His appearance is ordinary and does not have any characteristic zest. But, even if you met a poisonous and inedible mushroom at first glance in the forest under a layer of snow, you can discard these thoughts. With almost 100% certainty, we can say that this is honey agaric, since apart from it at this time of the year you still can’t find anything.

Use in medicine

Winter mushroom mushroom (flammulina): photo, description

Winter mushrooms or Winter mushroom (Flammulina velutipes)

I would prefer the more accurate name "winter mushroom" - winter mushroom, because. There are also mushrooms that grow in winter.

A fungus from the Tricholomataceae family. The hat is 2-9 cm in diameter, honey-yellow (see photo), darker in the center, flat-convex, later flat, smooth, slimy. The hymenophore is lamellar, yellow-white, the plates are rare, wide, slightly adherent to the stem.

Leg 3-10 cm high, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical, light yellow in the upper part, brown, fleecy in the lower part. The taste and smell are pleasant.

Honey mushrooms: how to find, main types, useful properties + 70 photos

Occurs in large, close groups on live and dead trees, stumps, clearings, parks and gardens, fruit trees, linden, aspen, poplar and, especially often, willow. Fruiting from December to March. The mushroom picker of winter mushroom lives for tens and even hundreds of years, so you can harvest for many years in the same places. In our country, it has been mastered artificial breeding on a mixture of sawdust and bran. Winter mushroom is delicious. His hats are boiled, pickled, dried.

The need to look into the dormant winter forest arises over the years, experience and from dissatisfaction with the brevity of a moment of communication with the forest, nature.

Somewhere since the end of the 70s, I began to carefully examine the winter forests of the Dnepropetrovsk region and the surrounding regions. Somehow running through winter fishing through the woods, I noticed a tree trunk generously showered with brown mushrooms with a dark to black leg, and the mushrooms were “from earth” to “heaven” - all over the trunk. Despite the frost, these mushrooms do not lose their presentation and taste at all - they simply “fall asleep” and grow again at the first thaw. Since winters in Ukraine are often “rotten”, the mushroom season does not end.

Winter mushrooms prefer deciduous species to conifers, they grow in "bushes" more often than singly. You need to look for old or dying trunks, although they are happy to hide under pieces of damaged or exfoliated bark on apparently healthy trees. They often grow within the city limits, especially in parks, sometimes right on the soil on deadwood.

Take a look around! Sometimes the "winter" slips out of turn - ahead of the autumn real mushrooms, they grow from September (if it's cold) to March. It is all the more pleasant to please yourself and your friends with a mushroom "fresh" - when it is frosty and knee-deep snow in the yard.

You need to take a hat and a third of the legs (below is harsh), small ones go entirely. Boil for 10-15 minutes, drain, rinse, salt and with onions in a frying pan, bon appetit!

Excellent assortment - oyster mushrooms with mushrooms. In the marinade, winter mushrooms are “ordinary”, nothing special. Slightly similar poisonous false brick-red mushrooms do not tolerate frost, so good luck!

An avid mushroom picker is always upset when the season of "silent hunting" ends. Fishermen can quietly smile, rejoicing that their favorite business is all-season. But the mushroom pickers were not so lucky. But, not everyone knows that there are late types of mushrooms that grow even in cold winter. One of these species is winter honey agaric. And in this article we would like to provide a description of this mushroom, a photo and talk about its unique medicinal properties.

Description

In our market, it is better known under the name "monks". The thing is that the fungus enters the Russian market from Japan. Therefore, if you saw pickled monks, you should know that this is an ordinary winter mushroom.

In a number of Asian countries, these mushrooms are almost the most favorite species.

In Russia, the habitat of winter mushrooms is generally limited to northern latitudes.

The most important feature winter honey agaric lies in the fact that this species is really winter.

The fruiting body begins to ripen at the end of autumn, and by the beginning of winter you can harvest a decent harvest of mushrooms.

With all this, it is worth noting that if the winter is warm, then it will bear fruit for the entire quarter.

In severe frosts, the bodies of the honey agaric are damaged, but as soon as the temperature rises to zero degrees Celsius, they are immediately restored.

His appearance is ordinary and does not have any characteristic zest. But, even if you met a poisonous and inedible mushroom at first glance in the forest under a layer of snow, you can discard these thoughts.

With almost 100% certainty, we can say that this is honey agaric, since apart from it at this time of the year you still can’t find anything.

Young specimens have a small hemispherical cap. As the fruiting body ages, it straightens and takes on an umbrella shape.

The surface color can be either light brown or honey. It should be noted that the central part of the head is always darker than its edges.

Dark spots often appear on older mushrooms. Often they have a characteristic brown tint.

The diameter of the cap is small - on average up to 10 centimeters.

Due to frequent contact with water, its flesh has acquired a watery character. But, despite this, the taste of the mushroom is still at the proper level. The color of the pulp is dark beige.

The plates are quite sparsely planted. They have the same color as the flesh. They are firmly attached to the surface. As they age, they often turn dark in color.

The stem is very thin, and due to habitat (stumps, rotten trees), it often has a deformed shape in relation to the hat. From above, the leg has an identical surface color. It gets darker towards the base. On average, the length of the leg does not exceed 8 cm. The thickness is 0.8 cm.

The pulp of the leg is rough even in a young fetus. Nothing to say about the old ones. Because of this, mostly young fruits are eaten.

Asians generally love to practice traditional medicine. And winter honey agaric is a frequent guest in the notebook of a traditional healer of an Asian country.

The fruiting body itself is rich in proteins, zinc, potassium, iodine and other trace elements vital for humans.

Japanese scientists have even discovered the ability of inoki to resist the formation of malignant and benign tumors. They even compiled a map that established the percentage of the possibility of cancer when eating the mushroom. Naturally, the more often it is present in the diet, the less likely it is to face oncology.

Also, it is worth noting its anti-virus qualities.

Winter mushroom - a mushroom from under the snow

Its use leads to an increase in immunity, which in winter, when viruses are in the air, is an indispensable quality. Also, the mushroom has a restorative effect on the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

Also, cosmetology has not bypassed him. Based on it, many creams, lotions, masks are produced that allow you to rejuvenate the skin.

Winter mushroom mushroom: where and when to collect, useful properties

Every mushroom picker knows that the best time to pick mushrooms is autumn. Sometimes summer is added to this time period, especially August, which is considered one of the most mushroom months. But not everyone is aware that the mushroom season is not at all limited to the warm seasons.

AND best example this is served by a winter mushroom - flammulina, or winter honey agaric. As the name implies, the "hunt" for him, as a rule, is opened in cold weather of the year.

It is best to collect winter mushrooms from November to February, since it is then that they are found especially often and in large quantities, although they can grow throughout the year. And this is a great reason to leave a warm house and go to the forest in search of this unusual mushroom.

Distinctive features of the fungus

Flammulina velvety-legged is a relatively small edible mushroom, which has a hat-and-leg structure. Hat size fluctuates from 2 to 10 cm, in young mushrooms it is convex, while in mature ones it becomes flat. characteristic feature winter honey agaric is the mucous surface of the cap, which can be painted in various shades of yellow, orange and brown, depending on the type of tree on which it grows. In this case, the edges of the cap are usually lighter than the middle.

Winter honey agaric: growing in various conditions

The pulp has a pleasant taste, it is thin, light in color: from white to yellowish.

The plates are rare, often adherent to the stem or shortened. The color can vary quite widely: from white or cream to ocher.

The leg of the flammulina is thin and long, reaching from 2 to 7 cm, depending on the size of the fungus.

As a rule, it is of a brown hue, and the lower part of the leg is darker than the upper, which is more yellow. The ring, also known as the "skirt", is missing.

Areas of use

Flammulina is widely used in cooking: in the composition of second courses, salads, sauces, pickles and marinades. But before putting the found mushrooms into food, it must be taken into account that they must pass high quality heat treatment. The fact is that they are included in the fourth category of edible mushrooms (conditionally edible) due to the fact that they contain a weak, unstable toxin. During heat treatment, in particular when cooked for at least 20 minutes, the poison is destroyed, and the mushroom becomes completely edible.

Someone might ask why even bother with such a dubious mushroom, if there is great amount no less delicious, but much easier to process? There are several answers to this question:

  • Useful properties of flammulina. Japanese scientists in the middle of the last century discovered the amazing quality of the winter fungus: it contains a substance called flammulin, which prevents the occurrence of cancer and helps fight existing ones. Further research has only increased the list of valuable properties of winter honey agarics. As it turned out, it has a beneficial effect on the stomach and liver, helping to prevent diseases and stimulate the immune system.
  • The season in which flammulina is harvested. It is impossible not to admit that in the winter to treat yourself fresh mushrooms difficult: you can only buy in the store. And personally collected winter mushrooms, which also have a festive bright color, turn out to be a very pleasant addition to the standard diet. In addition, the fact that flammulins are most active in winter helps to avoid encounters with dangerous twins characteristic of other types of mushrooms.

There are not many mushrooms that you can confuse flammulina. Due to the time when it begins to bear fruit abundantly, it has practically no false twins. However, there are still several types of mushrooms that are very similar to flammulina, and it will be useful to understand their similarities and differences. So, who can you confuse her with and how dangerous can it be?

Twins of winter honey agarics and their differences:

  • Summer honey agaric. This edible mushroom is quite difficult to confuse with flammoulina due to the fact that it is usually found between April and November. As a difference, one can indicate a thin membranous ring on the stem of the summer honey agaric, as well as a often encountered dark border along the edge of the cap.
  • Collybia spindle-footed. The chance of confusing this inedible mushroom with winter mushroom is quite small: its fruiting time is in summer and autumn. Collibia is distinguished by a characteristic red-brown color of the cap, its stem is long, spindle-shaped and often twisted.
  • The gallery is bordered. One of the most dangerous false mushrooms, because this mushroom is very poisonous. You can distinguish it from the winter honey agaric by the ring on the stem, as well as by the predilection for coniferous trees, while flammulina prefers deciduous ones. The leg of the gallery is covered with a white coating. However, the chance to meet both a galerina and a winter mushroom at the same time is rather small, especially if you collect them in winter: the galerina bears fruit from July to October, sometimes capturing November as well.
  • False honey fungus. This twin brother of almost all kinds of mushrooms is found from July to October. Coloring can be any: pink, yellow, light orange shades or red. Characteristic is bad smell coming from the pulp of the mushroom, and a bitter taste that does not disappear even during heat treatment.

As you can see from this list, the winter mushroom is quite difficult to confuse with others, but we must not forget the most important rule regarding mushroom picking: if for some reason the found mushroom seems suspicious, it is better to leave it in the forest.

Honey mushrooms we call one of the varieties of edible agaric autumn mushrooms. These are the most fruitful and harvested mushrooms, of the most common ones. honey agaric summer and winter. Scientific name of the fungus "Real honey agaric" or "autumn honey agaric" (Armillariella mellea). Usually autumn mushrooms complete the mushroom season. In central Russia, they are often called "Assumption" for their mass appearance at the end of August, just in time for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28). On this day, experienced mushroom pickers go to the forest for the first autumn mushrooms, which bear fruit from now on for two to three weeks. In a dry summer, the first wave of fruiting honey agarics may go unnoticed or move more late deadline. In some regions, a real honey agaric is common throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere, except for permafrost and tropical latitudes, there is a second and even a third wave of fruiting mushrooms, depending on the weather and climatic conditions terrain. There, autumn mushrooms are harvested until mid-October.

In the photo: autumn mushrooms (real honey agaric, Armillariella mellea). On the following pages, see other photos of autumn mushrooms.

When and how to collect autumn mushrooms.

The generosity with which the forest endows us with these fragrant mushrooms is able to saturate everyone, so the appearance of mushrooms is eagerly awaited. Collecting mushrooms is a real pleasure. They meet in families, so they immediately manage to pick up a lot of mushrooms, sometimes at a time and not carry them away. There is a real “silent hunt” behind honey mushrooms - who is the first? Attacked a mushroom place - cut off all the mushrooms at once. Returning again, they can not be caught - a lot of "hunters". And those cut and laid under a bush, sprinkled with grass and branches, will go unnoticed and wait for your second arrival. But this is if there is a desire to process so many mushrooms later, and you know how to navigate in the forest.

Honey mushrooms are well transported. Stacked in large baskets, buckets, bags, trunks of cars and everything that is at hand at this moment, they are safely delivered to the place of processing. The main thing is to quickly bring them and scatter them so that they do not “burn out”.

Winter mushroom (Flammulina, winter mushroom): description, application, photo

In cooking, hats and legs of young mushrooms are often used. However, some mushroom pickers prefer to collect mature mushrooms with a large hat. “There is something to pick up with a fork!” they say. In large mushrooms, only hats are collected, their legs are hard and not suitable for food. Overgrown mushrooms or harvested in prolonged rainy weather partially lose their attractive appearance, mushroom aroma and taste, but are still good fried, boiled and pickled. Inexperienced mushroom pickers can confuse autumn mushrooms with false mushrooms similar to them. So you need to know them. features.

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Systematics:
  • Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
  • Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
  • Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
  • Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
  • Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
  • Family: Physalacriaceae (Physalacriae)
  • Genus: Flammulina (Flammulina)
  • View: Flammulina velutipes (Winter honey agaric)
    Other names for mushroom:

Other names:

  • Flammoulina

  • Flammulina velvety-legged

  • Kollybia velvety-legged

  • Collybia velutipes

Honey agaric winter(lat. Flammulina velutipes) - an edible mushroom of the Ryadovkovy family (the Flammulin genus is also included in the non-gnjuchnikov family).

External Description

Hat: At first, the hat of the winter mushroom has the shape of a hemisphere, then it is prostrate yellow-brown or honey-colored. In the center, the surface of the cap is of a darker shade. In wet weather - mucous. Adult winter mushrooms are very often covered with brown spots.

Pulp: watery, creamy color with a pleasant aroma and taste.

Records: infrequent, adherent, cream-colored, becoming darker with age.

Spore Powder: white.

Leg: cylindrical shape, the upper part of the leg is the same color as the hat, the lower part is darker. Length 4-8cm. up to 0.8 cm thick. Very tough.

Spreading

Winter honey agaric (Flammulina velutipes) is found late autumn and early winter. It grows on deadwood and stumps, prefers deciduous trees. Under favorable conditions, it can bear fruit all winter.

similarity

During the fruiting period, when there is already snow, the Winter honey agaric (Flammulina velutipes) cannot be confused with another species, since nothing else grows at this time. At other times, winter honey agaric can be mistaken for some other type of tree destroyer, from which it differs in the white color of the spore powder and in that it does not have a ring on the leg. - a mushroom of dubious nutritional quality, distinguished by a red-brown cap, a reddish-red leg, often twisted, strongly tapering at the bottom; usually found on the roots of old oaks.

Edibility

Good edible mushroom.

Video about mushroom Winter agaric:

Remarks

According to many, the mushroom season ends in September, but a true mushroom picker knows that at the crossroads of autumn and winter, it's time for a delicious winter mushroom. Winter honey agaric (Flammulina vlutipes) is quite common in southern regions Russian tree fungus. The fungus has one interesting feature - its cells, destroyed during freezing, grow together again and are restored as soon as the air temperature rises above zero. Therefore, in winter thaws, you can sometimes see flammulina hats peeking right out from under the snow.
In addition, the winter mushroom is quickly tamed. Moreover, when growing flammulina in a dark, cold and humid basement, a softer and more tasty mushroom is obtained. The Japanese call flammulina enokitake - mushroom noodles.

Winter mushrooms or velvety-legged flammulina (Flammulina velutires) is an edible variety of mushrooms. They belong to the Ryadovkov family and grow almost everywhere in our country.

Winter mushrooms belong to the Ryadovkov family and grow almost everywhere in our country.

The winter fungus forms a hat-legged fruiting body, central or slightly eccentric. The hat is convex or flat in shape, yellow-golden, honey-golden-brown or yellowish-orange-brown. The cap edges, as a rule, have a lighter color than the central part.

Edible mushrooms have thin flesh, whitish, beige-yellow or light yellow color, with a pleasant and fairly pronounced mushroom taste. The stem is of a tubular type, rather dense, with a very characteristic velvety golden brown or yellowish-beige-brown coloration, without any remains of the veil. Plates of an adherent type, rare arrangement, sometimes shortened, whitish or ocher in color. Spores are whitish in color, ellipsoidal or cylindrical in shape.

Gallery: winter mushrooms (25 photos)



















When to collect winter mushrooms (video)

Where does winter honey mushroom grow?

Fruiting is dense, in whole groups or so-called aggregations. The variety is widely distributed in regions with temperate climate. Fruiting bodies are very actively formed from the beginning or middle of autumn until the onset of spring. Fruiting is observed during the thaw period in winter.

Among other things, winter mushrooms are cultivated in many countries, including Japan and Korea. When grown on an industrial scale, a special, well-moistened wood or a section of wheat straw is used as a nutrient substrate. Harvesting with artificial cultivation is carried out almost all year round, and world production figures reach one hundred thousand tons annually.

With the onset of autumn, it is time to collect winter mushrooms. With sufficient temperature indicators and an increased level of humidity, the fruiting bodies of such an edible variety grow and develop quickly. There is a winter mushroom can be found not only in deciduous, but also in mixed forest areas. It is desirable to go on a search for honey agarics when they are old enough deciduous forests, where fruiting bodies are actively formed on stumps and trunks of the so-called deadwood, as well as on living hardwood.

When collecting, you need to remember that in addition to edible varieties, a mushroom picker may encounter false and poisonous mushrooms in the forest, therefore It is very important to pay attention to the following distinctive features:

  • false mushrooms are most often found on the soil and under leaf litter;
  • hat false fungus always has very bright coloring in bright red and greenish-gray tones;
  • coloring of plates inside caps are darker and more pronounced.

With the onset of autumn, it's time to collect winter mushrooms

Chief and sure sign- the presence of a very characteristic ring of a leathery type, located on the leg, directly under the hat. False mushrooms necessarily have fragmentary parts of such a poorly visible and uneven ring. Among other things, the hat and leg of real mushrooms are always covered with fairly pronounced scales, which are completely absent in all false varieties.

To carry out, you need to carefully cut off the leg with a knife or carefully twisting the fruiting body from the mycelium. The second method is more preferable, as it minimizes the risk of penetration of a pathogenic infection into the mycelium through a cut on the stem of the fungus. All connoisseurs of "quiet hunting" must follow a number of rules:

  • only familiar edible species are subject to collection, and the presence of the slightest doubt in the knowledge of the fungus is a reason to refuse to collect it;
  • it is impossible to collect overgrown, rotten, wormy or too old mushrooms, as well as too young, not fully ripened fruiting bodies;
  • you need to collect the winter mushroom in a basket that will provide the fruiting bodies with sufficient ventilation and long-term preservation;
  • winter mushroom is placed in a basket with a hat down or slightly sideways.

Important to remember, What harvested mushrooms you need to deliver it home as soon as possible, sort it out and process it, which will avoid rotting mushrooms and getting poisoned from eating mushroom dishes.

Features of winter mushrooms (video)

The composition and useful properties of winter mushrooms

The presence in the mushroom pulp of a whole complex of biologically active substances, vitamins and minerals, winter mushrooms have the following useful properties:

  • strengthening the immune system;
  • improvement of elasticity and condition of the vascular wall;
  • destruction of pathogenic microflora and getting rid of inflammatory processes;
  • normalization of the work of the heart and vascular system;
  • lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood;
  • lowering blood sugar levels;
  • restoration of intestinal beneficial microflora.

IN medicinal purposes mushroom infusions, tinctures and decoctions are used. Among other things, the winter mushroom is very effective and accessible means to combat impotence and is widely used in the prevention of many ailments.

Winter fungus can be found not only in deciduous, but also in mixed forest zones.

False twins of winter mushrooms

There are several false twins of the false fungus, which inexperienced connoisseurs of "silent hunting" may take for a tasty and healthy variety:

  • gray lamellar autumn false foam it is distinguished by a convex pale yellow or brownish-rusty hat, the lower part of which is covered with a characteristic veil. The superficial skin is smooth and sufficiently moist or sticky;
  • brick red false honey agaric, growing in large groups and characterized by a very characteristic spherical or hemispherical cap shape with a smooth and dry, reddish-orange-brick surface. The plates have a yellowish, olive or dark chocolate color. The leg is hollow, reddish-brick, thin and curved.

A less common variety is false poisonous sulfur-yellow mushrooms, which are distinguished by hats with curved edges and the presence of a cobweb layer on the underside. Among other things, you need to remember that the plates are yellowish, greenish-olive or olive-brown-black, and in edible species the plates have a cream or yellowish-white color. You should also take into account the fact that the pulp of inedible false varieties has a very unpleasant and earthy smell.

Honey mushrooms are a complex group of mushrooms that combines several types of culture families. If we cover the issue extensively, it is worth noting that the mushrooms we are considering are not necessarily edible, there are also poisonous species of mushrooms.

Types of forest mushrooms

Inexperienced mushroom pickers may adhere to the belief that the forest mushroom grows exclusively on fallen stumps and other, inanimate wood, but this is not so - the culture can develop both on the forest floor and in ordinary grass. The most common and familiar representatives are used for food - they can be boiled, frozen, fried, dried, salted or pickled.

There are several types of "good" forest fruits - autumn, summer and winter. The names of the varieties speak for themselves, that is, they indicate what season the crop "belongs" to.

Let's consider the issue in more detail.

Winter honey agaric (flammulina), photo and description

With the onset of cold weather, the mushroom season continues. Some types of mushrooms are resistant to frost, and can grow under snow. Winter honey agaric- a unique species that is not afraid of low temperatures. Thanks to the amazing ability to grow when it's cold outside, he got his name. This species belongs to the Ryabovaceae family. It is also called winter mushroom or flammulina.



What does it look like

The description is worth reading before you go on a quiet hunt in the cold. In a young honey agaric, the hat has the shape of a ball. As they grow older, the cap gradually straightens. Its surface is sticky, especially in rainy or snowy weather. Hat diameter - 8-10 cm.

Color - yellow-brown or yellow, light at the edges and darker in the center. On the back of the cap there are plates that are located at a small distance from one another. They are distinguished by a pleasant ocher color. Young species are lighter, darker with age. The leg is not very long - usually up to 10 cm. The flesh is sour, yellowish-white, has a pleasant, light aroma.

The smell of winter representatives cannot be called pronounced, but their taste is quite rich.

It is noteworthy, but mushrooms can be grown independently, as well as stocking up on mushrooms for future use.

How to collect

This should be done from November to March. Winter honey agaric looks like poisonous mushroom- gallery. It is important to carefully examine each fungus before placing it in the basket. Galerina has a ring that is on the leg - this is the main hallmark, the main difference between edible and non-edible species. These species have different periods of maturation, therefore they are rare at the same time, usually at the end of November. Before collecting, you should look at the photo so as not to be mistaken.



Look for a fungus next to water bodies, in parks, garden areas, on the edges, lawns. He prefers to bear fruit in large groups, like the classic types of mushrooms. The main population grows in the temperate zone.

The nutritional value

Flammulina is an edible mushroom that belongs to the fourth category. By this it is meant that in terms of nutritional qualities it corresponds to other varieties - meadow mushrooms, raincoats, oyster mushrooms.

Winter honey agaric can be used:

  • pickled;
  • fried;
  • salted;
  • dried;
  • boiled.

The most nutritious and delicious are hats. The legs are very fibrous, tough, so they are rarely eaten. If the fungus is old, this part is easier to cut off, as it is no longer suitable for food. Even if you use young types, it is advisable to cut off the bottom of the leg - it is the hardest.



Winter mushrooms are rich in proteins, contain many amino acids necessary for a person. According to these indicators, they surpass products of plant origin, more nutritious than many vegetables, berries, fruits. Flammulina is a storehouse of useful microelements and minerals.

Conclusion

Great taste is not the main advantage of this product. Due to the complex positive effects on the human body, it is very loved in Japan. Winter mushrooms contain a special substance flammulin. It is distinguished by its antitumor effect, therefore it is effective in the fight against oncological diseases. The constant use of honey agaric helps to reduce cholesterol levels, and high-quality protection against atherosclerosis. Because it is often used by cosmetologists and pharmacists.

As for the summer representatives of the culture we are considering, you can feast on them from May to September. The ideal habitat for the species is rotten trees and semi-decayed wood where high humidity is maintained. For example, near streams.



What the summer honey agaric looks like depends on weather conditions. If dampness prevails in the region and precipitation often falls, the mushroom cap darkens from the middle to the edges. In drought conditions, the cap becomes one-color, light brown in color. Spores are brown when they are light in winter representatives. The older the "individual", the darker its color.

Experienced mushroom pickers advise caution in collecting summer mushrooms, since there is a high probability of confusing them with poisonous counterparts. The main rule in this case is not to harvest in a forest with a predominance of coniferous trees, and also - directly on the stumps of resinous crops.

Mushroom mushroom autumn: what it looks like, photo

Autumn mushrooms are considered the most fragrant and delicious in many regions of our country. Today we will consider such a variety of mushroom as autumn mushroom - its description, as well as the principles by which it can be determined whether the fruit is edible in front of the collector.



 Grains on the hat.

Description

Before discussing the appearance of the autumn honey agaric, it is important to determine the ripening period of the variety. As a rule, the crop can be harvested starting from last week August and throughout September - it all depends on the climatic conditions of each individual region. Honey mushrooms grow in colonies, the so-called waves, the first "influx" is usually the most abundant, the subsequent ones decline. Each wave lasts from several days to a week, and the fruits can disappear very suddenly. You can guess their appearance, focusing on precipitation - mushroom pickers prefer to reconnoiter the forest belt a few days after heavy rain.

Let's move on to how to distinguish autumn mushrooms from other varieties of the family or other inedible crops:

  • The autumn honey agaric is distinguished by a hat bent inward. The head of the mushroom resembles half a neat ball, the maximum diameter is no more than 16 centimeters. Optimal size a young but mature fruit - up to 10 centimeters up and 6-10 centimeters in the widest part of the fungus. The color is creamy brown, a small tubercle often grows in the center of the cap. The surface is covered with small scales.
  • The fruit stem becomes thinner at the point of contact with the cap, quite stable, bordered by a light film ring. The average thickness is 1-1.5 centimeters.
  • The spores of the fungus are white-yellow in color, the plates are thin and multiple, they can change color from light to brown, descending.



The pulp of the delicacy is light, dense in texture, exudes a persistent mushroom aroma and is slightly sour. The fruit is completely edible, but some mushroom pickers prefer not to eat the legs of the plant - they are fibrous and tougher.

Where does it grow

As for habitats, the most favorable substrate for the variety we are considering is the inanimate wood of fallen deciduous trees, stumps, etc. It is believed that large quantity honey mushrooms can be found on trees that have fallen near the stream, in conditions of high humidity. Look carefully where the crop grows - inedible specimens most often develop on coniferous wood.

Prevention of poisoning

Every person from childhood knows that you need to pick a mushroom only when you are sure of its edibility. Failure to follow this simple rule can lead to serious poisoning or even death.

Let's talk about the precautions that every mushroom picker needs to remember, regardless of experience.

First of all, it is worth remembering that almost every mushroom has an inedible counterpart - this is how nature works. Therefore, in no case should you blindly harvest without checking the product in all respects.

  1. Before each visit to the forest, make sure that you remember all the distinguishing features of the mushroom you plan to collect. If in doubt, find a photo of the plant and brush up on what it looks like.
  2. Inexperienced mushroom pickers are advised to study all types of forest "gifts", similar, in our case, to honey agarics. If a person is not confident in their own memory, you can even print a photo of the fetus, taking it with you. Then it will certainly be possible to avoid a dangerous mistake.
  3. It is categorically impossible to listen to the advice of frivolous lovers of the forest - there are often beliefs that Russian forests free from poisonous plants. This is wrong.



Since we are talking about autumn mushrooms, we will cite as an example their counterparts - false mushrooms. They are inedible and even dangerous to health, while outwardly they look more like summer representatives than autumn ones. There may be several false counterparts of the fungus we are considering - some are simply unsuitable for food, others are frankly poisonous.

To protect yourself, pay attention to the presence of a film ring around the stem of the fungus. Edible representatives have this ring, while inedible representatives do not. The color is also important - in the first case, the color of the hat is less attractive, in the second - brighter. Real mushrooms smell like all other edible counterparts (boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms), false ones give off the “aroma” of earth, mold and dampness.

Follow the golden rule - if you are not sure which mushroom is in front of you, leave it in the forest after passing by. It is better to bring home less fruit than to risk your own life.

Spring honey mushrooms

The genus spring mushrooms includes about 70 varieties. It has a popular name - money. The scientific name is the forest-loving collibia. This type is conditionally edible.



Where to look

Like other representatives of this species, this honey agaric prefers to grow on stumps. The easiest way to find a mushroom is in hard-to-reach places, aspen, spruce thickets, among old birches, in dead woods. Spring mushroom grows in large columns, large groups. The fungus is not very popular among lovers of "silent hunting". It is preferred by those who are well versed in all types, and will be able to distinguish real look from a false double.

Spring mushrooms love forests with deciduous and coniferous trees. They are found in Siberia, the Far East, the Urals, throughout Europe. The beginning of ripening occurs in spring, May. The collection season ends in October.

Appearance

Before you go picking mushrooms, you need to know what a real representative of this species should look like. It is easy to recognize by a small hat, 2-6 cm in diameter, smooth to the touch. Hat yellow-brown or red, convex at young mushroom, and prostrate - in an adult.



The plates are distinguished by a pale, faded shade, have a slight yellowish coating. All of them are attached to the leg, frequent. Spore powder is only white.

Leg - red-brown, smooth, has a light felt shade. The pulp in this place is hard, and closer to the base it is very fibrous. Its color is pale, the texture is tender, soft.

Useful features

Spring mushrooms are not very high quality, but are suitable for eating. They belong to category 4. They are well marinated or fried along with other types of mushrooms. Frequent use of this variety helps to strengthen the body's defenses, stabilize the cardiovascular system. Honey agaric has a positive effect on the digestive tract.

The impact on the human body is complex:

  • fight against viruses;
  • stimulation of immunity;
  • elimination of inflammation;
  • antioxidant action.

The overall impact is positive.



Compound

The product contains a lot of fiber, carbohydrates and proteins, is a source of vitamins B1, C, minerals, zinc, copper.

What to look out for

You need to carefully collect spring mushrooms, because they have toxic doppelgangers. The easiest way to distinguish an inedible product from an edible one is by smell. False smells unpleasant - sour cabbage. It is worth looking at the leg - in twins it is pubescent.

How delicious to fry with onions

To prepare such a dish, you will need 600 grams of mushrooms and 2 large onions. Washed, cleaned forest gifts are laid out on a heated frying pan. Frying takes place without the addition of oil. Do not cover with a lid - this will lead to rapid evaporation of moisture, then the dish will turn out to be rather dry.

Then oil is added, pre-cut onions are laid out. It will be ready in about a third of an hour.

It remains to salt, pepper the dish, sprinkle with herbs before serving.



Let's say a few words about the meadow variety of mushrooms. This family is found exclusively in Primorsky Krai and the Caucasus. A distinctive feature of the culture is habitat in the grass (meadows, edges, fields). Meadow mushroom mycelium bears fruit in the warm season, that is, from about May to September.

Do they eat fruits? Exclusively caps, since the flesh of the leg is hard and lacks a pleasant mushroom taste. It is believed to be inedible.

Describing the variety, one can note the instability of the color of the cap of the culture - it can be yellow or red-brown, depending on the weather conditions prevailing in the place of growth. The leg is rather thin, unstable, covered with a slight coating.



Royal mushrooms speak for themselves - their size is in no way inferior to mushrooms. The height of the mushroom can reach 20 centimeters, identical to the diameter of the cap. The stem is thin but durable. They grow one at a time, not like other types of mushrooms, and not only on stumps, but also on living wood. They ripen from late summer to autumn frosts.

As for the color, the royal representatives of the family differ golden color caps, on which there are frequent scales. The older the individual, the darker the skin of the fetus.

Royal honey mushroom is in demand among traditional healers - it is believed that it is rich in phosphorus, amino acids and other beneficial substances. The pulp of the mushroom is used for tinctures that help with diabetes.



 They are characterized by small spines.

We examined which types of mushrooms are most famous among mushroom pickers, presenting detailed description each member of the family. If you were not able to fully understand the varieties, carefully study the photo of mushrooms, visualization will help get rid of your remaining questions.

Honey mushrooms are well-deserved leaders among mushrooms, popular with people who prefer the gifts of the forest. The culture ripens several times a year, gives a rich harvest and is convenient in terms of gathering - since the fruits grow big families, the mushroom picker does not have to walk through the forest for a long time, sometimes it is enough to find several large colonies to fill a whole basket with a delicacy. Mycelium develops on fallen trees or stumps, sometimes on living, weak trunks. The most optimal substrate for the culture we are considering is inanimate wood located in places of high humidity.

In this article we will talk about such a variety of the family as spruce mushrooms, touching on the description and characteristics in general.



Why is spruce honey agaric dark

If you or your loved ones are fond of hiking in the forest, you probably know that the most delicious and popular mushroom is autumn. The fungus attracts collectors with its neat shape, pleasant smell and tasty pulp. The second name of the autumn variety is the very spruce mushrooms that are discussed in our article.

As we noted earlier, the main habitat of the culture is deciduous forests and half-dead wood, however, mushrooms can also develop in pine forests or spruce forests. Since mushrooms grow in almost all regions of our country, and in each geographical zone they may differ slightly in appearance, in color.

The fruiting period of the mycelium is from late August to late October. In warm regions of the country, the harvest period can last the entire first half of November.

As for the dark color of spruce mushrooms, it is wood that is the main “dye” of the pulp. The mycelium of the fungus develops on a coniferous tree, gradually grows along the trunk, climbing under the bark. Thus, the fruiting bodies collect the bitterness of the needles, along with a dark woody color.

If you have never paid attention to the color of the trunks of deciduous or coniferous trees, be sure to compare their bark - everything will fall into place.

It should be noted that the taste qualities of the honey agaric we are considering are specific, for an amateur. All because of the slight bitterness we mentioned earlier. However, experienced mushroom pickers say that the main thing is to properly prepare the product, then it will not yield to even the most majestic mushroom. Moreover, the “fir tree” includes all the same useful substances and trace elements as its autumn counterpart.



Description, features of culture

The spruce mushrooms we are considering belong to the physalacrium family.

  • The average size of the fruit cap is from 3.5 to 10 centimeters, larger representatives are rarely found.
  • The shape of the “head” of the mushroom resembles a hemisphere, the middle is convex, the skin is saturated brown, with frequent, large scales. The older the representative, the smoother his hat becomes, and the cylindrical leg becomes longer.
  • With age, the skirt that borders the leg also becomes less noticeable.
  • The plates of young mushrooms under the hat are light, frequent, in old ones they acquire a reddish color.

The pulp is light, exudes a barely noticeable mushroom aroma, slightly loose. Some gourmets prefer not to eat the legs, as they consider them dry and hard.

Prevention of poisoning with inedible mushrooms (twins)

Experienced amateurs forest gifts almost since eyes closed harvest and never make mistakes. But what about those who cannot boast of "iron" knowledge?

Let's talk about the distinctive features of honey mushrooms and their inedible counterparts.

First of all, every novice gatherer should visit the forest with a mushroom picker who is unmistakably versed in "silent hunting". A preliminary visual acquaintance with the future harvest live or even from pictures is not forbidden.

If you are going to the forest on your own and you do not have a mentor, capture the spruce mushrooms in the photo and show it to a specialist, or simply compare the find with pictures from the Internet. Fortunately, century modern technologies allows you to use the World Wide Web and share photos with loved ones from almost anywhere in the world.

video about a dangerous double - Hypholoma fasciculare

The main distinguishing features of edible mushrooms from the "bad" ones:

  1. Pay attention to the skirt on the leg of the fruit - inedible representatives of the forest do not have a similar one (with the exception of the toadstool). The latter can deceive the collector with its appearance, but not by smell - her aroma, to put it mildly, is specific, unpleasant.
  2. At good fruit there should not be a Volvo cup at the base.
  3. beware bright colors hats - as a rule, nature is cunning and rewards inedible mushrooms an attractive color so that animals pay attention to the plant.

The easiest way to determine which mushroom is in front of you is to break open the oldest fruit from the colony and check its flesh for worms - insects will never eat a poisonous plant.

You will quickly learn how to sort your crop if you carefully study the crop and follow the recommendations of experienced people.

In addition to culinary qualities, winter mushrooms also have healing properties. However, it should be noted that the pulp of the mushroom contains a small amount of toxins that are destroyed during cooking. Therefore, you should always start cooking winter mushrooms by boiling them in boiling water for at least 20 minutes.

The chemical composition of mushrooms and useful properties

The fruit body of flammulina contains a large amount of amino acids and protein, ahead of many fruits and vegetables in this indicator. Winter mushrooms contain zinc, iodine, potassium and other trace elements. In addition, the fruiting bodies of the fungus contain antioxidants, due to which flammulina are used in cosmetology and pharmaceuticals.

The use of winter mushrooms in medicine and cosmetology

In Japan, inaketake (the so-called flammulina in Japanese) is valued for its ability to inhibit the development of tumors and neoplasms, including malignant ones. In addition, the healing properties of winter mushrooms are manifested in the support and strengthening of immunity. They lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, have a restorative effect on the liver. Cosmetologists use flammulina as a means to rejuvenate and nourish the skin.

Who should refrain from eating winter mushrooms

Flammulina, like all mushrooms, is a rather difficult food to digest. It is not recommended to use them for people with diseases of the digestive system, as well as with individual intolerance. Flammulin should not be used by women during pregnancy and lactation.

Important! Winter mushrooms, like any other mushrooms, are completely contraindicated for children under 10 years old, since before this age the stomach does not produce the enzymes necessary to break down such food.

It must be remembered that despite all its useful properties, flammulina, like other mushrooms, is capable of accumulating radionuclides, heavy metals and other harmful substances. Therefore, their collection should be carried out away from automobile and railways, outside industrial zones and contaminated areas.

How to cook winter mushrooms

Winter mushrooms are suitable for cooking many dishes. Their firm, creamy flesh is good taste and aroma. They make an excellent filling for pies. Often inaketake, or inoki, can be found in recipes for various Korean and Japanese salads. Flammulin is suitable for home canning, for example, for preparing mushroom caviar.

Latin name: Flammulina velutipes

Genus: Flammulina.

Family: Ordinary, also belongs to the family Negniuchkovye.

Synonyms: Agaricus velutipes, Collybia velutipes, Collybidium velutipes, Gymnopus velutipes, Myxocollybia velutipes.

Russian synonyms: velvety-legged flammulina, velvety-legged collibia, winter mushroom. In the West, they are most often found under the Japanese name "enokitake".

Cap: rounded-convex, becomes flat with age. The diameter is from 2 to 8 cm, however, some large specimens can reach 10 and even 12 cm. The color of the cap varies from yellow or honey to orange-brown. In most cases, the edges of the cap have a lighter shade than the central zone. Mucous, smooth, with a slight drying takes on a glossy appearance. Pay attention to the hats of winter edible mushrooms by looking at the photo.

Leg: cylindrical, tubular, dense, velvety, 3-8 cm high, up to 1 cm thick. The upper part has a lighter shade (yellow), and the lower part is darker (brown or red).

Pulp: thin, hard at the lower edge of the stem and softer at the cap. White or light yellow, with a slightly pronounced pleasant smell and taste.

Records: rare, slightly adherent to the stem, sometimes shortened. The color of the plates in young individuals ranges from cream to yellowish-white, darkening with age.

We offer you to see a few more photos of winter honey agaric in the forest:

As you can see, they have a brighter color than representatives of other types of edible mushrooms. Knowing what winter mushrooms look like in the photo, it will be much easier for you to find them in the forest.

Edibility: conditionally edible, belongs to the 4th category.

Winter honey agaric benefit.

Winter mushrooms are a relatively new phenomenon for the Russian mushroom picker, so let's talk about it in more detail. About 20 years ago it was not collected at all. Yes, and it didn’t even cross my mind - to go for mushrooms in January!

Now the winter mushroom has become famous, it is grown, sold in stores, it is firmly established in books.

It is not surprising that flammulina tends to anthropogenic landscapes. Where there is a person, there are weakened trees. In addition, flammulina came to us not so long ago and, moreover, from the south, from places that are characterized by milder winters.

And the temperature in winter in the city is always several degrees higher than in the "wild forest", which is very "pleasing" to the winter honey agaric.

Note: flammulina is almost the only mushroom that can withstand colossal pollution. big cities. Almost only it is one of all cap mushrooms that can grow on the sides of major highways in the city center. But to collect it in such conditions, as well as near industrial enterprises and motorways are by no means allowed. Any mushrooms, whether edible or not, have the ability to accumulate various harmful substances contained in the soil and atmosphere, including heavy metal ions. So collect them in the forest or on personal plot, that is, where you are quite sure of the purity of the air.

Apparently, it is necessary to answer the question that may have arisen in you after getting to know Flammulina, namely: why does it need to grow at such an inopportune time?

The answer is pretty simple. It is well known that any living beings (whether animals, plants or fungi) are in constant competition with each other for living space and food.

The fruiting time of winter mushrooms is one of the clearest examples of the result of this competition. Almost all of our forest tree fungi are spread by spores. Wind, rain, birds and insects spread them, and, once in favorable conditions (in our case, on damaged areas of the bark, branches, trunks and roots), the spores germinate, giving rise to a new fungal organism. All this happens, of course, in the summer-autumn time. Imagine what an unthinkable struggle for habitat takes place between billions of spores of hundreds various kinds mushrooms. What is flammulina? She has adapted to bear fruit in winter time, i.e., at the moment when she (her spores) has practically no competitor, not a single growing fungus actively spreading its spores. This is the reason for such a strange at first glance, the time of formation of the fruiting bodies of winter mushrooms.

Flammulina has long been a cultivated mushroom. The history of its cultivation in the countries of the East has more than 1000 years. Currently, flammulina ranks third in the world in terms of production among cultivated mushrooms ( world production- up to 150,000 tons per year).

Studies of the composition of fruiting bodies conducted in Japan showed the content of the substance flammulin in mushrooms, which significantly retarded the growth of cancers. Winter mushrooms contain in their composition substances that reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood and slow down the development of atherosclerosis. In this regard, in a number of countries they are used to obtain therapeutic and prophylactic and medicines as well as hygiene drinks and cosmetics. In terms of protein and amino acids (including essential ones), the winter mushroom surpasses berries, fruits and vegetables. Its amount in fruiting bodies ranges from 28–33%, and in terms of content minerals and trace elements (phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iodine, manganese, copper, etc.), the mushroom surpasses vegetables and is comparable in composition only with milk and beef.

Thus, flammulina is a complete food product containing all the substances necessary for the growth and development of the human body.

Winter mushrooms are also used for the production of cosmetics (creams, masks and lotions containing 5–25% hydroalcoholic extracts from mycelial culture). Creams and lotions are used for dry and flaky skin. The rejuvenating effect when using masks is observed already on the tenth day of the corresponding course.

According to the latest micromorphological and molecular studies, the winter fungus is represented in the European part of Russia by four related species - F. velutipes, F. ononidis, F. fennae and F. rossica (the latter also grows in the Asian part of Russia). Distinguishing them without a microscope is not possible and has no practical value for mushroom pickers or from a medicinal point of view.

Honey agaric winter medicinal properties. Winter honey agaric (Flammulina velutipes)

Sin .: winter mushroom, velvety-legged flammulina, velvety-legged collibia, snow mushroom, flammulina, enokitake, fire mushroom, enoki, jingu.

Winter mushroom is a species of winter mushrooms from the genus Flammulina, the family Ryadovkovye, or Tricholomovye. It is a cosmopolitan mushroom, i.e. grows all over the globe except for Antarctica. In the composition of the winter fungus, flammulin was found, which counteracts malignant neoplasms. In Russia, it is not used for medicinal purposes.

In medicine

Winter honey agaric is not included in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation. In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese medicine, preparations and infusions from winter agaric are used in the prevention and treatment of malignant neoplasms (sarcoma, cancer, melanoma), as well as malignant diseases of the blood and lymphatic system - lymphosis, leukemia, lymphogranulomatosis.

The thing is that winter mushroom contains a substance that prevents active development sarcomas - flammulin. Hence the second name of the fungus - velvety-legged flammulina. Also, in Eastern medical practice, the mushroom, due to its medicinal properties, is used for liver diseases and gastrointestinal ulcers.

In the above medical practices, the flammulina mushroom also serves to prevent and treat benign tumors: adenomas, fibromas, fibroids, mastopathy. In the 1990s, the first clinical data on the antitumor properties of winter honey agaric were obtained in Russia, in connection with which the first biologically active additives to food, which have antitumor, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects.

However, these additives soon faded away due to the controversial opinion about their effectiveness, therefore, in Russia, the winter mushroom is not currently used for medicinal purposes.

Contraindications side effects

Contraindications to the use of flammulina and treatment with this fungus are pregnancy, lactation, individual intolerance to the components of the fungus, children under ten years of age (there are no necessary enzymes in the stomach that allow normal processing of mushrooms). Honey mushrooms are contraindicated for people who have digestive problems, have diseases of the liver and gallbladder (these organs are responsible for the production of enzymes that break down foods, so eating mushrooms will lead to regular indigestion) and kidneys, gout (due to the high concentration of purine, mushrooms can cause deterioration health conditions).

In cooking

Popular in Japanese cuisine. It is a constant component in Korean salads, however, unlike champignons and Asian shiitake mushrooms, winter honey agaric is able to fully preserve its surprisingly mild and pleasant taste in salads, combined with a refined aroma.

The soft fruiting body of the winter mushroom makes it possible to obtain mushroom caviar from it. Flammulina is also suitable for kneading minced meat and preparing fillings. Winter mushroom is combined with meat, fish, poultry, as well as almost all vegetables. It is salted, pickled, dried, canned, mushroom powder and extracts are made. Of course, winter honey agaric is also used fresh.

However, there is evidence that the pulp of the mushroom may contain a certain amount of unstable toxins, so the winter mushroom must be properly boiled before eating.

In the cosmetic industry

Flammulina mushroom is widely used in the production of cosmetics: lotions, masks, creams. As a rule, such products contain 5-25% water-alcohol extracts from mycelial culture. Lotions and creams made with the addition of flammulina are necessary for flaking or dry skin. As cosmetologists and people who have tried products with flammulina in their composition say, the rejuvenating effect of masks is observed on the 10th day (if used correctly).

Video how to cook winter mushrooms. Recipe.