All mushroom connoisseurs know how delicious mushrooms are in fried, pickled and any other form: mushroom soup, caviar, pies. But in order for the dishes to be successful and not lead to unpleasant consequences, it is important to know how to distinguish mushrooms from false mushrooms.

We will learn to understand the differences between real mushrooms and their unsafe relatives in order to protect ourselves and loved ones from poisoning.

Everyone is called honey mushrooms agaric mushrooms with hats, growing on trees, deadwood and stumps. Some of them are edible, fragrant and tasty, others are bitter and dangerous to health, and sometimes life. Consider the main differences between real mushrooms and false ones, which are visible to the naked eye and will be clear even to inexperienced mushroom pickers.

Leg of honey agaric

There is a ring on the leg. Inedible mushrooms do not have a ring or have its residual signs (traces of the ring, tissue fragments). In addition, the leg of this honey agaric is low (except for adult specimens) - 4-6 cm, and the false one reaches 10 cm.

The exception is edible meadow mushrooms, whose legs grow up to 30 cm tall!

Records of honey agaric

Genuine mushrooms are distinguished by pale yellow or cream plates, false ones are yellow, later green, dark olive and almost black.

Hat of honey agaric

Regardless of the environment in which they grow (light or dense forest, wet or dry place), their hats are not distinguished by their brightness: they are usually pale brown, with small dark scales (adult mushrooms with darker hats and without scales).

And the caps are always falsely bright: yellow-gray, rust-red or red-brown, and without scales.

Taste of honey agaric

Some false mushrooms are no less tasty than genuine mushrooms: not all poisonous mushrooms have a bitter taste. But this does not mean that they can be safely cooked: there are only a couple of exceptions - Candoll and poppy mushrooms.

The smell of honey agaric

Edible mushrooms have a pleasant, harsh mushroom aroma, while poisonous mushrooms smell like mold or damp earth.

Reaction of honey agaric to contact with water

If there is any doubt about the authenticity of the mushroom, put it in water: false mushrooms will turn black or blue.

Summer mushrooms, unlike autumn counterparts, can bear fruit in spring, summer, and autumn. Summer mushrooms, as a rule, grow long legs and large hats. How to distinguish them from poisonous mushrooms?

  • Summer hat. Although its diameter is sometimes 10 cm, its walls are thin, and the edges are slightly bent inward, where the mushroom tissue resembles a web. The color of the hat is yellowish-brown, there are scales.
  • Plates of summer honey agaric. The color of the plates of genuine honey agaric is whitish, rusty or brown (darken as the fungus grows).
  • Leg of summer honey agaric. Sometimes his leg grows extremely long - up to 30 cm, but at the same time remains brown, with a ring.

False mushrooms have no rings, the hats are bright and smooth, without scales.

Now you know how to distinguish honey mushrooms from false mushrooms. If in doubt about a particular mushroom, it is best not to cut it at all, or to conduct a water test at home. Gradually, you will gain mushroom experience, and you will know exactly where the edible mushroom is and where the poisonous one is.

Honey mushrooms are popular with mushroom lovers. They are used for frying, pickling, marinating and freezing for the winter. Honey mushrooms are very easy to collect. They grow big families, closely spaced to each other. Finding such a family in the mushroom season is not difficult. The most important thing is to distinguish the real from the false. How to do it?

Honey mushrooms - autumn mushrooms growing in flocks, families. They can be found on stumps, old fallen trees where they are arranged in clusters. Small mushrooms are considered the most valuable. They are used for frying, salting and marinating. Adult mushrooms look less attractive, so mushroom caviar is made from them.

How to distinguish mushrooms?

The honey agaric has a thin and flexible leg. It can reach 15 cm in length. The color of the legs can be different - light yellow and dark brown. It all depends on the age of the fungus. On the leg you can see a skirt that rings it. But not all mushrooms have such a sign.

The hat is neat, rounded down. It also differs in its shape, it depends on age. Young mushrooms have a spherical cap with small scales. With age, it becomes like an umbrella and smoothes out. Hats are yellow, cream and even red.

These mushrooms are hard workers, they love to grow on diseased and lifeless wood residues or depleted soil. They are able to process biomass into useful trace elements, restore the balance in the soil and make it fruitful for healthy plant growth.

In ancient times, there was a sign: where the honey agaric family settled, a treasure was buried. In addition, honey agaric was attributed medicinal properties. Its skin was used as a band-aid to heal cuts and burns.

How to distinguish edible mushrooms: types of mushrooms

To know how to distinguish honey mushrooms from false mushrooms, you need to know that there are several types of edible mushrooms.

  1. Summer honey agaric is a mushroom that likes to grow in families on the stumps of deciduous trees. It is small in size, its leg reaches a length of no more than 7 cm. The leg is smooth on top, covered with dark scales below. The skirt is not always present, it may fall off with age. In young mushrooms, the hat is convex, with growth it levels off and a bulge forms in the center. Plates are located under the cap. This species appears from April and continues until November. The pulp of the mushroom is very tender with a pleasant smell of natural forest.
  2. Autumn mushrooms: how to distinguish summer mushrooms from autumn ones? Autumn has a longer leg up to 10 cm. At the bottom, the leg expands slightly. From above it is yellow-brown, from top to bottom it becomes dark brown. At autumn mushrooms a white skirt with a yellow edging is expressed. The first mushrooms appear at the end of August.
  3. Winter mushroom - grows on the dead deciduous trees. The leg is 2 to 7 cm long. The hat has a brown or red-brown tint. Unlike other species, winter honey agaric does not have a skirt under the hat. Grows from autumn to spring.

False mushrooms include several types of mushrooms, very similar to edible mushrooms. In addition, they are easy to confuse, because false mushrooms like to grow in the same places as edible ones - they grow in families on stumps, fallen trees, on trunks and protruding parts of tree roots. Some types of false mushrooms are inedible, others are conditionally edible, and others are poisonous. However, a mushroom picker, especially a beginner, should not experiment and one should never forget the main rule: "If you're not sure - don't take it!" Collect only real mushrooms when you are absolutely sure that they are! At the slightest doubt, it is better to abandon the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bputting the mushroom in the basket.

The most important sign by which you can distinguish a real honey agaric from a false one is a membranous ring (skirt) on the leg. This ring is the remnant of the veil that protects fruiting body mushroom in young age. False mushrooms do not have such a ring.


In edible mushrooms (on the left), the ring on the leg is clearly visible.
In false mushrooms (on the right), there are no rings on the legs.

For children, they even came up with a poem in order to better remember this main difference between edible mushrooms:



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

There are other differences as well.

1. The smell of edible mushrooms is a pleasant mushroom, false mushrooms emit an unpleasant earthy smell.

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




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

3. In edible mushrooms, the hat is covered with small scales; in false mushrooms, there are no scales on the hat - it is usually smooth. But you need to remember that edible mushrooms at the age of flakes on the hat also no longer exist (see photo of old mushrooms above).

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



Plates again:
A - edible (autumn), B - gray lamellar, C - sulfur yellow

5. They note the bitter taste of false mushrooms, which edible mushrooms do not have, but you should not get to the taste assessment - and without it there are enough signs by which to distinguish edible honey agaric from false.

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

Honey mushrooms are extremely popular among mushroom pickers, because they are distinguished by high palatability in fried, salted or pickled form. In addition, collecting them is beneficial from a practical point of view: if you find a large family of these mushrooms, you can easily fill an entire basket. In this case, there is a risk of confusing edible species with poisonous ones.

In order not to accidentally put false inedible mushrooms in your basket, you need to know the main signs by which they can be distinguished from edible ones. This article is devoted to this topic.

Honey mushrooms - false and edible

At first glance, false and edible mushrooms are extremely similar. They have approximately the same color of the cap, a similar arrangement of plates on its inner side, and edible and poisonous species grow in the same places.

Note: The mushroom got its name due to the fact that its mycelium develops on old stumps or fallen tree trunks, and this feature is relevant for both poisonous and edible representatives.

The legs of these mushrooms are thin and hollow inside. The surface of the cap is mostly smooth, but in edible species it can often be covered with scales. The color of the cap and pulp directly depends on the type of tree on which the mushrooms grow. For example, on coniferous trees they acquire a brick-red hue, on linden or aspen they become bright yellow, and on oak they can be slightly reddish. In addition, the shade of the pulp may depend on the time of year and the type of mushroom itself.


Figure 1. This is how they look toxic doppelgangers

Experienced mushroom pickers can distinguish a false mushroom from an edible one the first time, while beginners may have certain difficulties with this. In order for you to gain the necessary experience in identifying real and false specimens, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the distinctive features of edible species and their poisonous counterparts. You can see photos of false specimens in Figure 1.

Distinctive features of edible mushrooms

Despite the fact that at first glance, false mushrooms look almost the same as edible ones, they have some very characteristic differences. Knowing them, you will never put a poisonous mushroom in a basket.

Note: Experienced hobbyists silent hunting» strongly advised to collect only famous mushrooms. If you have even the slightest doubt about the edibility of a particular specimen, it is better to bypass it, as poisonous counterparts can cause symptoms of severe poisoning.

To make sure the edibility of honey agaric, you need to carefully examine it:

  1. The edible species are not flashy, unlike the false ones, which immediately catch the eye due to their rich brick red, honey brown or orange color.
  2. All real honey mushrooms have a special skirt with a leg, which is missing from everyone. false species without exception. In fact, this skirt is a ring on the leg, and it is present in both young and old specimens. It is this feature that is the main one in the identification of fungi.
  3. If you have any doubts, be sure to look under the hat. If the mushroom is edible, its plates will have a pleasant cream, white or slightly yellowish color, while in poisonous species they will be dirty yellow, greenish or brown depending on age.

Figure 2. Distinguishing features edible mushrooms

Another characteristic feature of edible species is the presence of scales on the surface of the cap (Figure 2). False species do not have this feature. However, it should be remembered that as the fungus ages, these scales disappear, so it is better to collect young specimens that correspond to all of the above signs. The only exception to the rule is winter honey agaric, which occurs only in the cold season and can grow even under a layer of snow. However, this type of edible mushroom grows at a time when other species are not found, so you can safely eat them.

What false mushrooms look like: photo and description

The group of false mushrooms includes several species at once, which differ slightly from each other in appearance, but in general are very similar to edible species. Some of them are conditionally edible, but are suitable for consumption only after certain processing. Therefore, if you cannot say for sure whether a mushroom is edible or not, it is better not to put it in a basket (Figure 3).

Among the most common types of poisonous mushrooms, it is worth highlighting:

  1. Poppy: also called seroplasty. Prefers to settle on fallen trunks and stumps coniferous trees. You can meet such a mushroom in the forest from late summer to mid-autumn. The hat is shaped like a hemisphere and can reach 7 cm in diameter. As they grow older, the hat straightens. If the mushroom grows on a moist substrate, its flesh will be light brown, and on dry soil it becomes light yellow. If you break the mushroom and smell it, the smell of dampness will be clearly felt. On inside caps are located plates that adhere tightly to the stem. In young specimens, these plates are pale yellow, but as they grow older, they become similar to poppy seeds. This type refers to conditionally edible species, but it is not recommended for beginners to collect them, as there is a high risk of confusing them with poisonous ones.
  2. Brick Red: a poisonous mushroom that can be easily confused with an edible one. Young specimens have neat, rounded caps that become semi-protruding as they mature. The color of the pulp can vary from red-brown to red-brown or brick shade. The flesh is yellow, as are the plates located under the cap: in young mushrooms they are dirty yellow, but as they age, they become olive or brown. Prefers to grow on woody remains of hardwoods. Found in forests from late summer to early autumn.
  3. Sulfur yellow: another poisonous species that should not be put in a basket. The diameter of the cap, depending on age, can be from 2 to 7 cm. In young specimens, its shape is similar to a bell, and as it grows older, it straightens and becomes prostrate. The name of the mushroom exactly matches it appearance: the color of the cap and the flesh can vary from yellow-brown to sulfur-yellow, and the color in the center of the cap is much darker than along its edges. Mushrooms also grow in groups on both deciduous and coniferous trees.

Figure 3. The main types of poisonous twins: 1 - poppy, 2 - brick red, 3 - sulfur yellow

All poisonous species have several features: they lack a leathery ring on the stem, and the flesh has a pronounced unpleasant smell of dampness.

How to distinguish false mushrooms from edible ones

Going to the forest, it is necessary to study the theoretical information about edible mushrooms and their poisonous counterparts, and carefully examine the photos of these species, so as not to accidentally confuse the real mushroom with the false ones. In fact, recognizing an edible mushroom is not so difficult if you know its main features (Figure 4).

You can distinguish an edible mushroom from a poisonous one by the following signs:

  1. Hat: in real mushrooms, it is covered with small scales, which are slightly darker than the main color of the skin. Only old specimens lose this sign, but they should not be collected in any case, because such mushrooms lose their taste qualities and can accumulate radionuclides and other harmful substances. The only edible mushroom that does not have scales on its cap is winter, but it is found only in the cold season, when other mushrooms do not grow and it is impossible to confuse it with poisonous species.
  2. Leather skirt (ring): all edible species, except for very old specimens, have a white film on the stem, directly under the cap, which eventually turns into a ring. This is the main feature that experienced mushroom pickers use, because this skirt is absent in false species.
  3. Hat skin color: poisonous species are much brighter than edible ones and immediately catch the eye. Therefore, you should not immediately collect bright mushrooms, it is better to carefully examine them to make sure that they are edible. Remember that real mushrooms are muted brown, while in poisonous species, the skin color has reddish and yellow-gray tones.
  4. Smell: if you still doubt the edibility of the mushroom, break it open and smell the flesh. Real mushrooms have a rich mushroom aroma, while poisonous twins smell unpleasant - dampness, mold or rotten earth.
  5. Records: under the hat of all mushrooms, both false and edible, there are plates. However, in real species they are light (beige or slightly yellowish), while in poisonous ones they are much brighter, darker and can be colored in green, yellow or olive tones.

Figure 4. The main differences between edible and poisonous species: by the skirt (left) and by the color of the plates (right: A - edible, B and C - poisonous)

There are significant differences in the taste of false and real species. Poisonous ones are very bitter and unpleasant in taste, but it is strongly not recommended to distinguish mushrooms in this way because of the risk of getting a strong food poisoning. It is better to use a secure method of identification by outward signs, but, if you have already cooked mushrooms and feel bitterness, immediately discard the dish and do not eat it.

If you nevertheless accidentally ate false mushrooms, you should pay attention to the main signs of poisoning by them. The first symptoms begin to appear within an hour after consumption, but in some cases they may appear later, after 12 hours. Poisonous mushrooms contain toxins that gradually penetrate into the bloodstream and cause stomach discomfort, dizziness, nausea, heartburn and severe stomach rumbling. As the toxins spread, the symptoms intensify: after 4-6 hours, apathy, general weakness and trembling in the limbs appear. To prevent other consequences, in the form of diarrhea, vomiting and heavy sweating, you need to immediately consult a doctor for help

Mushroom meadow false: difference from edible

In the understanding of the majority, all mushrooms, including mushrooms, grow in the forest. However, there are species that prefer open fields. These include the meadow mushroom, which prefers well-lit clearings, pastures or meadows.

Note: Usually, meadow species grow in large families, forming clear rows, but in some cases grow in a ring. In the people, this phenomenon is called the "witch's circle."

These mushrooms prefer raw, but warm weather, and begin to appear above the ground in spring and early summer. If the spring turned out to be rainy, it makes sense to take a walk through the clearings already in early June. It is possible that you will be able to collect a rich harvest of mushrooms. However, it should be remembered that the meadow agaric has a poisonous twin that cannot be eaten (Figure 5).

In order not to confuse an edible specimen with a false one, you need to learn how to recognize them:

  1. Like other species of mushrooms, the edible meadow grass has a leathery ring on the leg under the hat. The height of the leg is no more than 6 cm, while in poisonous twins it can reach 10 or more centimeters in height.
  2. The plates under the hat of a real meadow grass are of a pleasant cream or slightly yellowish hue, while in an inedible one they are bright yellow, and as they age, they become green and even black.
  3. The cap of an edible meadow grass is never bright: it is mostly dull brown and covered with scales of a darker shade. At false fungus the skin on the cap is bright, with a pronounced reddish tint, and the scales are completely absent.

Figure 5. Meadow mushrooms (1 and 2) and their poisonous counterparts (3)

In addition, if you have already picked a mushroom, you will be able to determine its edibility by smell. Real meadow grasses have a very strong and rich mushroom aroma, while poisonous doubles smell unpleasant (mold or rotten soil). The last sign by which an edible meadow grass can be distinguished from a false one is contact with water. If you soak real mushrooms, their flesh will not change color and remain a nice creamy color, while in poisonous species it can turn black or blue.

Some advise lightly biting or licking the flesh of honey agaric. If it is bitter, then the mushroom is inedible. This is partly true, but it is not recommended to use this method to identify fungi, since even a small amount of toxins can provoke severe poisoning and liver problems. The author of the video gives more safe ways, which will help to distinguish false mushrooms from edible ones.

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Mushrooms are a unique product. Their the nutritional value comparable to meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. They contain great amount vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Eating mushrooms regularly, you can forget about high cholesterol, and a minimum of calories makes them not only tasty, but also a dietary product.

One of the most beloved autumn mushrooms is honey agaric. It is used in all sorts of ways: salted, pickled, frozen and even dried. The benefits of honey agaric are invaluable. Regular use of this fungus can destroy staphylococcal infection and E. coli in the human body, normalize the functioning of the thyroid gland. autumn mushrooms are an excellent laxative, and late, winter mushrooms, rich in proteins, have antiviral as well as anti-cancer effects.

But whether the use of mushrooms will bring you benefit or harm depends, first of all, on what will be in your basket at the exit from the forest. Even if you are not a fan of “silent hunting”, but prefer to buy mushrooms, you should know distinctive features edible mushrooms from poisonous, in any case, is vital.

False mushrooms outwardly are very similar to the "real", however, they contain toxins that poison the body. How to distinguish false mushrooms and edible ones? Let's figure it out.

Appearance

Hat

Mushrooms growing on different surfaces, with different levels of humidity and the amount of penetrating sunlight, outwardly differ somewhat from each other. However, there are characteristics, by which it is always easy to identify the mushroom. The color of the cap of real mushrooms has a muted light brown tone with medium-sized dark scales. False mushrooms are most often found in brick red or gray-yellow light.

Records

The plates of edible mushrooms are necessarily light, cream or yellowish white. The plates of false mushrooms are yellow at a young age, and over time they become greenish, and then olive-black.

Leg

Perhaps all mushroom pickers know the identification sign of the autumn mushroom in the form of a “skirt” or “ring” on the snow-white leg of the mushroom, regardless of age and “quiet” experience. But not everyone knows the fact that false mushrooms also have slightly noticeable remnants of the ring. Therefore, if the ring of the fungus is weakly expressed, it is still worth leaving it in the forest. In addition, if the leg of the honey agaric is 5-10 centimeters in height, then most likely this honey agaric is false. A real honey agaric, as a rule, does not grow more than 4-6 centimeters, and a meadow one, too edible kind, sometimes quite tall, up to 0.3 meters.

Smell

The real honey agaric is characterized by a pleasant, albeit harsh, mushroom aroma, while the smell of a false one is earthy. However, this sign cannot become fundamental when trying to distinguish a poisonous mushroom from an edible one, since smell is a subjective concept.

Taste

It is a common belief that poisonous mushrooms have a bitter taste. In fact, this is not always the case. For example, the taste of brick-red mushroom is quite edible, and even some peoples eat it after careful processing, and the light bitterness quickly disappears when soaked. But given the danger posed by poisonous and conditionally edible mushrooms However, they should not be used in any form.

Growth time

Honey mushrooms grow throughout calendar year, with the exception of periods characterized by severe frosts. The most active growth of real mushrooms occurs in September-October. False mushrooms appear in the spring for two months, and then in the fall, and a certain type is inherent in each season.

Rice. 1 - false honey agaric(poisonous)

Rice. 2 - Autumn honey agaric (non-poisonous)

Differences between false and ordinary mushrooms:

  1. The false honey agaric has a red-brick or gray-yellow hat, rich yellow flesh and a stalk 5-10 centimeters high. The common honey agaric is light brown in color with dark specks in the center with creamy flesh.
  2. On the leg of this honey agaric there is a well-defined ring.
  3. False mushroom has a bitter taste and an unpleasant odor.