False honey fungus. Honey mushrooms: summer, autumn, winter and others

Everything can be attributed to false honey mushrooms several types of mushrooms Of course, they will be very similar to edible mushrooms. Such mushrooms are easily confused due to the fact that false mushrooms grow in the same place as edible ones - they grow on fallen trees, stumps, on protruding parts of tree roots.

Types of false mushrooms can be divided into 3 groups:

  • inedible;
  • conditionally edible;
  • poisonous.

Nevertheless, a beginner mushroom picker should not forget about the main rule: "Not sure - don't take it!", do not experiment, take care of yourself. Try to collect only real mushrooms, if you are 100% sure that they are the ones to put them in the basket.

Honey mushrooms false and edible photos how to distinguish them:

One of the most important signs of the difference between false and real mushrooms is the presence of a membranous ring on the leg (skirt).

This ring protects the fungus in young age. Remember, real mushrooms have such a ring, but false ones do not!

In edible mushrooms, you can see a ring on the leg.
False mushrooms do not have such rings on their legs.

In the picture - edible autumn mushrooms.

A, B - young mushrooms, C - old mushrooms.

Another difference between honey mushrooms and false mushrooms:

1) The smell of edible mushrooms- they smell very pleasant, like other edible mushrooms. False honey mushrooms publish very musty, earthy smell.

2) Inedible mushrooms have more brightly colored caps than edible ones. Variation in tone from sulfur yellow to brick red. Real mushrooms have the usual, modest light brown color.

False mushrooms and their color:

A - sulfur yellow, B - gray lamellar, C - brick red

3) Hat at edible mushrooms covered with small scales, false ones do not have such scales, their hat is very smooth. But do not forget that in real mushrooms at the age of the hat, the scales disappear.

4) False mushrooms have yellow records, when aged they are greenish, when edible they are yellowish white or cream.

The plates are again and their color:

A - edible, B - gray-lamellar, C - sulfur-yellow

5) Also, false mushrooms from real ones can be distinguished by a bitter taste, but in no case do this! The signs that we described above will be enough for you.

Experienced mushroom picker immediately notice the mentioned signs, but beginners apply this knowledge with great care, because, every person evaluates individual characteristics(color, smell, etc.) in different ways and remember if you're not sure, don't take it.

Honey mushrooms are one of the most common mushrooms in our forests. They are actively eaten: among the dishes with them, one can recall soups, main courses, salads, home preservation and much more. But despite such a wide distribution of these mushrooms, inexperienced mushroom pickers often have difficulty with what mushrooms look like and how to distinguish them from poisonous counterparts.

Characteristic features of mushrooms

In fact, mushrooms are not one type of mushroom, but the name of a whole group, which is united by the area of ​​\u200b\u200bgrowth and some specific features. So, they prefer to grow, as a rule, on old stumps and fallen trees, but sometimes they can be found in other places: in meadows, forest edges, next to shrubs, etc. Globally, they can be found everywhere: from northern latitudes to the subtropics. It is impossible to find them only in permafrost areas.

Although mushrooms represent a whole group of different mushrooms, the description of all is very similar. They have lamellar, often rounded caps, growing on long thin legs, sometimes reaching 12-15 cm.

The color can vary greatly: from light yellowish or creamy shades to reddish brown. In young mushrooms, the cap, as a rule, is hemispherical, and even covered with small scales, while in old ones it is smooth and changes shape to umbrella-shaped.

Common types

Many varieties of mushrooms include both conditionally edible mushrooms and non-edible, and even poisonous ones. Of course, it is impossible to remember absolutely all types of these mushrooms, but it is important to know about the most widespread:

  • Summer honey agaric, or Kuehneromyces mutabilis. One of the most famous edible species preferring to grow on hardwoods. This is a small (with a stem length up to 7 cm and a cap diameter up to 6 cm) mushroom of a light brown color, darkening towards the edges of the cap. The plates are frequent, of a delicate creamy hue, but with age they can darken to dark brown. The leg is light, with dark scales at the base. The "skirt" is clearly visible, but in old mushrooms it may disappear.
  • Autumn mushroom, or Armillaria mellea. Another edible mushroom that can be found on almost any wood, and sometimes even shrubs or herbaceous plants. This is a large mushroom, which at an old age can reach a diameter of 10-15 cm. The hat, as a rule, is gray-yellow or yellow-brown, soft. Both the cap and the stem are covered with small scales, which may disappear with age. The "skirt" or ring on the leg is clearly visible. The plates of the young fungus are white-yellowish, but darken with age and become creamy brown.
  • Winter honey agaric, or Flammulina velutipes. An edible mushroom unique in its kind, which begins to bear fruit abundantly from the end of autumn. The hat reaches 10 cm in diameter, it is painted in various shades yellow, brown or orange, usually lighter at the edges than in the middle. The plates are rare, of different lengths, the color ranges from white and cream to ocher. The leg is long, up to 7 cm, brown. "Skirt" is missing.
  • Honey agaric sulfur-yellow, or Hypholoma fasciculare. A slightly poisonous mushroom, which can easily be confused with summer mushrooms, since they are very similar. Found on both deciduous and coniferous trees. The hat can grow up to 7 cm in diameter, and is usually colored in different shades of yellow-olive. The leg is long, fibrous, without a pronounced ring. The plates are sulfur-yellow, but with age they become dark, black-olive. The smell and taste are unpleasant, heavy and bitter.
  • Candoll's honey agaric, or Psathyrella candolleana. False foam, which for a long time was considered poisonous, but is now considered conditionally edible. This mushroom grows from late spring to autumn, it can be found both on stumps and on living deciduous trees. The diameter of the caps can reach 7 cm, the color ranges from whitish to yellow-brown. characteristic feature is a white fringe at the edges of the cap. The leg is thin and long (up to 10 cm), whitish-cream. The plates are frequent, of a grayish hue, but in old mushrooms they darken, reaching dark brown.
  • Bordered Galerina, or Galerina marginata. Dangerous poisonous mushroom, very similar to summer mushrooms. Prefers to settle on wood conifers appears in summer or autumn. it little mushroom, the diameter of the cap of which does not exceed 4 cm, and the length of the stem is 5 cm. The cap is convex and smooth, brown-ocher in color. The leg is covered with a powdery coating, sometimes a “skirt” is preserved on it. The plates are narrow, adherent to the stem, yellowish-brown. The smell is powdery and inexpressive, but it is difficult to call it unpleasant.
  • Honey agaric brick red, or Hypholoma sublateritium. The characteristics of this mushroom range from simply inedible to poisonous, so it's best to avoid harvesting it. It usually grows in light deciduous forests, but sometimes it can also be found on coniferous wood. The diameter of the hat can vary from 4 to 8 cm, the color, contrary to the name, is not only brick-red, but also red-brown, and even yellow-brown. Often fringed at the edges. The leg is long, fibrous, without a ring. The plates are pale yellow, but become brown with age.

Mushroom ram (ram's head): description and useful properties

Differences from false twins

Each mushroom picker engaged in "silent hunting" for these mushrooms should be able to determine whether the honey agaric is normal or a poisonous double in front of him. To do this, it is important to know what false mushrooms look like, and numerous signs will help in solving this problem:

Of course, for an inexperienced mushroom picker, at first it will be difficult to distinguish mushrooms even with knowledge of the main distinguishing features, so you should never forget the main rule of “silent hunting”: if there is any doubt about the edibility of the found mushroom, it is better not to take it with you. It is better to throw away a potentially good mushroom than to take a poisonous one by mistake and put yourself in danger.

Benefit and harm to the body

Looking at all the possible difficulties associated with how to distinguish honey mushrooms from false mushrooms, one may decide that they are not worth the effort. And very in vain, because these mushrooms can boast not only a pleasant taste, but also considerable benefits. In addition, they learned to grow them in artificial conditions, so if there are concerns about forest mushrooms, then you can buy completely safe mushrooms in stores.

Small mushrooms with round caps appear in friendly groups on green meadows or stumps. Fragrant, generous in harvest, mushrooms have a delicate taste and are suitable for a variety of mushroom dishes. They are successfully salted, pickled, boiled and roasted. A few small fragrant mushrooms will spice up potato soup or pasta, making the simplest dish original, satisfying and healthy.

Types of mushrooms

There are several types that differ in time and place of growth, as well as taste and appearance.

Autumn mushrooms (real) (Armillaria mellea)

Groups of autumn or true mushrooms can be found in late summer and early autumn on stumps and live trees, most often on birch, less often on aspens, maples and other hardwoods.

This, the most delicious and fragrant species, is quite large and is characterized by a rounded cap 5–12 cm in diameter, convex at first, and then wide, which becomes smooth, prostrate, and brown in color with age. The young skin is light brown and as if sprinkled with dark scaly crumbs.

The leg is slender, up to 10 cm high, with a typical white ring, the color is light cream at the top, darker at the base. The plates are white, the pulp has a pleasant sour, slightly tart taste.

Early small mushrooms with an orange-brown cap and a noticeable watery area in the center appear on trees from late May until late autumn. A hat up to 5 cm in diameter opens over time and sheds the bottom cover. The leg is thin, hollow, up to 6 cm high with a dark ring.

Mushrooms grow together in colonies, sit tightly on damaged wood of deciduous trees. The plates are creamy-brown, the flesh is brownish-red, fragile, with a delicate smell of fresh wood. The fruit body is slightly bitter and can only be used boiled.

Flocks of sunny meadow mushrooms appear among the meadow grass, on the edges and along clearings starting from May, and disappear by the end of summer. The cap is small, about 3 cm in diameter, with a slight elevation in the center, and a beige-orange skin. The leg is thin, up to 7 cm high. The plates are creamy, rare, the flesh is yellowish, with a pleasant sweetish taste.

Often they form colonies in the form of circles, leaving an empty bald spot in the center. In the old days, this phenomenon was called witch circles. In fact, the explanation is simple - mature spores throw out long thin cobweb-like threads in all directions, at the ends of which fruiting bodies rise along the entire circumference. There is little left in the center of the mushroom field nutrients, so the grass does not grow there, it dries up, forming small round wastelands.

Even during winter thaws under the snow on old poplars or willows, you can find beautiful even hats of winter mushrooms. They are medium in size, up to 8 cm in diameter, the color of the skin is ocher-brown, in dampness it is slippery, smooth, and glossy in dry weather. The leg is hollow, velvety, about 6 cm high, noticeably darkens towards the base, changing color from light brown in the upper part to dark brown or burgundy at the bottom. Thin cream-colored flesh, neutral taste, with a barely perceptible mushroom aroma, creamy plates, frequent.

Winter mushrooms are good boiled, pickled and in pickles. It is surprisingly pleasant to collect these gifts of nature from under the snow in the cold season. The species is cultivated on an industrial scale and is known under the names "inoki" and "enokitake".

Places of distribution and time of collection

In mid-May, a slender mushroom round dance begins summer mushrooms, they are sometimes called spring. The species occurs until the beginning of September, quite often among moist forests, appearing in large colonies on hardwoods. It is advisable to collect them by cutting off only the caps, since the hollow thin stem is tough, fibrous, and has no nutritional value.

At the end of May, they appear singly, or even in groups meadow mushrooms, which flash a warm yellow-brown color among the grass in forest clearings, pastures, along paths and ravines. Harvests can be harvested before the beginning of autumn.

The end of August and the time of the first drizzling rains is the time to collect real or autumn mushrooms. It is easier to find them on the wood of birches and aspens - on stumps and old trees. These fervent mushrooms are harvested until late autumn. Already frost can silver the grass, but they are still visible on the stumps.

In mid-September, the first winter mushrooms, appearing in fused groups on fallen trees and stumps of poplars, willows and maples. Their appearance is a sign of a weakened or old tree. You can find them in forests, parks, old orchards, artificial plantations. They collect fruiting bodies not only throughout the autumn before the onset of winter and severe frosts, but also during the winter thaws, until the real May heat arrives.

false mushrooms

Mushrooms are good for everyone - fruitful, tasty, fragrant mushrooms that can be harvested all year round. But there is one significant drawback - the presence similar species, which at best are classified as conditionally edible, and at worst, as poisonous. The danger is aggravated by the fact that some twins are not only very similar, but also grow next to edible mushrooms, literally on the same stump.

The most dangerous of the twins, a very poisonous species. The hat is thinned, up to 6 cm in diameter, mustard yellow, reminiscent of the color of sulfur, with a darkening center - brown or burgundy. In young mushrooms, the hat is convex, in old mushrooms it is widely spread. The plates are fused with the stem, yellow-brown, later brown. The leg is hollow, arched, greenish, dark below. The flesh is poisonous-bitter, with a disgusting smell, yellowish in color. It is this bitter wormwood taste that prevents serious poisoning.

You can meet groups of these mushrooms from the end of June to September, in places where edible species grow. In addition to the poisonous color, bitterness and unpleasant odor, false mushrooms can be distinguished by the color of the spores: in the sulfur-yellow false mushroom, the spores are greenish, in summer mushrooms they are brown, and in autumn they are white. However, twins grown on coniferous wood may not have spores at all.

A noticeable difference between real mushrooms is the presence of a ring or “skirt” - the remains of a discarded cover, which is not present in false species.

Appears in small colonies on rotting wood in late summer and early autumn. Hat with a large tubercle in the center, light yellow or cream, up to 6 cm in diameter, covered with whitish flakes along the edge.

The flesh is fragile, thin, whitish-yellow, at first the plates are off-white, grayish, becoming purple with age. The legs are thin, brittle, yellow in the upper part, brown below, grow together at the base. The species is classified as conditionally edible.

A bright mushroom forms large colonies, visible from afar with their red tones. Hats are shiny, reddish-red, light edges sprinkled with grayish flakes. The pulp is mustard-yellow, bitter. Appears in late autumn on stumps of hardwoods, more often oak and beech.

Fruiting bodies are suitable for eating, but because of the bitter taste, it requires boiling twice with a change of water.

Another name is watery psatirella, and there is no consensus about its use - sometimes the mushroom is considered inedible, and in other cases it is conditionally edible. Cap 3–5 cm in diameter, slightly convex or prostrate, with cracked, thinned edges. The skin is glossy, brown, with aging it brightens from the center and becomes creamy, on the edges there are flaky remains of the bedspread. Spores are purple-brown.

The pulp is brown in color and has a characteristic watery texture, neutral taste, sometimes with a slight bitterness, odorless. Leg up to 8 cm tall, hollow, often curved, covered with a slight mealy coating in the upper part.

Appears in autumn months in damp places near trees or on stumps, wood residues of both deciduous and coniferous species. Sometimes it develops in the form of large colonies.

This fungus is a close relative of the previous species and is also known as Psatirrella Candolla. The hat is slightly convex, then prostrate, up to 8 cm in diameter, with wrinkles running radially from the center to the edges, when dry, it becomes white or cream. The skin is brownish in color, in young mushrooms it is covered with scales, which disappear with age. The pulp is thin, brittle, tasteless with a slight mushroom aroma. Spores are brownish purple.

Grows psatirella Candolly, from late spring to early autumn, in groups on the wood of deciduous trees and stumps. Use in food is controversial - the mushroom is considered conditionally edible or inedible. Connoisseurs find it quite tasty, soaking, boiling, and then using it for marinades and frying.

All of the listed conditionally edible species are boiled for a long time before use, changing the water several times, and only then they are used for food.

Beneficial features

Honey mushrooms are recognized as tasty, fragrant mushrooms and, being fruitful and affordable, are eagerly collected by mushroom pickers. The composition of the fruiting bodies includes easily digestible proteins, including valuable amino acids. At the same time, they have a low calorie content - only 18-20 kcal per 100 g of the finished product and can be successfully used as a source of valuable nutrients for weight loss.

Honey mushrooms are rich in trace elements useful for the hematopoietic system - zinc and copper, only 100 g of these mushrooms will satisfy daily requirement in these elements. They contain B vitamins, especially a lot of thiamine, and ascorbic acid, which have a positive effect on the immune system and nervous system.

In the composition of winter mushrooms, the anticancer substance flammulin was found, which has a depressing effect on the development of sarcoma.

In the tissues of meadow honey agaric, researchers found antibacterial compounds that slow down the development of Staphylococcus aureus and other virulent microorganisms.

Contraindications for use

Honey mushrooms different types grown commercially in wood waste or straw, considered useful food product, and in some countries - a delicacy.

And yet, eating is associated with risks for people suffering from inflammatory processes in the stomach and pancreas.

Contraindications for use - diseases of the liver and gallbladder, including its resection.

Improperly cooked, undercooked mushroom dishes without sufficient heat treatment, can cause indigestion and allergic reactions.

Mushroom products should not be included in the diet of children under three years of age, pregnant and lactating women.

Recipes for dishes and preparations

Before processing, mushrooms are thoroughly washed and cleaned. In most cases, the legs have no nutritional value (except for autumn mushrooms) and therefore they are removed. To successfully wash fragile hats, they are immersed in a colander and repeatedly dipped in a basin of clean water, which is changed as it gets dirty.

Pickle from autumn mushrooms

For 1 kg of autumn mushrooms, they take 50 g of salt, 20 g of dill - greens and seeds, 20 g of onion, allspice and bay leaf to taste.

Mushrooms are poured with boiling salted water and boiled for 20 minutes, and after cooking they are thrown into a colander. Preliminarily, a thin layer of a mixture of dill with pepper and salt is poured into the prepared container. After cooling, the workpiece is placed in a container in rows 5–6 cm thick, sprinkling each layer with a mixture of salt and spices, as well as finely chopped onions.

From above, the pickle is covered with a piece of cloth, pressed down with a circle and a load, and taken out to a cool place, making sure that the brine completely covers them, which should happen in a few days. The food is ready in two weeks, after which it is stored in the refrigerator.

Frozen mushrooms

One of better ways preserve the nutritional value of mushrooms for a long time - freezing. This is a simple and labor-intensive method that allows you to postpone the cooking process for free from work. winter period. Before freezing, the mushrooms are cleaned, washed and dried. Then the workpiece is placed in portioned plastic bags or plastic containers and set in the freezer.

This frozen product can be stored deep-frozen at -18°C until the next harvest. After taking out a portion from the freezer, they immediately start cooking, without waiting for complete defrosting.

Canned mushrooms

Freshly picked hats are suitable for conservation. They are washed and poured cold water at the rate of 200 g of water per 1 kg of mushrooms. Then boil over low heat until the juice begins to be released, after which they continue cooking for another half an hour, removing the foam and stirring often. Salt the workpiece to taste, add a little citric acid - 1 g per 1 kg of mushrooms.

Laurel leaves, black pepper and allspice are placed at the bottom of the jars. Boiling hats are laid out in jars, and poured with mushroom broth. Preservation is sterilized for at least 40 minutes.

Video about mushrooms

A variety of mushrooms, growing compactly near stumps and among lush meadow grass, are healthy, nutritious and tasty. They are suitable for preparations, first and second courses, contain valuable antibacterial substances, vitamins and minerals. A knowledgeable mushroom picker will not bypass these small fragrant mushrooms, and there will always be a place for them in a basket, near noble mushrooms and bright mushrooms.


Forest mushrooms everywhere attract special attention of fans of original food, because they can be boiled, fried, pickled, salted and dried. Unfortunately, in nature there are edible and false mushrooms, which often fall into the basket of inexperienced mushroom pickers. Before going out into the forest, it would be wise to get to know the mushrooms that grow in the area where we live.

The main symptoms of poisoning with inedible mushrooms occur a few hours after eating them. A sharp headache, nausea, dizziness, intestinal cramps signal a problem.

Edible and false mushrooms: criteria for difference

Who doesn't like to go to the forest for mushrooms and in a few hours to pick up a full basket or bucket? This is exactly the case with mushrooms. After all, they grow in huge families of several dozen pieces, located in a small area. For the campaign to end successfully, it is important for everyone to know how to distinguish honey mushrooms from false mushrooms. Otherwise, the joy can be replaced by the bitterness of food poisoning. First, consider edible and safe specimens. And then, we will remove the “mask” from false mushrooms, which strive to get into the basket of inexperienced mushroom pickers.

Experts advise paying attention to several criteria that help to notice the dangerous difference between edible and false mushrooms:


  1. Aroma. If when collecting forest gifts, there are doubts, you can smell the hat of the fruit to inhale its smell. The edible mushroom has a pleasant aroma, while the “imitator” has notes of rotten soil.
  2. Leg. Young mushrooms have a leg, which is decorated with a film "skirt". It is next to the hat. Mushrooms similar to honey mushrooms do not have such a “decoration”.
  3. Plate color. In edible mushrooms, they are yellowish or cream colored. False mushrooms boast a bright yellow, olive or earthy hue.
  4. The outer texture of the hat. In young edible mushrooms, the surface of the cap is often scaly. False mushrooms have a smooth surface.
  5. The color of the surface of the fungus. Edible mushrooms have a light brown cap color. Mushrooms "imitators" are distinguished by more elegant shades: the bright color of sulfur or red brick.

Of course, all these criteria are very important, but if doubts remain after the study, we apply the main principle: "Not sure - don't take it!".

Inexperienced mushroom pickers should not go for mushrooms alone. The practical advice of a specialist will help not to fall into the trap of greed, but to take only.

Features of your favorite autumn mushrooms

To learn how to distinguish between edible and false mushrooms from each other, it is important to have a good understanding of the characteristics of the growth of these plants. As you know, in nature there are many different types of mushrooms. But all of them are united by the general indicators of these cute mushrooms. It turns out that it is not enough to know how mushrooms look from the outside. It is important to get to know them better.

Edible mushrooms are most commonly grown large groups next to stumps or with tree roots protruding from the soil. When they are just poking out of the soft forest soil, they are decorated with a semicircular cap. In older specimens, it completely changes shape. Now it looks more like a wide plate turned upside down.

Looking at the photo of false and edible mushrooms, you can notice differences in the coloring and size of the hats. These can be such shades:

  • Orange;
  • rusty yellow;
  • brownish;
  • honey yellow.

The diameter of the cap reaches up to 10 cm. Its outer part is covered with scales, which partially disappear with time. The back plates of the cap in young mushrooms are usually light. In mature specimens, they are colored brown or yellowish.

If you carefully examine the legs of edible specimens, you will notice that they are hollow inside. In addition, they are decorated with a leathery ring, which was formed from the protective cover of a young mushroom.

The pulp has a light brown color, which does not change even when water gets on it.

The enemy is better known by sight

With the onset of autumn, when the sun is still pampering people with its warm rays, many go to the forest for mushrooms. Particularly attractive are places with fallen trees or low stumps, covered with many pretty mushrooms. But in order not to run into disguised "enemies", it is worth getting to know the false mushrooms better. How to distinguish them from edible relatives and not accidentally put them in the basket and then on the table? Consider some types of such inedible options.

Inexperienced fans of forest gifts should take into account that false mushrooms can grow next to edible specimens of the same friendly families.

At the end of August, on the forest edges among old stumps and fallen trees, autumn grows in large groups. The photo helps to see this disguised "enemy" in all its glory. Most often, its convex hat is from 4 to 8 cm. In its mature form, it opens a little, thereby becoming similar to its relatives. The cardinal difference is the brick-red color of the outer covering of the cap. The flesh of the mushroom has a bitter taste and a pale yellow color.

Candolly

These false mushrooms "settle" big families near the stumps and roots of age-old deciduous trees. They appear in late spring and bear fruit until early September. Distinctive feature young mushrooms of this species - a hat in the form of a bell. Over time, it opens like an umbrella, on top of which a convex tubercle flaunts. The edges of the cap of this camouflaged mushroom are framed by a light fringe that remains from the protective coverlet. Its diameter is from 3 to 7 cm. The color is most often yellow-brown, although it can be whitish.

This autumn honey agaric is truly dangerous double. The name and photo of the mushroom tell a lot about it. As a rule, sulfur-yellow honey agaric grows on trunks, branches, stumps and around deciduous and coniferous trees. Depending on the climatic conditions it actively fructifies up to the first October frosts. At the same time, it grows in numerous groups.

His hat, resembling a bell, eventually transforms into an “open umbrella” and is distinguished by the following coloring:


  • yellow;
  • greyish yellow;
  • yellow-brown.

There is a contrasting darkening in the center of the cap. If such mushrooms end up on the dining table of fans of forest gifts, the outcome may be irreparable. Therefore, knowing what false mushrooms are dangerous for helps to stay away from them.

Royal mushrooms

This type of mushroom rightfully deserves special attention, as it is an exquisite delicacy for lovers of forest gifts. Edible specimens have a broad, bell-shaped hat that is rusty yellow or olive in color. The whole fruit is abundantly covered with brown scales, resembling flakes or graceful tubercles. And the pulp of royal mushrooms is colored yellow.

It is best to pick mushrooms that have slimy caps that are smooth to the touch. If the fruit has a dark shade, then it is no longer young.

Despite such popularity, disguised false royal mushrooms are also found in nature. Often they grow on the sites of old ashes or fires, which are already overgrown with grass. And the pulp of such mushrooms smells unpleasant, which is one of the hallmarks of these poisonous mushrooms. Some of them acquire a slimy character during the rainy season, and also have a small number of scales. With age, the graceful hats of false mushrooms change, which indicates their unsuitability for food.

Learning to distinguish between edible and false mushrooms - video


How to recognize edible mushrooms and what types of mushrooms exist.

Edible and inedible mushrooms - how not to be mistaken, which places they "prefer to live" and how to grow mushroom crops on suburban area? Read about it in the article.

Varieties of edible mushrooms: description, photo, when they appear, on which stumps they grow

The name of the mushrooms "honey mushrooms" in Latin means "bracelet". The colonies of forest dwellers really resemble decoration on old wood due to the peculiar form of growth.

  • In the baskets of mushroom pickers who go on a quiet hunt in the forests middle lane Russia, honey mushrooms often fall. Mushroom pickers love them because they can diversify the summer menu with mushrooms: mushrooms are one of the ingredients of soups, they are salted, dried mushrooms are harvested for the winter, and fried.
  • You can find a bunch of mushrooms in the summer on stumps, in damp places in the forest. Mushrooms grow on the bark of trees. Mushrooms like deciduous and coniferous trees. The spores of the fungus can also be chosen by dead woods - parts of the forest that are difficult for a person to reach.
  • Thickets of honey mushrooms will provide the hunter for a forest delicacy with a plentiful meal, because mushrooms grow in colonies. One overgrown family of mushrooms can replenish the stocks of a silent hunter for 10 kg of product, and in a week a new crop of mushrooms will grow in the same place. You can collect mushrooms before winter.
  • Since the legs have no nutritional value, only the caps are cut off when harvesting. So that the dish does not taste bitter, mushrooms are pre-boiled slightly.
You can find a bunch of mushrooms in the summer on stumps, in damp places in the forest

How not to confuse summer mushrooms with poisonous mushrooms and protect your family from health problems? After all, not everyone has extensive experience hunting for mushrooms.

At summer mushrooms, with which you can safely diversify the menu:

  • thin-walled yellowish-brown hat (on initial stage growth, its outer edges can fold inward)
  • caps grow up to 8 cm in diameter
  • under the hat you can see the cobweb cover
  • the cap of a young honey agaric is not flat on top, but has a bulge in the center (than older mushroom, the less convexity)
  • the surface of the cap is covered with water circles
  • if you turn the cap of an edible honey agaric, you can see plates of white or rusty-brown color
  • the older the fungus, the darker and more contrast the shade of the plates appears (the color intensity depends on the degree of maturation of the spore powder inside the plates, which is red-brown in the mature state)
  • the length of the mushroom stem can be 8 cm, but the diameter is invariably thin - up to 0.5 cm
  • the leg is brown, the ring on it is also brown
  • scales under the ring

What is the difference between good mushrooms and their inedible counterparts?

  • In order not to worry and not risk your well-being, you need to know the signs of mushrooms that are not suitable for eating. After all, poisonous brothers have excellent disguise.
    For example, while hunting for mushrooms, a sulfur-yellow false honey agaric can be found. The body of the fungus is bright yellow and without scales.
  • The plates inside the cap of the gray-lamellar false foam turn from whitish at a young age to bluish-gray. This is not typical for edible mushrooms. Mushroom is not included in the group poisonous species, however, it should be pre-boiled.

The mushroom family includes the following mushrooms:

  • gray
  • pine mushrooms
  • honey mushrooms red
  • honey mushrooms dark
  • mushrooms with pimples
  • meadow
  • Assumption
  • Chinese
  • winter
  • autumn
  • summer
  • spring mushrooms
  • thick-legged mushrooms
  • mucous mushrooms
  • honey agaric garlic
Honey agaric thick-legged
Honey agaric brick red

common name"honey mushrooms" we call different families and genera of mushrooms, of which there are 34 species. Of these, only 22 species have been classified. Some of the representatives of these fungi "settle" on open areas, in the grass, confusing inexperienced mushroom pickers.

Since edible representatives of honey mushrooms are of interest, there is more information about them.

Consider the most common forms:

  • A representative of this species takes root on damaged deciduous trees. Colonies of mushrooms grow on dead parts of wood, choosing willow or poplar for settlement. You can find these mushrooms on the banks of the stream, in the garden. Inhabited by forest dwellers and the city park.
  • A good harvest can be harvested in autumn. Sometimes winter honey agaric adapts to germinate under the snow. Mushroom cap, 10 cm in diameter, flat yellow or orange-brown. Young mushrooms have a flat hat, it has a lighter shade along the edges, and the middle is darker.

Mushroom mushroom autumn

  • Many types of trees are suitable for the germination of the spores of this honey agaric. there are about 200 of them. Sometimes the fungus sprouts even on potatoes. At night, you can watch an interesting sight: due to the fact that a large "mushroom family" is often located on stumps, they are beautifully illuminated.
  • Ideal conditions for the growth of the fungus in damp forests are birch, aspen stumps, dead wood of elm and alder.
  • Mushrooms can be collected from last month summer to the cold winter months, unless the air temperature drops below 10 degrees. autumn honey agaric has an impressive size compared to its counterparts.
  • The diameter of the hat is 17 cm, and the legs are 10 cm. The hat is greenish-olive or dark brown. Wavy edges can be observed in adult representatives of the mushroom family. The surface of an immature mushroom is covered with scales. But there are very few of them. As the fungus grows, these scales disappear.

  • Most often, summer honey agaric falls into the basket. They begin to collect it from the end of March. You can bring home the harvest of these mushrooms until the last winter month.
  • The summer apricot grows in the forests. A dense family grows on rotten stumps. Trees with obvious damage are suitable for the growth of the fungus.
  • The dimensions of the summer honey agaric are more modest: the hat is 6 cm in diameter, the leg is 7 cm.
  • Adult mushrooms are distinguished by the presence of a wide tubercle on the surface of the cap. Hats growing in damp areas are brown, translucent. Mushrooms growing in a dry place have honey-yellow, matte caps. There are grooves along the edges of the caps. Mushrooms can produce crops all year round.

Video: Summer honey agaric (Kuehneromyces mutabilis)

The specifics of cooking mushrooms

  • Mushrooms should be boiled before cooking. Cooking, the duration of which can vary from 30 minutes to an hour, will relieve the toxicity inherent in mushrooms.
  • Cooking time is determined by the size of the fruiting bodies of mushrooms.
  • The larger the mushrooms, the longer the heat treatment lasts.

How to pre-boil mushrooms:

  • mushrooms are put on fire and when the water boils, it must be drained
  • then you need to cook in a pre-boiled new portion of water

Video: How are mushrooms different from each other? Comparison among themselves

False mushrooms: description, photo

For a good mushroom, you can take his double. These are the so-called false mushrooms.


For a good mushroom, you can take his double

Signs of an inedible honey agaric:

  • a hat of a bright color (a good mushroom has a hat of a muted shade and there are scales on it in young mushrooms)
  • plates of a bad fungus are yellow, greenish, olive-black
  • the double of the edible honey agaric has only the remains of a ring on the stem

Video: inedible mushrooms - false gray-yellow honey agaric

  • Of particular danger is the brick-red false foam. It can be found on deadwood, on a rotten stump, and can also grow on flat terrain. The mushroom has a spherical cap, by which it is easy to "calculate" it during the harvest of mushrooms. The hat has flakes hanging down the edges of the bedspread. The mushroom has no smell.
  • All false mushrooms differ in shades of the inner plates located under the hat. They can range from dark to sulphur-yellow or black-olive. Records good mushrooms cream color. False mushrooms grow in large groups.

How to determine, distinguish edible mushrooms from false mushrooms?

  • A bad mushroom, unlike a good mushroom, does not have a ring - a lamellar skirt that is under the hat. On the leg you can see the remains of the bedspread.
  • If the mushroom is in doubt, then it is better to throw it away immediately. Send mushrooms to the basket only if you are sure that they are edible, and if in doubt or if you find one of the signs poisonous mushroom, then give up the idea to replenish your “mushroom catch” with it.

What other differences exist:

  • a good mushroom has a pleasant mushroom aroma, and a false one exudes an unpleasant earthy or no smell at all
  • the hat of a bad mushroom is brightly and loudly colored, the hat of a good mushroom is an unsightly light brown color
  • the caps of good mushrooms have small scales, while poisonous mushrooms have a smooth cap (however, the scales disappear with time and the caps of edible mushrooms also become smooth)
  • turning the hat not edible mushroom, you can see that its plates are yellow if the mushroom is young, or greenish, olive-black if the mushroom is old (the plates of good mushrooms are cream-colored or yellowish-white)
  • false mushrooms with a bitter taste, but you should not start evaluating palatability a fungus that you doubt (other, more obvious signs are enough)

For an experienced mushroom picker, it will not be difficult to distinguish a good mushroom from a bad one. But if you are a beginner mushroom picker, then it is better to look for a skirt on the mushroom leg.

How to determine the difference between edible mushrooms and grebes?

  • The white and greenish hue of the body of the fungus is the main sign of the toadstool. The appearance of a forest dweller may well correspond to the description of an edible mushroom. An experienced mushroom picker will immediately recognize such a disguise.
  • In the container in which the mushrooms are boiled, you should throw the onion. If she quickly acquired Blue colour, then all forest production is not suitable for food.
  • A mushroom with an olive or mother-of-pearl tint can be poisonous. It is better not to take risks and immediately abandon the intention to replenish your catch in a basket.

Can there be mushroom poisoning with mushrooms, and what are the symptoms?

  • Poisoning occurs mainly due to ignorance of the species of forest guests or due to improper preparation of edible mushrooms. The degree of intoxication also depends on which mushrooms were eaten.
  • Those who independently collect mushrooms and prepare them need to know how to determine poisoning and what kind of medical assistance should be provided to the victim.

Mushrooms are divided into several groups:

  • Edible: these mushrooms can be eaten without prior boiling (mushrooms)
    partially harmless mushrooms require special treatment before cooking for hatching toxic substances: soaking, boiling, drying, additional boiling (if this step is ignored, then poisoning cannot be avoided) (false mushrooms)
  • Inedible mushrooms may be poisonous or have an unpleasant taste, smell (gall mushroom)

In false mushrooms, the pulp contains a white liquid. It is called burning juice. In addition, a bad mushroom differs from an edible mushroom in a hat of a brighter orange color and a thinner stump.

Video: How to recognize mushroom poisoning?

Signs of poisoning:

  • intoxication manifests itself after 1 hour or within 6 hours
  • malaise reminds food poisoning: a person begins to feel unwell, he develops nausea, vomiting, diarrhea may begin
  • possible discomfort or pain in the abdomen
  • if the poisoning is mild, then after a few days recovery occurs

From poisoning with false mushrooms, death does not occur, however, serious problems are possible due to dehydration, gastroenteritis.


Intoxication appears after 1 hour or within 6 hours
  • If signs of poisoning are found, one should not hesitate to call an ambulance. After all, it is necessary to avoid the penetration of harmful toxic substances into the blood.
  • After the milk juice of mushrooms enters the liver, the patient's condition worsens.

Video: Mushroom poisoning! Symptoms and First Aid!

First aid is as follows:

  • it is necessary to avoid dehydration and help get rid of the symptoms of poisoning
    should induce vomiting after drinking a large number warm boiled water and pressure on the root of the tongue
  • it is also necessary to wash the stomach for those who have eaten the same mushrooms, but there are no signs of poisoning until the symptoms become noticeable
  • dehydration can be detected by a change in the color of urine: it becomes dark, as well as by a decrease in trips to the toilet or the absence of such
  • the patient should be provided with plenty of fluids, it is better if it is water
  • if diarrhea or vomiting has already begun, then sports drinks (not energy drinks) will help here
  • the patient can eat vegetables, chicken broths, which will provide the necessary replenishment of water and useful substances
  • do not drink diarrhea remedies (diarrhea removes toxins from the body)
  • it is better for the patient to reduce physical activity, sleep more so that the body recovers faster

Remember that first aid is not a substitute for treatment. For dehydration that you can't manage on your own, you need to see a doctor.

Video: ALL ABOUT MUSHROOMS POISONING

When do mushrooms appear and how much do autumn, winter, spring and summer mushrooms grow in the forest?

See below in the picture the calendar for collecting different mushrooms by month.

How to grow honey mushrooms in the country?

  • Contrary to popular belief that mushrooms germinate better in the forest, growing them in the country is not a fantastic undertaking.
  • From the fertile soil brought to the site, humus, extracted somewhere in the forest, mushroom spores enter the ground. However, the annual digging of the site breaks the mycelium and it eventually dies without having time to germinate.

How to get a crop of mushrooms in the country?

  • allocate a site for mushrooms (wet, with a shadow)
  • prepare mushroom mycelium (in our case, mushrooms) and “settle” mushrooms on a future mushroom plantation.

First stage: site preparation:

  • a stump is needed for germination of mushrooms, therefore we stock up on old, rotten birch wood (suitable trees: beech, hornbeam, alder, aspen, oak)
  • choose wood (stump length - 20-30 cm) with chips and crevices to facilitate the process of rooting spores on the stump
  • if there are no chips, then we make longitudinal notches with an ax
  • the selected hemp is immersed in water for 1-2 hours
  • we drop hemp on the future mushroom plantation (in whole or only part of the hemp, we bury the wood vertically or lying on our side)

Cooking mycelium:

  • we find overgrown mushrooms in the forest, which have large and wet hats
  • immerse mushrooms in soft ground water
  • leave for a couple of hours
  • stir the mixture well
  • stumps and logs dug in the area are treated with a liquid with fungal mycelium
  • do not throw away the hats, but lay them on top of the treated areas of wood
  • we cover the hats with hemp trimming (you can use moss from the forest or rotted sawdust for this)
  • when it's hot outside, we moisten the area so that it always remains damp
  • waiting for the first harvest. it is usually possible to collect mushrooms from a prepared site only 2-3 years after planting.

Video: Garden head - How to grow mushrooms in a summer cottage