Meet edible mushrooms: a short selection of known species

Among the lovers of quiet hunting, perhaps the most persistent are mushroom pickers: go ahead and try to wind a few kilometers, looking under each bush and stirring up grass thickets in search of edible mushrooms, but you still have to bring your "catch" home. However, patience and strength alone is not enough in this matter. It is much more important to be able to understand forest gifts, because the health, and sometimes the very life of the mushroom picker and his family members, directly depends on this. Even at first glance, completely harmless mushrooms can turn out to be poisonous doubles.

Read also: delicious dried mushroom soup.

We bring to your attention a short selection of the most famous types of edible mushrooms with names and photos. We hope it will help you make the right choice.

Always pick only those mushrooms that you are absolutely confident in. At the slightest doubt about their edibility or appearance, it is better to bypass such a copy.

Mushroom king - white mushroom

Porcini - one of the most delicious, appreciated for its firm and sweet pulp. It is noteworthy that it does not lose its white color when cut (in its inedible counterparts, the pulp turns blue or pink). The bottom of the cap is tubular, also white and does not darken after drying, the only thing is that in old mushrooms it acquires a yellow tint. The leg is very fleshy and plump, most often short.

Dried porcini mushrooms, the photos of which are presented below, have a high calorie content - 281 kcal versus 40 in freshly picked specimens. Dried boletus mushrooms (290 kcal versus 36) are more nutritious than them.

The mushroom king grows mainly in families, in pine forests, for this reason it is also called boletus. Collection time is from early summer to mid-autumn. Depending on which tree species the family "settled" under, there are up to 20 varieties of boletus mushroom. Most often you can find:

• spruce boletus with a reddish-brown cap on a smooth elongated stem;
• pine boletus with a dark brown, slightly shiny, cap on a short thick stem;
• oak boletus with a brown-gray cap on a long grayish stem;
• birch boletus with a light brown cap on a short volumetric leg.

A worthy replacement for beef - mushrooms

Mushrooms by their taste are next to boletus. You can cook them in any way, but one of the best delicacies is pickled or salted mushrooms.

The most high-calorie are salty mushrooms, surpassing even eggs and beef in this matter.

Most often, there are two types of mushrooms:

1. Pine Camelina. It grows on sandy soils, in pine forests, harvesting from the end of summer. A funnel-shaped hat with a depression in the center, dark orange with a red tint, the edges are slightly curled down, slightly sticky to the touch. The plates under the cap turn green when pressed; the juice acquires the same color when exposed to air. The leg is small, in the form of a cylinder, also orange.
2. Elovik (spruce mushroom). Inhabits young spruce forests.

It differs in a thinner hat, in the color of which a blue or green tint may be present, and red milky juice. The leg is slightly longer than that of the pine counterpart.

Harvest chanterelles

Chanterelle mushrooms are permanent inhabitants of mixed forests, although they also love coniferous plantations. They grow in large families until the very end of autumn, especially in rainy summers.The diameter of the funnel-shaped cap is small, up to 10 cm, but it is very fleshy, painted in a beautiful yellow color, the edges are wavy, rolled down. The pulp is slightly lighter, dry and firm, it tastes sharp and smells like dried fruit, does not turn black when broken. The hat at the bottom tapers smoothly, and its thick plates pass into an elongated stem. It is smooth, the same color as the hat.

Chanterelle inedible siblings are more intense in color: they can be bright orange or reddish. In addition, they lack the corrugation along the edge of the cap.

Fragile russula

Russula mushrooms grow in moist pine forests and swampy areas from mid-summer to early fall. They have a very nice hat with a depressed center and a slightly serrated edge. It is smooth, dirty red or greenish brown; the central depression is darker and brownish. Can be casted with a glossy sheen or a calm matte shade. The leg is straight, white. The plates under the cap are white or yellowish, very fragile and break easily. The sweet pulp itself has the same structure; when broken, it darkens.

Poisonous doubles of russula have rich-colored caps: from bright red to purple, moreover, more round.

The mushroom has several varieties, which can be of different colors. The most delicious of them are considered to be such russula:

• greenish or scaly with a characteristic cap color;
• edible or food grade with a pink-red or brick cap;
• short-legged with a white hat.

Spicy waves

Volushka mushrooms, photos of which can be seen below, grow in deciduous forests dominated by birch groves. They have very beautiful hats, rounded-convex at a young age, and with time - with a deepened center. The edges of the cap are rolled down, and long hairs of a darker shade are located along its entire surface, decorating the wave with a fancy pattern. The leg is rather thick, but moderately of the same color as the cap. The pulp of the mushroom smells good, loose, but has one drawback, thanks to which some scientists do not recognize the wave as edible: it is saturated with milky juice, bitter and pungent in taste.

Despite the bitterness, the mushroom is absolutely not dangerous. For eating, experienced mushroom pickers advise to collect only young specimens and soak them in cold water: after this procedure and cooking, the bitterness disappears.

In the forests there are two types of creepers, both are edible mushrooms, and are somewhat different from each other:

1. Pink wave with a red and beige hat.
2. A white wave with an off-white cap (even more fragile).

The first spring mushrooms - morels

Among the early gifts of nature, morels are among the first to appear - outwardly not beautiful, but very tasty mushrooms with an original structure. On a long light leg, empty inside, a fabulous-shaped hat of a darker color is tightly worn: it is all dotted with deep cells, as if eaten by unknown insects.

Three types of morel mushrooms are eaten, photos of which can be seen in the description, namely:

1. 1. Common (edible). The hat is egg-shaped, brown, empty inside. The leg is yellowish, also hollow, fused with the cap.
   2. Conical (high). It is characterized by a tall, elongated brown cap; the vertically arranged cells are darker. The leg is also high, up to 10 cm in height, most of it is hidden under the cap.

1. Semi-free. A small, dark honeycomb cap with a sharp top and a clearly visible rim along the edge is “put on” on a high leg.

Powerful boletus

The boletus mushroom, also known as obabok, grows singly or in small families in moist deciduous forests, in shady thickets (where it is damp). As the name implies, he prefers secluded places under aspen trees from trees, but there are other types of mushrooms that are in close symbiosis with spruces, oaks or birches.

Mushroom pickers call this beautiful large mushroom "redhead" because of its bright large cap, painted in different shades of red. While the mushrooms are small, their caps, like hemispheres, are tightly put on the legs. Over time, they bend upward, the light sponge under the cap thickens and takes on a gray-yellow-brown hue. The dense pulp becomes cyanotic after the cut. The leg of the boletus is no less powerful and high, and at the top it noticeably thickens. The entire surface is covered with black small scales.

The most common types of boletus are:

• yellow-brown with an orange cap and a high leg;
• white with a corresponding color with a hat, which acquires a brown tint with age, and a long thickened leg;
• red with large, brick-colored caps and thick legs.

The false boletus has a bright (pink or red) sponge, the leg is decorated with a fine yellow-red mesh, and when broken, the flesh turns pink.

Mushroom bracelets on honey agaric stumps

As seen in the photo, mushrooms mushrooms grow in large families on the remains of tree species, encircling them with a beautiful ring. They have a thin graceful leg, the height of which can reach 15 cm, yellowish or brown in color. Some mushrooms, as mushrooms are also called, have a skirt on the leg.

In young mushrooms, the cap is round, with small scales, but then it straightens out and takes the shape of an umbrella, and the surface becomes smooth. The color is mostly cream or yellow-red.

Fast growing boletus

In birch groves, between the roots of trees, grandmothers or boletus mushrooms grow. It is difficult to pass by large caps without noticing them: the fleshy, convex hemispheres have a blunt edge and a light brown color. The bottom of the cap is in the form of a thick sponge, gray-white, brownish spots appear in old mushrooms. The leg is rather long, all covered with dark scales. Mushrooms literally grow by leaps and bounds, and gain 4 cm a day, creating whole glades, although they can live in splendid isolation.

The false boletus has a gray or pink cap above and below.

There are many varieties of boletus, the most common of them are:

• common boletus with a reddish cap and a massive leg, thickening downward;
• hornbeam with an ash or gray-brown hat and a thick leg (grows in hornbeam forests).

Pickled milk mushrooms

Milk mushrooms are one of those mushrooms that grow in large heaps. Having found one family of these handsome men, you can collect a whole basket of forest gifts. The appearance of mushrooms can differ significantly, since there are many varieties of mushrooms, but all of them are characterized by a funnel-shaped depression in the center of a large cap, while at a young age it is not. Mushrooms are used mainly for salting, since their milky juice is bitter.

Mushrooms are considered one of the most delicious mushrooms, photos of which you can see:

1. Yellow lump. The hat is golden, with small scales, the bottom is concave, the edges are tucked inward. The stem is strong, although hollow, smooth, with yellow pits. The pulp turns yellow when cut.
2. Red-brown lump. Differs in large caps of a beautiful brown color and strong thick legs. Smells like fish when picked.
3. Real (white) lump. The cap is yellowish, with fibrous edges, always covered with weed grass. The leg is squat, thick, hollow.

Slimy Butter Mushroom

If there are mushrooms, which are difficult to confuse with others, then these are boletus - inhabitants of pine forests. Their cap is covered with a rather unpleasant to the touch and very slippery skin, which does not prevent mushrooms from remaining one of the most delicious forest delicacies. The shape of the cap is in the form of a hemisphere, similar to a pillow. The slimy skin is easily removable and is most often colored in brown tones, but it can be yellowish, and even spotty. The bottom of the cap is spongy, light, darkens with age. The stem is elongated, corresponding to the color of the top of the mushroom.

The pulp of young mushrooms is dense, but it ages quickly and becomes friable in a week, thanks to which the boletus serves as a favorite habitat and a dish for worms.

The oiler mushroom has more than 50 species, some of the most delicious are:

1. Late oiler. One of the best representatives with a fleshy light pulp that does not darken, has a pleasant taste and a light fruity smell. The cap is brown, with a shiny slippery skin, the leg is light, in the upper part it is wrapped in a blanket that passes over and covers the cap.
2. Ordinary oil can. The hat is thick, dark and slimy, with a skirt on the leg.
3. Yellow-brown oiler. The caps of young mushrooms are greenish, then acquire a yellow-red hue and crack, while being almost dry to the touch. The leg is extended. Ideal raw material for pickling (except for old mushrooms).

Unusual but edible and tasty bluefoot mushroom

In forest belts, in the fallen leaves of conifers and ash, as well as on old abandoned farms, where the land is saturated with rotted manure, after rains numerous families of bluefoot mushrooms grow.

In the scientific literature, the mushroom is called lilac-footed ryadovka.

A characteristic feature of the bluefoot is its purple color. The deepest is on the stem, but in young mushrooms both the cap and the plates also shine with a mysterious bluish light. With age, the fleshy semicircular cap turns yellow, tucking inside the edge. With a sufficient level of humidity, it is shiny, dries up in dry autumn, and the color becomes faded. The pulp is dense, it also turns blue when cut, smells like anise. The leg is thick, slightly widens towards the bottom.

Edible parasite - tinder fungus

Already from the name of the tinder fungus it is clear that something is wrong with it, however, nature gets more harm from it than man. Spores carried by the wind begin to germinate in the bark of trees and multiply actively, causing their rotting and further death. On the other hand, a tinder fungus can be called a forest orderly: he cleans it of old plantings, making room for new crops, and a rotted tree becomes a fertilizer for them.

The shape of the tinder fungus is not typical for the fungus: it looks more like a large single or layered growth on a tree.

There are many types of tinder fungus, all of which are relatively edible (not poisonous) mushrooms. However, most have poor taste and firm structure, but they have medicinal properties. Basically, mushrooms are used to prepare various tinctures and ointments. However, some varieties are still quite tasty when cut at a young age.

Most often, sauces and soups are prepared from the following tinder fungi:

1. Birch. Differs in the absence of a leg, consists only of a large and thick cap. The young mushroom is white, turning brown with age. On the reverse side, the tinder fungus looks like a dense sponge, due to which it is also called a "birch sponge", moreover, it grows on birches. Another name is "chaga".
2. Scaly. On a short, thick and dark stem, a wide fan-shaped hat with a tubular bottom is attached to the tree. It is light brown, covered with darker scales. The edges of the cap are turned down, and the middle is pressed inward.
3. Sulfur yellow. It grows in the spring in the form of a shapeless yellow-orange mass, old specimens acquire a gray tint. Fruit bodies are attached to one another by their sides, semicircular, with a wavy edge. The pulp is fleshy and juicy, with a lemon flavor and smell, but with age, an unpleasant aroma appears, the mushroom dries up and crumbles. The weight of one adult tinder fungus exceeds 10 kg.

On this topic:mushrooms parasites photos with names!

Fragrant champignons

There is a "wild" and cultivated variety of champignon mushrooms, both edible, have a characteristic pronounced mushroom smell:

1. Meadow or ordinary champignon... Grows in organic-rich soil in fields, plantings, vegetable gardens.The harvest time is throughout the summer, and in the southern regions with late and warm winters - until mid-autumn, and the mushrooms appear already at the end of spring. A fleshy cap up to 15 cm in diameter, white, with curved edges, brown plates. In young mushrooms, they are at first white, and the cap itself grows together with a thick leg with a blanket. When the mushroom grows, it breaks, leaving behind a ring on the stem.
2. Champignon double-peeled or cultivated. It prefers places where manure was applied, glades, gardens, and is used for mass cultivation in special premises. The dimensions are a little more modest, the diameter of the cap does not exceed 10 cm, and the leg itself is lower and thinner. Small mushrooms are white; over time, the cap becomes brown. If you break the white pulp, it darkens quickly.

Meadow champignons are popularly called "peppers".

Frost-resistant oyster mushrooms or saprophytic mushrooms

In deciduous forests, with the arrival of autumn, dry and fallen trees can often be found oyster mushrooms... They grow directly on a tree or stump, receiving food from it, due to which they belong to saprophytes - fungi that destroy trees.

Oyster mushrooms are also grown at home on a special substrate consisting of plant residues.

The sizes of the mushrooms are quite impressive: the diameter of the cap is on average about 20 cm, although specimens from 30 cm are also found. In a young mushroom, it is light gray, convex, and the edges are turned up. Then the cap is straightened and becomes flat and smooth, and its surface is painted in a darker shade and acquires a glossy shine.

The tubular bottom of the cap turns into a very short stem, and since the mushrooms grow in bunches, it is almost imperceptible. Older oyster mushrooms have both stiffer and more fibrous legs and caps, so it is better to use young mushrooms while they are juicy. It is noteworthy that you can pick mushrooms before the onset of severe frosts - the first light frosts are not terrible for oyster mushrooms.

You can still list edible mushrooms for a very long time and it's hard to remember them all. Each region grows its own mushrooms, depending on the natural area. Someone was lucky to live in the forest and pick porcini mushrooms, while someone is looking for meadow champignons in the steppes. It is enough to study the local mushrooms well and you can go in search of a delicacy. But, just in case, take an experienced mushroom picker with you and avoid suspicious specimens.

Into the forest for edible mushrooms - video