For lovers of "quiet hunting" its season begins with the arrival of the first spring heat. Spring mushrooms are not very common in the Leningrad region. Their mass collection begins in the summer.
Honey mushrooms in the Leningrad region
General characteristics of honey agarics
Vegetables, fruits and forest delicacies, which include different types of mushrooms, are good additions to your daily diet. Summer and autumn mushrooms in the Leningrad region do not like loneliness. They grow on mossy stumps in whole families, in placers, from which it is easy to prepare the most delicious dishes for a large company.
Real honey mushrooms belong to the Fizalakryevye family, their other name is Amillaria. Translated from Latin, this word means "bracelet". They were given this name because the family of mushrooms grows like a ring or bracelet that encircles a fallen trunk or base of a hemp.
More often, such mushrooms choose shaded and humid places, in a thicket or in an old windbreak. From a small droplet, vaguely similar to a hat, a group of adults quickly emerges, whose external appearance is characterized by:
- thin lamellar shape of the cap;
- the color changes from yellow to brown or brown;
- the leg is graceful, thin, no more than 10 cm;
- the base is beige;
- plates are frequent, whitish.
The older the mushrooms, the darker the leg becomes and the less noticeable the bulge on top of the cap. Thin stripes are clearly visible on the edge. Thin plates grow along the edges, gradually darken, and a brown spore powder appears on their surface.
The honey agaric grows up to 18 cm in height. Overgrowths reach 23-25 cm. The structure of the leg is usually fibrous, the older the mushroom becomes, the more fibrous it will be. The shape of the leg is cylindrical. It is literally "stuffed" with chitin, which can cause gastrointestinal problems. Therefore, there is nothing useful in the legs and when collecting honey agarics, they only take their hats.
Honey mushrooms are characterized by a small cute "skirt", in the center of the leg, under which characteristic scales are visible, small, but clearly visible.
The pulp is slightly watery, loose. The cut does not change color. The aroma is strong.
Varieties
In total, there are more than 40 species in the world that belong to the honey agaric group. There are about 10 of them growing on the territory of Russia. In the Leningrad region there are several especially popular ones, including edible and false ones.
Edible
- northern;
- fat-legged;
- hemp;
- Uspensky;
- meadows.
Their difference lies in the habitat, on which the external color, taste, aroma and chemical properties depend.
Northern autumn mushrooms: the cap reaches 10 cm in diameter, convex, with an olive tint, often brown-orange. A light spot is clearly visible in its center and the entire surface is covered with scales that are darker in comparison with the main background of the cap. A rough, uneven edge has a dark yellow color. And the leg becomes wider downward and reaches a height of 10-12 cm. In some cases, its diameter can be 2 cm. In the middle of the leg, dry to the touch, a well-defined film ring with small scaly formations is visible. The pulp of northern honey mushrooms is light, resembles cotton wool in consistency, has a bright aroma and taste.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Northern autumn mushrooms are considered the most common representatives of autumn mushrooms in central Russia. They are found, perhaps everywhere, with the exception of only the Far North. How massive fruiting will be depends on the weather. Autumn northern mushrooms bear fruit in layers and during the "quiet hunting" season there may be 2-3 of them. They are almost always found in fairly voluminous aggregates. These mushrooms are capable of parasitizing 250 species of both woody and herbaceous plants and can even destroy nurseries and plantations where not tree seedlings are grown, but ... irises or potatoes.
Their usual place of growth is deadwood and stumps of coniferous and deciduous trees. This species also grows in birch groves, on oak or alder. Fruiting from late summer to October. If the season is warm, then it occurs in November.
The appearance of mushrooms depends on the habitat
Autumn mushrooms thick-legged: another edible species that can be grown at home. Its Latin name is Armillaria lutea. The cap is conical, wide, with compacted edges, rolled down. Its color is brown or yellow. Some "hairiness" of the surface is characteristic. At the leg, a slight thickening is noticeable at the bottom and scales over its entire surface. It grows up to 10 cm. The pulp is dense and has a cheese aroma. This is a lamellar species of saprophytes that is found on a cushion of rotten leaves, on fallen needles or bark. Families feel good on burnt surfaces, trunks of deciduous trees that have fallen after lightning.
Uspensky mushrooms: the species got its name from the holiday of the same name - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Gathering begins on the days of the holiday and lasts until the end of November, before the onset of frost. The leg is yellow or brown, thin, no more than 10 cm in height. The color of the cap matches the color of the leg. On the surface, in the center of the cap, a bulge is noticeable, from below it has often located plates. A thin "skirt" is visible on the leg, which becomes thinner over time and breaks.
In addition to edibles, false heels grow in the Leningrad region, conditionally edible or their poisonous counterparts. External description of conditionally edible mushrooms:
- disputes have a characteristic blueness;
- the main color of the cap is bright, yellow or orange;
- surface with a yellow tint;
- scales are absent.
When harvesting honey agarics for future use, one should not forget that the legs of adult representatives are hard, so it is better to collect young specimens. In addition, it is important that, with insufficient heat treatment, honey mushrooms are weakly toxic and can cause the development of gastroenteritis (inflammation of the digestive tract). Therefore, cold and dry salting is completely excluded for them. Salt them only hot after pre-boiling. It is believed that this mild toxicity appears after the first frost.
They cannot be seriously poisoned. But if it is not cooked correctly, soaked a little or not cooked before the main cooking, symptoms of poisoning may occur: nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Growing places of honey agarics in the region
Felling clearings of mixed forests and larch are a suitable place to look for autumn mushrooms. This is where they go for these mushrooms.
In Priozersk and in Vyborgsky districts, the mass harvest takes place in early September. At this time of the year, the weather is still warm, but already humid, encouraging the rapid growth of new families.
There are many pine trees near the village of Sosnovo, which is located in the center of the forest. Whole clusters of autumn honey agarics settle on their root necks.
In addition to these varieties, other mushrooms grow in this area: oyster mushroom, russula, milk mushroom, chanterelle and volnushka. And after a warm rain, the lucky ones manage to find boletus and boletus.
Beneficial features
Honey mushrooms have useful properties due to their chemical composition. They are rich in phosphorus, potassium, fiber, vitamins and amino acids. Due to their high fiber content, they are called "forest meat". They are used in fasting, replacing the meat of birds or animals.
In case of anemia, they help the process of hematopoiesis. To replenish the daily intake of zinc and copper, it is necessary to eat only 100 g of autumn mushrooms daily.
To replenish the level of calcium and potassium, they are indispensable in the diet of vegans (supporters of the most strict vegetarian diet in which any animal products are completely excluded, although in rare cases they can use honey in food) and vegetarians, because these substances do not enter their body due to the lack of animal products.
Honey mushrooms. Mushroom picking in the Leningrad region
Vlog. Honey mushrooms in the Leningrad region. A lot of mushrooms =)
THE MUSHROOM HUNTING-2019 SPONTANEOUS MUSHROOM SEASON 2019 IS OPEN FOUND FULLY AGAIN
Conclusion
Sometimes it is not possible to easily distinguish edible mushroom from false or poisonous. Therefore, when harvesting, it is always important to carefully examine the mushrooms that fall into the basket to avoid health problems.