Moss mushroom: types and characteristics of growing at home. Flywheel mushroom - photo and description of species, how to distinguish false flywheel A yellow mushroom similar to flywheel

What is the main difference between an experienced mushroom picker and a beginner? An experienced collector can distinguish about a thousand different types of fruiting bodies growing in the forests and meadows of his climatic zone. He knows what smell edible and deadly poisonous mushrooms emit. He knows the places where they can grow and the time favorable for them. He also knows why this happens, and also that some fruiting bodies emit a milky juice - white or orange. He does not harvest his crops along roadsides or near industrial areas. After all, mushrooms absorb all heavy metals and toxic substances. Thus, even boletus becomes hazardous to health.

Are there clear distinctive features between edible and

Unfortunately, there is only one, but it does not guarantee that you will not pick up toadstools in your basket. This is the so-called “death bed”. This is the name given to the recess between the stem and the mycelium of some fly agarics and toadstools located in the ground. Neither the smell (unpleasant in some edible species) nor the taste (neutral in some poisonous ones) can tell with certainty what is in front of you. The same applies to the sign when the mushroom turns blue when cut. A novice collector just needs to take a catalog and remember what boletus, chanterelles, honey mushrooms and boletus look like, and what dangerous fibers, fly agaric mushrooms and a whole cohort of “false” ones that pretend to be edible look like. And even better - go into the forest a couple of times with an experienced person who will show and tell.

Why does a mushroom turn blue when cut?

Many ignorant people consider such blue discoloration to be evidence of the poisonous nature of the find, and therefore do not take it into their basket. And in vain! A change in color only means that an oxidation reaction occurs due to contact with air. Mushroom flesh can not only turn blue, but also turn green, black, red, brown. And also start to “bleed” - the milky juice released at the break scares inexperienced mushroom pickers away from the delicious saffron milk cap.

The brown boletus turns dark green very quickly. Rizhik, which is called a trump card in Russia and a trump card in Ukraine (for its elegant red-orange color), also turns very blue when cut. Boletuses belonging to the first category change color when the cap is pressed and when the stem is cut. Mushrooms of the highest category are not immune to discoloration. Even in the glorious cohort of boletus mushrooms there are such. For example, very tasty, found in pine forests, moss moss also turns blue when cut (another name is swamp grass). In the southern part of Russia and Ukraine, in oak forests, acacia and chestnut groves, excellent-tasting mushrooms grow that also change color. They turn blue, green, black or brown. This is a chestnut tree. And the bruise turns blue from just one touch.

Unfortunately, poisonous mushrooms also change their color. Thus, the deadly one turns blue when cut. It is very similar to an ordinary boletus, which is why it causes many poisonings. You can recognize it by its reddish stem and orange pores on the cap. If the bluish or dark green color on the cut scares you, touch it with your tongue: it tastes bitter.

The flywheel is a mushroom that belongs to the basidiomycetes department, the agaricomycetes class, the boletaceae order, and the boletaceae family. Previously, all species belonged to the genus Xerocomus, but then some of them were assigned to other genera: Boletus, Pseudoboletus, Xerocomellus, Hortiboletus. Moss mushrooms often grow among mosses, hence their name.

Moss fly – photo and description. What does a mushroom look like?

hat

The fruiting body of moss mushrooms consists of a cap and a stalk. The shape of the cap of a young flywheel is convex or semicircular, the edges are straight. Over time, it becomes cushion-shaped. The diameter of the cap varies from 4 to 20 cm. The surface can be felt, velvety, bare, sticky and damp, especially in wet weather, or covered with scales that appear from cracking in dry weather.

The color of the cap surface of moss fly mushrooms is more or less varied: these are various variations of yellow (olive yellow, ocher yellow, dark yellow, with a lemon tint), reddish-brown or red-brown tones, as well as darker ones (chestnut, brown ). The skin is almost not separated from the pulp.

Leg

The legs of moss mushrooms are cylindrical in shape. They can be curved, have thickenings in the middle or at the bottom, and sometimes, on the contrary, become thinner downwards. The surface of the stem can be smooth, mesh, or slightly ribbed, depending on the type of mushroom. The surface color is usually lighter than the cap.

Pulp

The pulp of the mushrooms is mainly yellowish in color. Inside the leg the flesh is dense or with a cotton-like center.

A distinctive feature of moss mushrooms is that when broken or cut, the flesh changes color: the mushroom turns blue, green and even black. Photo credit: Dave W, CC BY-SA 3.0

Hymenophore

The hymenophore of moss mushrooms is tubular. The tubes reach 2 cm in length and have a yellow-greenish, sulfur-yellow, yellow-green, yellow-brown color. The mouth of the tubes (pores) are different for different types of flywheels. They can be large, medium and small. Their shape is also different: angular, faceted, rounded. When pressed, the tubular layer darkens.

Spore powder

The spore powder has a dark olive or brown color.

The cap is fleshy, convex in shape, 5-10 cm in diameter. Sometimes it is flat. The surface of the cap is ocher-yellow, brownish, with small, thin, fibrous scales that later disappear. Usually dry, mucous in wet weather. The surface of the tubular layer is initially dull yellow or dirty yellow, but over time it becomes tobacco brown. The pores are small and round. The leg of the yellow-brown oiler is not very large: 5-8 cm high and 1-2 cm thick. The color of the leg is yellowish or brownish, it is usually buried in moss and is not very visible. The dense flesh turns slightly blue at the break.

Yellow-brown moss mushrooms grow in pine forests on peaty-sandy or sandy soils. These edible mushrooms are very productive. They are rarely attacked by insect larvae. They bear fruit from August to October. They are eaten freshly prepared, dried or pickled.

False flywheels, description and photo. How to distinguish from edible ones?

Among the real fly mushrooms there are no mushrooms that can cause poisoning, but they can still be confused with other inedible or poisonous mushrooms: for example, pepper mushroom or gall mushroom. That is why it is very important to know the signs by which you can distinguish false fly mushrooms from edible ones. Below is a description of mushrooms similar to moss mushrooms.

  • aka pepper oiler) ( Chalciporus piperatus)

It has a cap with a diameter of up to 7 cm and a stem with a height of up to 8 cm. The color of the cap varies from light brown to yellow-brown and orange-rusty. The flesh is yellow in the stem, lighter in the cap. When cut, the flesh turns pink. The taste of pepper mushroom is spicy-hot, burning. The mushroom is considered inedible, although in the cuisines of some countries, the powder from this “false mushroom” is added to dishes to add spice.

  • Gall mushroom ( Tylopilus felleus)

It has a cap with a diameter of up to 15 cm and a leg up to 12.5 cm high and up to 3 cm thick. There is a brown mesh on the leg. The color of the cap can be different: light brown, yellow-brown, with a grayish tint, or darker, chestnut. White tubular layer of inedible gall fungus

Useful properties of moss mushrooms

Moss mushrooms are healthy mushrooms that contain:

Like many other mushrooms, flywheels are used in dietary nutrition. Their calorie content is 19 kcal per 100 g. These mushrooms are a natural antibiotic and can promote recovery from colds and infectious diseases. They improve blood composition and enhance immunity.

Harm and contraindications of fly mushrooms

Like all mushrooms, flywheels are heavy food. They are not recommended for use by people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and digestive glands, young children and the elderly.

In addition, any mushrooms absorb harmful substances and heavy metals. That is why you cannot collect them in the city, near roads, near industrial enterprises.

How to collect and prepare moss mushrooms?

Moss mushrooms are collected from mid-summer to mid-autumn. When harvesting, you need to cut off only the fruiting body, leaving the mycelium in the ground, so that you can get a harvest of moss mushrooms next year. The collected mushrooms are sorted, discarding spoiled and wormy ones. Then they are thoroughly washed and various dishes are prepared from them. If there are a lot of mushrooms, you can store them in the refrigerator for some time, but no more than 2-3 days. It is better to immediately freeze or dry the excess. Before freezing, mushrooms should be boiled in salted water for some time.

Moss mushrooms can be pickled and salted. They are good because their caps do not need to be peeled: just rinse and scrape the damaged areas with a knife. Marinades are prepared using vinegar with the addition of various ingredients. Before marinating, the mushrooms are boiled. Moss mushrooms are salted hot and cold. In the first case, never add garlic and cook for a short time so that the mushrooms do not spread. Otherwise, the methods for pickling moss mushrooms do not differ from other mushrooms.

Dishes prepared from moss mushrooms are very diverse. These can be salads, soups, main courses, aspic. Mushrooms can be added to pizza, vegetable caviar, and pie filling. Dried mushrooms are used to add to various sauces. Cooked in any way, these mushrooms have an excellent taste.

Features of flywheel: beneficial properties, composition and calorie content, contraindications for use. Cooking methods and the most amazing facts about mushrooms.

The content of the article:

Moss mushroom is a mushroom that belongs to the Tubular genus, Boletaceae family. It has a dry and velvety cap that becomes sticky in wet weather. Over time, the skin may crack. Most mushrooms often have blue flesh when cut, although it is usually white or yellow. The leg can be different: both smooth and wrinkled, but the ring and volva are missing. The spore powder is often a rich brown color. There are 7 species of moss mushrooms growing in the post-Soviet space, and 18 of them are found in the world. Most often they can be seen in the temperate climate zone of both hemispheres.

Composition and calorie content of moss fly


Moss mushroom is considered a first-class mushroom due to its healing properties, large number of macro- and microelements, as well as vitamins. It is part of a narrow range of products that contain vitamin A, which the body needs.

The calorie content of flywheel per 100 g of product is 19 kcal, of which:

  • Proteins - 2.5 g;
  • Fats - 0.7 g;
  • Carbohydrates - 1.3 g.
Features of the flywheel composition:
  1. Nature has not deprived this mushroom of vitamins, namely A, B2, B5, B6, B9, D, K, PP, which determines its similarity to grain crops.
  2. The moss fly contains extractive elements, various enzymes, essential oils, ash, healthy sugars and dietary fiber.
  3. It contains a huge amount of protein and is highly digestible, so it can be easily compared to meat in terms of these characteristics.
  4. There is practically no chitin in moss fly.
  5. It ranks not least in the presence of molybdenum, which in turn stabilizes the functioning of the thyroid gland.
  6. Boiled mushrooms contain a large amount of zinc and copper.
If you include flywheel in your diet, you will not regret it, since it contains all existing amino acids and vitamins, micro- and macroelements. And they will stimulate cell renewal and rejuvenate your body.

Useful properties of flywheel


This mushroom is distinguished not only by its high yield, but also by its healing properties and amazing composition, which has a beneficial effect on the body. It is an excellent alternative to red meat due to its impressive amount of amino acids. For this, it is highly valued by vegetarians and fasting people.

Here is the beneficial effect this mushroom has on the body:

  • Natural antibiotic. Moss mushroom is strong in the treatment of many inflammatory processes, as it contains a large amount of various vitamins and a trace element such as calcium.
  • Low calorie. People on a diet really appreciate the low calorie content of this mushroom and its ability to quickly saturate the body. Therefore, fly mushrooms have found wide application in nutrition.
  • Easy to digest by the body. Due to the content of a significant amount of extractive substances (which give mushrooms a unique taste and smell), enzymes, and essential oils, flywheels are quickly and easily digested.
  • Helps improve vision. The presence of vitamins in these mushrooms, in particular vitamin B2, improves the functioning of the human visual system.
  • Strengthening the integumentary system. Due to the impressive amount of beneficial vitamins and amino acids contained in flywheels, hair, skin and nails are protected.
  • Sedative properties. Due to the presence of B vitamins in moss mushrooms, the body's nerve cells are renewed, which contributes to good human performance.
  • Excellent product for weight loss. For people suffering from obesity, this mushroom will give positive results in terms of losing excess weight. Nutritionists often recommend it to those who want to burn unwanted calories.
  • Availability of useful microelements. Mineral substances contained in flywheels, such as zinc, copper, iron, have a beneficial effect on the general condition of the body.
  • Reducing the risk of developing atherosclerosis. The vitamins present in these mushrooms reduce the possibility of memory impairment and help improve mental performance.
  • Ridding the body of toxins. The presence of a component such as chitin in flywheels helps remove harmful substances from the body. These are toxic elements and salts of heavy metals. The mushroom is an excellent natural antioxidant.
  • Body tonic. Moss fly is a universal remedy for supporting the body; it will help eliminate the negative impact of harmful bacteria.
Considering the special composition of mushrooms, in particular the presence of difficult-to-digest amino acids, and the benefits of flywheel, nutritionists recommend regularly including them in your daily menu. Dishes containing this product in the diet will help not only renew the body, but also improve digestion. The substances found in flywheels will help improve brain function, memory and relieve fatigue.

Harm and contraindications to the use of flywheel


If you suffer from allergic diseases or are prone to them, you should be careful when choosing dishes with mushrooms; fly mushrooms are no exception in this case.

People who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract need to beware of regularly consuming moss mushrooms. Children should not often introduce mushrooms into their diet. Children under 3 years old are strictly prohibited from eating them; they are contraindicated for them.

Fans of “quiet hunting” near highways, major events, and roads need to be reminded that such a rash desire can have bad consequences. These mushrooms have the ability to accumulate harmful substances.

Some features to consider when consuming fly mushrooms:

  1. Adversely affects the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Since moss mushrooms are still a heavy food, doctors do not advise people with gastrointestinal diseases to consume them. If you have a desire to enjoy aromatic mushrooms, chop them well during cooking.
  2. Liver diseases. Due to their difficulty in being digested by the body, the liver spends a huge amount of energy, as a result of which its functioning deteriorates.
  3. Individual intolerance. People prone to allergies should not get carried away with fly mushrooms. If you have intolerance to certain substances, as well as a tendency to indigestion, avoid this delicacy.
  4. . If you have problems urinating, pain in the kidneys, and there is sand and blood in your urine, you need to remove mushrooms from your diet.
Moss mushrooms, like most mushrooms, cannot be considered one of the most healthy and dietary products. There are reasons for this: poor digestibility, the ability to accumulate harmful substances, the possibility of being confused with toxic substances. Nutritionists recommend that adults limit their consumption of fly mushrooms, and children completely exclude them from their diet.

Recipes for dishes with moss mushrooms


Despite the fact that flywheels are little-known mushrooms, they occupy a special place in cooking. Their external similarity to boletus mushrooms often misleads lovers of “silent hunting”, who do not even know what kind of mushroom they are dealing with. But anyone who has tried their taste at least once will never refuse again.

Moss mushrooms are first-class mushrooms, and they can be prepared in different ways: dried, boiled, pickled, fried. The first of these methods is one of the most popular. But remember the recommendation regarding their undesirable preparation with light mushrooms, since in this case the dish acquires a rich dark color and aesthetically does not look appetizing, although the taste does not deteriorate.

Here are the most interesting dishes that are easy to prepare:

  • Stewed mushrooms. Even the most inventive gourmets will be surprised at how easy and simple this dish is to prepare, for which you will need to boil pre-prepared mushrooms (preferably in a cauldron) for 2 hours and then fry them in vegetable oil. After some time, you need to fill them with water and add a little sour cream (200 g). After all the water has evaporated and the sauce has become a thick consistency, you can serve the mushrooms on the table. Bon appetit!
  • Classic soup. This first dish has beneficial properties for the body and has excellent taste. This soup is nutritious and low in calories. To prepare it, you need to chop and fry moss mushrooms in butter and put them in a saucepan, and then add water. Next, peel and cut the potatoes, put them in a pre-prepared broth with mushrooms. Add parsley root, onion and carrots sautéed in oil to the soup. Don't forget to adjust the pepper to your taste and cook for another half hour until the potatoes are cooked. Before you please your loved ones with this dish, decorate it with sour cream.
  • Pork with mushrooms. This recipe will be useful to any housewife, both for the holiday table and for everyday meals. You will need clay pots. You need to put pork ribs (1 kg) in them, which must be thoroughly washed. Add onions, moss mushrooms and seasonings to taste, don’t forget about cloves for a piquant taste. Next, close the lids and simmer for an hour. Enjoy!
  • Autumn salad. To prepare this light dish, you need to boil the potatoes in their skins and chop them, then chop the apples, pickled mushrooms and ham (150 g). Mix all the above ingredients and add celery, parsley and season with sauce to taste. Let it brew and you can try.
  • Turkey aspic. For this delicious dish, you need to boil fresh mushrooms and pour water over them, then let this broth cool and add gelatin to thicken (2 tablespoons per 1 glass of broth). After the gelatin swells, bring the soup to a boil. Pour this mixture into pre-prepared molds with turkey meat and herbs at the bottom, as well as moss mushrooms. Place the molds in the refrigerator and wait a couple of hours. And you can delight your guests with such an interesting and tasty cold appetizer.
  • Cheesecakes. For this hearty dish, you first need to prepare yeast dough. It will require half a liter of milk, 100 grams of butter, 2 eggs, 1 packet of dry yeast and 1 kg of flour. Mix all this, let the dough rise, put it on a table sprinkled with flour. Next, divide it into small pieces the size of a fist. Make a hole in each part and fill it with filling, which consists of mashed potatoes mixed with boiled mushrooms. Brush the cheesecakes with egg and place on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil. Sometimes you can treat yourself and your loved ones to such a not entirely low-calorie, but tasty dish.


These mushrooms are little known to lovers of “silent hunting”, and only true gourmets know and appreciate them for their taste and beneficial properties. Moss mushrooms conceal quite a lot of secrets: from their habitat to cooking methods.

Most often, moss mushrooms can be found in coniferous and deciduous forests. In addition, these mushrooms can be grown under artificial conditions - they do well in laboratories.

These mushrooms resemble boletus and boletus mushrooms in appearance, but the dry surface of the cap immediately gives away the boletus mushroom. The Volva and the ring are missing. Please note that they do not have poisonous counterparts.

Watch a video about flywheel:


Moss mushrooms, although they are not popular and well-known among mushroom pickers, have already become favorites among real gourmets. For their beneficial properties and spicy taste in dishes, they are appreciated by those who have once tried them. You can do anything with them: pickle, fry, boil, dry, they are compatible with almost every product, which can please housewives. Therefore, we advise you not to pass by and pay attention to these beauties.

Almost all currently known varieties of flywheel mushrooms, from the Latin Xerocomus, belong to the genus and family Boletaceae. The name of the genus is derived from the characteristics of the place of growth. A small part of taxonomists are inclined to classify flywheels as a genus or Boletus. This situation is due to the pronounced heterogeneity of the genus.

Morphological description of the flywheel

The description of the morphological features characterizing flywheels is as follows:

  • dry, slightly velvety cap;
  • in some species, in wet weather the surface of the cap looks sticky;
  • older specimens of fruiting bodies have pronounced cracking on the surface of the cap;
  • the flesh is whitish, yellowish or reddish in color and may be blue when cut;
  • tubular type yellow, greenish-yellow or red hymenophore descends along the stalk or grows onto it;
  • tubular pores are relatively wide;
  • with a smooth or wrinkled surface, the leg does not have a cover or ring.

In our country, only seven types of flywheels are widely used.

Varieties of moss mushrooms

Eighteen species are united in the genus of moss mushrooms, but in Russia, lovers of “quiet” hunting have the opportunity to meet the five most common varieties, among which there are completely no toxic or deadly poisonous varieties.

  • a convex and slightly velvety or oily cap;
  • the average diameter of the cap can vary between 20-70 mm;
  • the color of the surface of the mushroom cap can be yellow, light walnut or ocher-brown;
  • the flesh is light yellow in color and has virtually no mushroom taste or aroma, without turning blue when cut;

Description of flywheel mushrooms (video)

  • the descending type tubular layer is represented by tubes ranging in size from 3 mm to 7 mm;
  • lemon-yellow or rusty-brown pores are quite wide, with ribbed edges;
  • Solid type, cylindrical shape, the height of the leg reaches no more than 60 mm.

Distribution area

Preference is given to sandy soils of coniferous plantings. One of the species that is quite common in our country is the flywheel Xerocomellus chrysenteron, which bears fruit en masse on acidic and loose soils from the second ten days of August to mid-September.

The fruiting bodies of Xerocomellus rubellus are formed from August to the first ten days of September. The species Xerocomus subtomentosus is characterized by the formation of mycorrhiza not only with coniferous trees, but also with deciduous trees. This cosmopolitan mushroom bears fruit en masse from May to the first ten days of October and grows both in forest zones and in clearings or roadsides.

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of flywheel mushrooms is rich in vitamins “B”, “C”, “E”, “PP”, and also has a sufficient amount of calcium, chlorine, zinc, sodium, fluorine, potassium and phosphorus. 100 g of mushroom pulp contains:

  • proteins about 1.7 g, which is approximately 2% of the daily value;
  • fat at least 0.7 g, which is at least 1% of the daily requirement;
  • carbohydrates at the level of 1.5 g, which is about 0.7% of the daily value.

The total calorie content is about 19 kcal.

Where moss mushrooms grow (video)

Cooking methods

Of greatest value is the mushroom, which can be used to prepare many mushroom dishes, and has also proven itself well in freezing, drying and pickling. Pasture flywheels have a slimy consistency when cooked, so Most often, young fruiting bodies are used for use in mushroom dishes, which are consumed fresh and salted, and are also suitable for drying and freezing.

The fruiting bodies of the reddish flywheel have a rather pleasant mushroom aroma, but completely inexpressive taste. As a rule, mushrooms of this type are used freshly prepared. It should also be remembered that as a result of drying, the fruiting bodies of Xerocomellus rubellus become very dark. Green flywheels are usually used fresh, and during the drying process the fruiting bodies turn black.

Moss mushrooms are one of the most popular among connoisseurs of “quiet” mushroom hunting. You can prepare a large number of delicious and very healthy dishes from moss mushrooms. Preparation should begin with a review of the collected fruiting bodies and removal of forest debris, as well as thorough washing twice a day under running water.

Moss mushrooms are used for cooking soups, stewing in sour cream, frying, preparing filling for pies or pizza, and also in vegetable stews. You can prepare dishes for direct consumption, as well as prepare mushrooms for the winter period by salting, pickling and drying. Before pickling, mushrooms need to be doused with boiling water, which will allow the fruiting bodies to retain their attractive color.

What a huge variety of types of flywheel mushrooms.

How can you learn to distinguish edible, tasty mushrooms from false bitter ones?

In this article we will look in detail at almost all types of these delicious mushrooms, as well as analyze the features of collection, processing and storage.

Let's talk about the benefits and harms of this type of mushroom and what delicious things can be prepared from them.

In the summer, while walking in a coniferous forest, you can find a moss mushroom. And they called it that because of the place where it most often grows - moss.

Moss mushroom is a mushroom from the genus of edible tubular mushrooms, the Boletaceae family. Previously, all species were part of the genus Boletus, but later some of them were assigned to the genera Boletus and Pseudoboletus.

The boletus is considered a relative of the boletus. Variegated, green, Polish and red moss mushrooms are the most delicious.

hat

The moss fly's cap is dry and slightly velvety. In rainy weather, the cap may become sticky and wet. With the growth and aging of the mushroom, as well as in dry weather, the cap becomes covered with scales; they appear from cracking of the cap.

The shape is semicircular and convex with smooth edges. The size can range from 4 to 20 centimeters in diameter. The pulp separates from the skin very poorly.

The color scheme of the flywheel cap is varied from light beige to dark brown, with many shades and tones.

Leg

The leg of the flywheel is usually lighter than the cap. It is varied in shape, can be curved, thicken sometimes at the bottom, sometimes in the center in some species, even at the top, closer to the cap.

The skin of the leg, depending on the type, can be smooth, ribbed, or mesh. It can reach 8 cm in length. The Volva and the ring on the leg are missing.

Pulp

The consistency of the flywheel pulp is compacted with a cotton wool-like center. When cut, the pulp has a yellowish-beige color, less often reddish. One of the important features of this mushroom is the ability of the pulp to turn blue or black when cut and when pressed with a finger.

Hymenophore

The heminophore is tubular, can be up to 2 cm in length. The mouth and pores of the tubes, both small and large, depend on the type of fungus. The color is also varied from yellow-green to yellow-brown.

The hymenium is also located here, on which spore-forming cells develop. Powdered spores are colored olive and all shades of brown.

Ability of flywheel to turn blue

This feature cannot be attributed to signs indicating the toxicity of the mushroom. The substances in the flywheel pulp react with oxygen, and the process of oxidation of the open surface begins when cut or broken. The resulting dark film protects the fungus from subsequent damage.

Moss fly habitat

The moss fly's habitat is vast and varied. It can be found in both coniferous and deciduous forests. Naturally, it can also be found in mixed forests. Moss fly loves sandy soil among mosses, and can also grow on anthills.

Geography of flywheel distribution: Russia, Australia, North Africa, Asia, North America. In forests of temperate latitudes.

Varieties of moss mushrooms

There are no poisonous mushrooms among moss mushrooms. True, there are controversial debates about some species. Fly mushrooms can be divided into several conditional groups: edible, false and poisonous mushrooms.

In Russia you can find only 7 varieties of flywheel, but in total there are 18 species in the genus.

For convenience, we will consider the main features of the flywheel varieties.

Edible fly mushrooms

Polish mushroom

Cap: The cap of the Polish mushroom can grow up to 20 cm in diameter. The shape is similar to a dark brown pillow. The surface is sticky, but can be dry in hot weather.

Leg: The leg reaches 10 – 12 cm in length and up to 4 cm in width. The color of the stem is brown, but always lighter than the cap.

Pulp: Pulp with a pronounced mushroom aroma, fleshy consistency with a creamy yellow tint, darkens when cut.

Tubular layer and spores: The tubular layer is golden in color, becoming yellowish-beige over time. The spores are ellipsoidal and olive-brown in color.

Distribution: Find the Polish mushroom in coniferous and deciduous forests. It does not occur very often, but there are also fruitful years. You can collect from June to November, depending on the region.

Taste and preparation: Polish mushroom is considered one of the most delicious mushrooms in Europe, late mushrooms are especially good. It can be prepared in a variety of ways; for the winter it can be dried or pickled.

Fractured flywheel

Cap: The convex cap grows up to 10 cm in diameter. The surface of the cap, as the mushroom ages, cracks. The color of the cap is brown, less often light brown. The texture is thick and fleshy. Red and white flesh is visible in the cracks.

Leg: The leg is cylindrical, grows up to 9 cm in height with a maximum thickness of 1.5 cm. It is reddish towards the bottom of the leg, light brown closer to the cap.

Pulp: The pulp has a loose consistency and turns blue at the break, later turning black. The pores are angular and wide.

Tubular layer and spores: While the moss is fissured, its small tubular layer is yellow in color, but later becomes greenish in color, with wide angular pores.

Distribution: Fissured flywheel can be collected from July to September, in coniferous and deciduous forests; it grows on loose acidic soils.

Taste and preparation: It is best to eat fissured moss mushroom when it is young; in dishes it has a slimy consistency. The mushroom can be boiled, fried, salted, dried, pickled.

Moss fly red

Cap: The color of the cap is red-brown; this color is how the mushroom got its name. The cap is approximately 7 cm in diameter. Felt or velvety to the touch.

Leg: The leg is thin, no more than 1 cm thick and up to 10 cm long, red in color with yellowish spots.

Pulp: It has dense pulp with a yellow tint, and quickly darkens when cut.

Tubular layer and spores: The tubular layer is dirty yellow with red-brown spores.

Distribution: Grows mainly in deciduous forests, most often in oak forests. Red moss mushroom should be collected from August to September.

Taste and preparation: It has a pleasant aroma and is best consumed immediately. Not suitable for long-term storage.

Green moss

Cap: The cap of the green moss fly is golden brown in color. On average it grows up to 15 cm in diameter. The shape is cylindrical, tapering towards the bottom. The velvety surface cracks as the mushroom ages.

Leg: The cylindrical leg expands towards the base and has yellowish-brown to red-brown shades. The height of the leg reaches 11 cm. The width is 1.5 cm.

Pulp: Oily pulp of white or cream color, slightly blue at the break.

Tubular layer and spores: The pores of the green faceted flywheel change color with age from yellow to yellow-green. The spores are fusiform, brown-olive in color.

Distribution: Find green moss, most often in oak forests from mid-May to early October.

Taste and preparation: The taste of green flywheel is very pleasant with hints of fruity flavor. When dry, it sometimes has a sharp, unpleasant odor. Before cooking, it is better to remove the skin from the cap. Suitable for frying, boiling and pickling.

False flywheels, description, main signs.

Chestnut moss

The shape of the cap changes as the mushroom grows. At first it is convex and eventually becomes cushion-shaped. Can reach 8 cm in diameter. The skin is velvety and cracks as it ages.

The color is predominantly brown, less often red-brown or with a grayish tint. The leg is hollow, brownish in color. Cylindrical shape 3.5 by 3 cm. The color does not change when cut. The color is cream or white and does not darken when cut. Has a bitter taste and is non-toxic.

Very similar to a porcini mushroom, due to its massive, strong stem. The cap is a spongy formation with a pinkish substance; it can reach 7 cm in diameter. It can also be easily confused with boletus and boletus. It has a very bitter taste, which is enhanced by heat treatment. Has no smell. Not poisonous.

Poisonous mushrooms

Wood flywheel

The cap is from 4 to 8 cm in diameter. The shape is hemispherical, red-brown in color. The stem reaches 10 cm and about 2 cm in width, the color is mostly the same as the cap. The pulp is yellow and very dense. The mushroom is poisonous.

Pepper mushroom

Very similar to red moss fly. The hat is convex in shape, about 7 cm in diameter, light brown in color. The pulp has a loose consistency of a yellow hue, turns red when cut, unlike the blue color of moss mushrooms. The leg can grow up to 8 cm in length and 2 cm in width. The stalk and tubular layer are red, more yellow towards the base. The mushroom is poisonous.

The benefits and harms of fly mushrooms

The beneficial properties of moss mushrooms include its low calorie content, which is only 19 kcal. per 100 g. These mushrooms are actively used in dietary nutrition.

They are also a storehouse of vitamins and microelements. These mushrooms contain vitamins A, B, C, D, PP, and amino acids. Enzymes: amylase, lipase, oxidoreductase and proteinase.

Essential oils, minerals: potassium, calcium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, molybdenum, as well as proteins and carbohydrates. Another valuable beneficial quality of these mushrooms is the ability to treat infectious and colds, as they are a natural antibiotic.

This type of mushroom has practically no harmful properties. They are heavy food and are contraindicated for consumption by people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. It is also not recommended to feed them to children under 3 years of age and those with allergies.

The main characteristic of an edible mushroom is its ability to turn blue or black when cut and when we press on the body of the mushroom.

You can start collecting moss mushrooms already at the beginning of summer and until the onset of cold weather, somewhere until mid-October. When picking mushrooms, you need to remember that if you damage the mycelium, there will no longer be mushrooms in that place. Only the body of the mushroom is cut off, and the mycelium is left in the ground.

Mushrooms must be sorted immediately, removing spoiled and wormy mushrooms.

Washed and peeled mushrooms must be immediately filled with water with the addition of citric acid and salt, since when they come into contact with air, the oxidation process begins and the mushrooms turn black.

It is advisable to cook the moss mushrooms immediately, but if necessary, they can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days in the marinade. It is better to immediately freeze or dry excess mushrooms.

Moss mushrooms are very good marinated and salted. The marinade is made on the basis of vinegar with the addition of various seasonings, but they can be salted either cold or hot.

Moss mushrooms are used to prepare a wide variety of dishes. Mushrooms have a bright mushroom taste and aroma; they are used to prepare soups, salads, gravies, aspic, and added to pizza and sauces.