricholoba sulphureum) easily distinguished by the color of the fruiting body and the unpleasant acetylene smell of the pulp.

The mushroom is a little bitter. Some experts advise pre-boiling it before cooking.

Seasonal types of honey mushrooms: photos and descriptions

Look at the seasonal types of honey mushrooms in the photo, which shows summer, autumn, and winter honey mushrooms:

Summer honey mushrooms
Summer honey mushrooms

Autumn honey mushrooms
Autumn honey mushrooms

These types of honey mushrooms are very common, but only at certain times of the year. This is where their names come from.

Seasonal honey mushrooms, their types and descriptions are presented further on the page; you can see them in the photo:

Winter honey fungus
Winter honey fungus

Winter honey fungus in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Caps 2-8 cm, young ones - bell-shaped or convex, then prostrate, sticky, yellow-ocher or rusty-brown, with frequent white-ocher or white plates below. The legs are thin, velvety, without a ring, at first the color of the cap, not very hard, then they become dark brown or almost black and hard. Main hallmark winter honey fungus - a hard, velvety leg. The intergrowths of its fruiting bodies look like fiery spots against the background of snow. The mushroom has adapted to bear fruit during thaws in winter. You can observe under a microscope how, when the temperature rises above zero, the cells of its mycelium that burst during freezing grow together.

It grows on dead and living tree trunks, as well as on the stumps of willow, poplar, birch and linden. Sometimes it can be found on coniferous trees.

Fruits from September to December. Sometimes it grows in spring.

It has no poisonous counterparts.

Soups are made from winter honey fungus, hot salted, and pickled in jars.

Summer honey fungus in the photo

The mushroom is edible. The caps are 3-8 cm, initially hemispherical, closed, then almost open, smooth from yellow to yellow-brown with a darker edge. The plates are pale clay-yellow, rusty-brown with age, in young mushrooms they are covered with a film of white or yellow color. The leg is hard, dense yellow-brown, 3-8 cm long, 6-12 mm thick with a whitish ring, covered below the ring with loose scales. The spore powder is rusty brown.

It grows on dead tree trunks, on stumps, and sometimes on soil rich in woody debris. Splices contain a large number of mushrooms
The summer honey fungus appears in June, sometimes even in May, and bears fruit until September.

The summer honey fungus resembles a poisonous mushroom - Galerina marginata. Its concretions and mushrooms are much smaller, the ring is not obvious, but barely noticeable, the scales on the stalk are white and pressed.

Only the caps are used in preparations and dishes; the legs of old honey mushrooms are thrown away or left in the forest when collected.

Autumn honey fungus in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Beautiful, rather fleshy caps 3-10 cm, initially hemispherical, then convex, matte due to small scales, yellow-cream, ocher-brown. At first the plates are yellowish-white, hidden under a blanket. Then the plates become ocher or brown. The legs are 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, with the remains of a blanket in the form of a white ring under the cap. The flesh in the cap is whitish with a pleasant smell.

In a birch forest, the autumn honey fungus covers a vast territory. The mycelium develops in stumps and weakened trees, uniting with the help of strands up to 3 mm in diameter into a single organism.
They grow in large clusters from August to November.
A large harvest occurs once every three years.

Autumn honey fungus can be confused with the inedible red brick honey fungus (Hypholoma sublateritium), which is distinguished by later fruiting on the same stumps and bitterish pulp.

Autumn honey fungus is edible after heat treatment or drying. Poisonous when cold pickling.

Meadow mushrooms in the photo

Meadow mushrooms – edible species, used in cooking in boiled and canned form.

Look at these types of honey mushrooms in the photo and in the description, which will allow you to distinguish meadow honey fungus from inedible mushrooms:

Meadow mushrooms
Meadow mushrooms

The caps are 3-5 cm, at first hemispherical, convex, then open with a blunt hump, smooth, light ocher, sometimes light flesh-red. The plates are sparse, adherent in young mushrooms, later free, ocher in wet weather, creamy-whitish in dry weather. The mushroom cap does not age; it droops in dry weather; when it rains, it regains its elasticity and rises on its stem. This causes the edge of the cap to crumble in old mushrooms, and the tips of the plates are visible from above. The leg is 3-10 cm high, thin-velvety light ocher, the lower part is ocher. The pulp is whitish and sweetish with a faint sweetish aftertaste of cloves. The smell is pleasant. Spore powder is white.

It grows in the grass in clearings in the forest, on the lawn. Forms “witch circles”.
Honey fungus bears fruit from June to October. In dry weather, the mushroom is not visible in the grass.

The honey fungus has no poisonous counterparts.

Other types of edible honey mushrooms: what they look like, photos

We invite you to look at other types of edible honey mushrooms in the photo, which illustrate the appearance of the bulbous and dark honey mushrooms:

Bulbous honey fungus

It is necessary to know what edible honey mushrooms look like, since most of the presented species have false poisonous counterparts.

Bulbous honey fungus in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Beautiful, rather fleshy caps 3-10 cm. At first hemispherical, then convex, matte due to small scales, yellow-brown, sometimes with a fleshy-red tint. At first the plates are yellowish-white, hidden under a blanket. Then the plates become ocher or brown. The cap-colored legs are 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, with remnants of a blanket in the form of a white ring under the cap, with a bulbous thickening at the bottom. The flesh in the cap is whitish with a pleasant smell.

It grows mainly in birch forests, sometimes in orchards and coniferous forests. It is found on old stumps, on the roots of stumps and trees so that it seems to grow on the ground.
Found from August to October in clumps or single mushrooms.

The bulbous honey fungus can be confused with the inedible red brick honey fungus (Hypholoma sublateritium), which is distinguished by later fruiting on the same stumps and bitterish pulp.

The bulbous honey fungus is edible after heat treatment or drying.

Poisonous when cold salted!

Dark honey fungus in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Beautiful, rather fleshy caps 3-10 cm, initially hemispherical, then convex, matte due to dark scales, ocher-brown. At first the plates are yellowish-white, hidden under a blanket. Then the plates become ocher or brown. The legs are 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, with the remains of a cover in the form of a ring with a brown edge under the cap. The flesh in the cap is whitish with a pleasant smell.

In a coniferous forest, the dark honey fungus covers a vast territory. A mycelium covering an area of 35 hectares was found in Swiss forests.
They grow in large clusters from August to November. A large harvest occurs once every three years.
Dark honey fungus can be confused with the inedible red brick honey fungus (Hypholoma sublateritium), which is distinguished by later fruiting on the same stumps and bitterish pulp.

Dark honey fungus is edible after heat treatment or drying.

Poisonous when cold salted!

False honey mushrooms include several types of mushrooms that are very similar to edible honey mushrooms. In addition, they are easy to confuse, because false honey mushrooms like to grow in the same places as edible ones - they grow in families on stumps, fallen trees, on trunks and protruding parts of tree roots. Some types of false mushrooms are inedible, others are conditionally edible, and others are poisonous. However, a mushroom picker, especially a beginner, should not experiment and should never forget the main rule: “If you’re not sure, don’t take it!” Collect only real honey mushrooms when you are absolutely sure that it is they! If you have the slightest doubt, it is better to abandon the idea of putting the mushroom in the basket.

Most main feature, by which one can distinguish real honey fungus from the false one - this is a membranous ring (skirt) on a leg. This ring is a remnant of the spathe that protects the fruiting body of the mushroom at a young age. False mushrooms do not have such a ring.

In edible honey mushrooms (left), the ring on the stem is clearly visible.
False mushrooms (right) have no rings on their legs.

They even came up with a poem for children to better remember this main difference between edible mushrooms:

Edible honey mushrooms (autumn):
A, B - young, C - old

There are other differences too.

1. The smell of edible honey mushrooms is pleasant mushroom; false honey mushrooms emit an unpleasant earthy smell.

2. The caps of inedible honey mushrooms are more brightly and loudly colored than those of edible ones. The tone can vary from sulfur yellow to brick red (depending on the species). Edible honey mushrooms have a modest, dull light brown color.

A - sulfur-yellow, B - sulphur-plate, C - brick-red

3. Edible honey mushrooms have a cap covered with small scales; false honey mushrooms have no scales on the cap - it is usually smooth. But you need to remember that edible honey mushrooms at age also no longer have scales on their caps (see photo of old honey mushrooms above).

4. There are differences in the color of the records (on back side mushroom caps). The plates of false mushrooms are yellow, those of old ones are greenish or olive-black, while those of edible mushrooms are cream or yellowish-white.

Honey mushroom records:
A - edible (autumn), B - sulfur-plated, C - sulfur-yellow

5. They note the bitter taste of false honey mushrooms, which edible honey mushrooms do not have, but there is no point in assessing the taste - and without it there are enough signs by which you can distinguish an edible honey mushroom from a false one.

For an experienced mushroom picker, these signs immediately catch the eye, but beginners need to apply this knowledge with caution, since the signs listed above are largely subjective, that is, each person evaluates characteristics such as smell or color differently. Only experience can correct this. In the meantime, focus on the first, most important sign - look for a skirt with mushroom legs.

Honey fungus translated from Latin into Russian means “bracelet”. This name is not at all surprising, because if you look at the stump on which honey mushrooms are most often comfortably located, you can see a peculiar form of mushroom growth in the form of a ring.

A small mushroom with a stalk up to 7 cm high and a diameter of 0.4 to 1 cm. The top of the stalk is light, smooth, the bottom of the stalk is covered with dark scales. The “skirt” is narrow, filmy, and may disappear over time; thanks to falling spores, it turns brownish. The diameter of the mushroom cap is from 3 to 6 cm. Young summer honey mushrooms are distinguished by a convex cap; as the mushroom grows, the surface flattens, but a noticeable light tubercle remains in the center. The skin is smooth, matte, honey-yellow with dark edges. In damp weather, the skin becomes translucent, and characteristic circles form around the tubercle. Pulp summer honey fungus tender, moist, pale yellow in color, pleasant to the taste, with a pronounced aroma of living wood. The plates are often located, light, and become dark brown over time.

Summer honey fungus is found mainly in deciduous forest areas throughout the temperate zone. Appears in April and bears fruit until November. In areas with favorable climate can bear fruit without interruption. Sometimes summer honey mushrooms are confused with the poisonous galerina fringed (lat. Galerina marginata), which is distinguished by the small size of the fruiting body and the absence of scales at the bottom of the stem.

Autumn honey fungus, aka real honey fungus(lat. Armillaria mellea)

Leg height autumn honey fungus ranges from 8 to 10 cm, diameter - 1-2 cm. At the very bottom, the leg may have a slight expansion. The leg is yellowish-brown at the top and becomes dark brown at the bottom. The cap of the autumn mushroom, with a diameter of 3 to 10 cm (sometimes up to 15-17 cm), is convex at the beginning of the growth of the mushroom, then becomes flattened, with a few scales on the surface and a characteristic wavy edge. The ring is very pronounced, white with a yellow border, located almost under the cap itself. The pulp of autumn honey mushrooms is white, dense, fibrous, aromatic in the stem. The color of the skin on the cap varies and depends on the type of trees on which the mushroom grows.

Autumn honey mushrooms of honey-yellow color grow on poplar, mulberry, and black locust. Brown ones grow on, dark gray - on elderberry, red-brown - on trunks coniferous species trees. The plates are sparse, light beige in color, darken with age and dotted with dark brown spots.

The first autumn honey mushrooms appear at the end of August. Depending on the region, fruiting occurs in 2-3 layers, lasting about 3 weeks. Autumn mushrooms are widespread in swampy forests and clearings throughout the Northern Hemisphere, except in permafrost areas.

Winter honey fungus(flammulina velvety-footed, collibia velvety-footed, winter mushroom) (lat. Flammulina velutipes)

The leg, with a height of 2 to 7 cm and a diameter of 0.3 to 1 cm, has a dense structure and a distinctive, velvety-brown color, turning into brown with yellowness towards the top. In young mushrooms, the cap is convex, flattens with age and can reach 2-10 cm in diameter. The skin is yellow, brownish or brown with orange. The blades are planted sparsely, white or ocher, different lengths. The pulp is almost white or yellowish. Unlike the bulk of edible honey mushrooms, the winter honey mushroom does not have a “skirt” under the cap.

It grows throughout the temperate part of the forest-park zone of the northern hemisphere from autumn to spring. Winter honey fungus grows in large, often fused groups and is easily found in thawed areas during thaws. According to some reports, the pulp of the winter honey mushroom contains a small dose of unstable toxins, so it is recommended that the mushroom be subjected to more thorough heat treatment.

Honey fungus (meadowweed, meadow rotten mushroom, clove mushroom, meadow marasmius)(lat. Marasmius oreades)

Edible mushroom of the non-rotting family, genus non-rotting. A typical soil saprophyte growing in fields, meadows, pastures, summer cottages, along the edges of clearings and ditches, in ravines and forest edges. It bears abundant fruit, often grows in straight or arched rows, and sometimes forms “witch circles.”

The leg of the meadow grass is long and thin, sometimes curved, up to 10 cm in height, and from 0.2 to 0.5 cm in diameter. Dense along the entire length, widened at the very bottom, the color of the cap or slightly lighter. In young meadow mushrooms, the cap is convex, flattens over time, the edges become uneven, and a pronounced blunt tubercle remains in the center. In wet weather, the skin becomes sticky, yellow-brown or reddish. IN good weather the cap is light beige, but always with a center darker than the edges. The plates are sparse, light-colored, darker in rain, and there is no “skirt” under the cap. The pulp is thin, light, tastes sweet, with a characteristic odor of almonds.

Meadow grass is found from May to October throughout Eurasia: from Japan to Canary Islands. It tolerates drought well, and after rains it comes to life and is again capable of reproduction. Honey fungus is sometimes confused with wood-loving collibia (lat. Collybia dryophila), conditionally edible mushroom, having biotopes similar to meadow grass. It differs from the meadow grass by a tubular, hollow inside leg, more densely spaced plates and an unpleasant odor. It is much more dangerous to confuse the meadow grass with the furrowed talker (lat. Clitocybe rivulosa), a poisonous mushroom, distinguished by a whitish cap, devoid of a tubercle, often seated plates and a powdery spirit.

Honey fungus thick-legged(lat. Armillaria lutea, Armillaria gallica)

The leg of the thick-legged honey mushroom is low, straight, thickened at the bottom like an onion. Below the ring the leg is brown, above it is whitish, and at the base it is gray. The ring is pronounced, white, the edges are distinguished by star-shaped breaks and are often strewn with brown scales. The diameter of the cap is from 2.5 to 10 cm. In young thick-legged honey mushrooms, the cap has the shape of an expanded cone with rolled edges, in old mushrooms it is flat with descending edges. Young thick-legged honey mushrooms are brownish-brown, beige or pinkish. The middle of the cap is abundantly strewn with dry conical-shaped scales of gray-brown color, which are also preserved in old mushrooms. The plates are planted frequently, light in color, and darken over time. The pulp is light, astringent in taste, with a slight cheesy smell.

Honey fungus mucous or udemanciella mucosa(lat. Oudemansiella mucida)

A species of edible mushrooms of the Physalacriaceae family, genus Udemanciella. Rare mushroom, grows on the trunks of fallen European beech, sometimes on damaged trees that are still alive.

The curved leg reaches 2-8 cm in length and has a diameter of 2 to 4 mm. Under the cap itself it is light, below the “skirt” it is covered with brown flakes, and at the base it has a characteristic thickening. The ring is thick and slimy. The caps of young honey mushrooms have the shape of a wide cone; with age, they open up and become flat-convex. At first, the skin of the mushrooms is dry and olive-gray in color; with age, it becomes slimy, whitish or beige with yellowness. The plates are sparsely located and have a yellowish color. The pulp of the mucous honey fungus is tasteless, odorless, white; in old mushrooms, the lower part of the stem turns brown.

Slimy honey fungus is found in the broad-leaved European zone.

Spring honey fungus or wood-loving collibia(lat. Gymnopus dryophilus, Collybia dryophila)

A species of edible mushrooms of the non-gnacaceae family, the genus Gymnopus. Grows in separate small groups on fallen trees and decaying foliage, in forests dominated by oak and.

The elastic leg, 3 to 9 cm long, is usually smooth, but sometimes has a thickened base. The cap of young honey mushrooms is convex, and over time it acquires a broadly convex or flattened shape. The skin of young mushrooms is brick-colored; in mature individuals it becomes lighter and becomes yellow-brown. The plates are frequent, white, sometimes with a pink or yellow tint. The pulp is white or yellowish, with a weak taste and smell.

Spring honey mushrooms grow throughout the temperate zone from early summer to November.

Common garlic mushroom (common garlic mushroom) (lat. Mycetinis scorodonius, Marasmius scorodonius)

An edible small mushroom of the non-rot family, genus garlic. It has a characteristic garlic smell, which is why it is often used in seasonings.

The cap is slightly convex or hemispherical, and can reach 2.5 cm in diameter. The color of the cap depends on humidity: in rainy weather and fogs it is brownish, sometimes a rich red hue, in dry weather it becomes creamy. The plates are light, very rare. The leg of this honey mushroom is hard and shiny, darker below.

(lat. Myc etinis allia ceus)

Belongs to the genus garlic of the non-rot family. The mushroom cap can be quite large (up to 6.5 cm), slightly translucent closer to the edge. The surface of the cap is smooth, yellow or red in color, brighter in the center. The pulp has a pronounced garlic aroma. A strong leg up to 5 mm thick and 6 to 15 cm long, gray or black, covered with pubescence.

The mushroom grows in Europe, preferring deciduous forests, and especially rotting leaves and twigs of beech.

Pine honey fungus (yellow-red row, reddened row, yellow-red honey fungus, red honey fungus) (lat. Tricholomopsis rutilans)

A conditionally edible mushroom belonging to the family Aryadorova. Some consider it inedible.

The cap is convex; as the mushroom ages, it becomes flatter, up to 15 cm in diameter. The surface is covered with small red-purple scales. The flesh of the honey mushroom is yellow, its structure in the stem is more fibrous, and in the cap it is dense. The taste may be bitter, and the smell may be sour or woody-putrid. The leg is usually curved, hollow in the middle and upper part, thickened at the base.

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 learn 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:

On the stem of the real one, a membranous ring is clearly visible, which is absent in inedible ones.
Edible ones have a characteristic mushroom smell, poisonous ones smell unpleasant.
The caps of real mushrooms are distinguished by an inconspicuous light brown color, while inedible ones are much brighter and more provocative.
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 plates on the back of the cap also have their own 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 their own way appearance very similar to the real ones. They are also easy to confuse because they grow in the same places - on stumps, tree trunks.

However, if we're talking about about human health and life, a mushroom picker has no right to make mistakes. 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:

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.
The smell of inedible ones is earthy and unpleasant, instead of a pronounced mushroom one.
Poisonous caps have a bright color that catches the eye, for example, brick red.
The plates on the back of the fake cap are painted in dark, almost black tones.
Taste is not an indicator of its edibility: very often poisonous mushrooms have a good taste.
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 the trunks of 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 in young mushrooms have light color, and in mature ones - yellowish or brown.

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, 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 plates of edible ones are painted in a light cream color, then in inedible ones they are 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 to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible:

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 it poisonous mushroom has a floury smell.

More information about meadow honey mushrooms is in the video.

Views