Honey mushrooms are edible. Do you know how to distinguish false mushrooms from real ones? How to distinguish a false honey agaric from a real one

Honey mushrooms are mushrooms familiar to every Russian. From them you can cook a large number of variety of flavors and delicious meals, and the benefits of these mushrooms have been known for a long time. Yes, and collecting mushrooms is quite pleasant - they grow in groups, capturing large territories, so even several buckets can be collected from one place.

The mushroom got its name because of the characteristics of growth. It's no secret that mushrooms grow on stumps and around them not one by one, but in families. In this regard, there are two versions of the origin of such an interesting name.

The first is based on the fact that "mushroom" is a cognate word for the word "stump", and the second says that once the mushroom pickers discovered this mushroom, and cutting it off, they saw a few more growing nearby and exclaimed: "They again!", and, thus Thus, the word "mushroom" follows from the word "again."

In any case, this name has been attached to the mushroom for a very long time and, despite its folklore origin, is official in Russia.


Honey mushrooms grow in whole families on stumps in both coniferous and deciduous forests. They are found on absolutely all continents, except for regions permafrost. They prefer to grow on old rotten stumps and any rotten wood.

You can recognize these mushrooms by a long stem that can reach 15 cm and a round hat with pronounced plates on the underside. Leg color can vary from light to dark brown shades, and the cap is from light cream and yellow to brown-red tones. More detailed specifications mushrooms depend on their species, age and place of growth.

Types of mushrooms

There are a large number of edible mushroom species, and the following are widespread and loved by Russian mushroom pickers:


Characterized not large sizes hats - 3 ... 7 mm in diameter and a high leg, reaching 10 cm. At the same time, its thickness reaches 8 mm. Its color is yellowish with a white coating. The hat is also a light yellow shade, and in wet weather it changes color to yellowish brown. The center of the cap is always darker in color than its edges. They bear fruit, like other types of mushrooms, in waves, starting in June and ending with autumn frosts;


This species is slightly darker in color than the previous representatives of these mushrooms. Their hat is brown, and after rain it becomes transparent. The diameter of the cap can be from 3 to 8 mm, and its center is lighter than the edges. A leg up to 9 cm high is characterized by the presence of a ring, which turns into a strip with age. To the bottom of the ring, the leg has scales. The first summer mushrooms can be found already in June, and their fruiting lasts until late autumn;


Differ in large sizes. So, for example, the cap of the present honey agaric can reach 17 mm in diameter. Both the cap and the leg of the young representatives of this species are completely covered with scales. The color of the mushroom belongs to delicate pastels, from light to dark brown shades. These mushrooms appear in the summer by the end of August and bear fruit until October, before the first frost;


They bear fruit from autumn to spring, so you can find them even under snow in thawed patches. The diameter of the mushroom cap reaches 10 cm in diameter, and the stem is 7 cm in height and does not have a skirt. The stem is dark brown and the cap varies from dark yellow to orange-brown.

October mushrooms, autumn mushrooms: video

Benefit and harm

Eating honey mushrooms has a beneficial effect on human health, since they contain not only vitamins and minerals, but also special substances, for example, thiamine, which is responsible for reproductive function and nervous system. Mushrooms are rich in protein, they also contain zinc, copper, phosphorus, potassium, iron, etc. At the same time, mushrooms are low-calorie, suitable for people who monitor weight and diabetics.

In folk medicine, the beneficial properties of honey mushrooms have long been appreciated, the main of which are antiviral and anticancer effects on the human body. These mushrooms perfectly cleanse the intestines, removing toxins and toxins. The use of mushrooms also has a good effect on the processes of hematopoiesis.

Basically no harm human body they will not bring if they go through a good preliminary preparation before cooking the dish: cleaning and boiling. But it’s still not worth abusing mushrooms, since they, like all mushrooms, are hard food to digest. Therefore, you should not eat up honey mushrooms at night. In addition, the cleansing effect of mushrooms can turn into diarrhea with unlimited eating of these mushrooms.

How to cook

Honey mushrooms, like most mushrooms, need to be processed as soon as possible after picking or buying. Depending on how many of these mushrooms are available, you can use different ways cooking mushrooms for lunch, for example, cook soup from them or just fry them with onions, or process them for longer storage: freeze or pickle.


The fastest and in a simple way processing honey agarics is their frying. Moreover, absolutely any side dish is suitable for them, and the dish will turn out to be very tasty and fragrant. Fried mushrooms are suitable for consumption by people who watch their weight, since 100 g of the finished product contains less than 50 kcal. In order to fry mushrooms, you will need the following ingredients:

  • mushrooms - 0.5 kg;
  • onion (medium) - 2 pcs;
  • butter or vegetable oil;
  • salt, pepper - to taste.
  1. After all the ingredients are collected, proceed to washing the mushrooms. They need to be thoroughly washed under running water, paying special attention to the undersides of the hats, as there may be grains of sand and other debris in the plates. Then you can dry them a little and cut them into large pieces. Small mushrooms are fried whole.
  2. While mushrooms are drying after washing, you can heat a frying pan with oil and fry the onion, peeled and cut into half rings, until transparent. Usually it takes no more than 2-3 minutes.
  3. Then mushrooms are added to the onion and fried, stirring constantly, until the liquid that comes out of the mushrooms during cooking has completely evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. You can add sour cream to the already prepared dish and simmer under the lid for about 5 minutes, or add fresh dill.


Mushrooms make a very tasty snack for the winter for long-term storage, which is suitable for anyone. festive table. To prepare pickled mushrooms you will need:

  • mushrooms - 3 kg;
  • water - 1.5 l;
  • allspice peas - 8 pcs;
  • garlic - 2 ... 3 cloves;
  • bay leaf - 2 pcs;
  • vinegar 9% concentration - 2/3 cup;
  • salt - 2 tablespoons;
  • sugar - 1 tbsp.
  1. After all the products are collected, you can begin to prepare mushrooms. Mushrooms of small sizes are ideal for seaming. In some varieties of mushrooms, the legs can become harsh, so they are sometimes shortened, but not completely, by 1/3 of the length. Mushrooms must be thoroughly cleaned and washed. This is followed by the pre-cooking operation. Honey mushrooms need to be boiled in salted water for 15 ... 20 minutes until cooked (they will sink to the bottom of the pan). After they are thrown back into a colander, and the water is drained.
  2. To prepare the marinade, all spices except vinegar are thrown into the water, brought to a boil. Then add the prepared mushrooms and cook everything together for 5-10 minutes. Toward the end of cooking, vinegar is added to the pan.
  3. Mushrooms are laid out in clean jars, and pour marinade on top. The jars are rolled up and allowed to cool at room temperature. It is recommended to store blanks in a cool place, and they can be eaten about a month after preparation.


This dish is lean and light, yet very healthy and nutritious. In order to prepare mushroom soup, the first thing you need to stock up on is a small amount of the necessary ingredients from the list:

  • mushrooms - 0.3 ... 0.4 kg;
  • potatoes - 0.5 kg;
  • onion (medium) - 1 pc;
  • carrots - 1 pc;
  • vegetable oil - 3 ... 4 tablespoons;
  • salt, pepper - to taste.
  1. After all the ingredients are collected, proceed to the preliminary preparation of mushrooms. They must be thoroughly washed and cut into small pieces.
  2. Then the soup can be prepared in different ways. For example, some pre-boil mushrooms over low heat for half an hour, after which the water is drained, and the mushrooms are poured with new water and soup is prepared. Others do it a little differently, dropping the mushrooms into boiling water and boiling them for 15 minutes, after which they begin to add the rest of the ingredients.
  3. In any case, potatoes are added to the mushrooms first after the specified time. While it is being cooked with mushrooms, a roast is prepared. To do this, onions and carrots are peeled and chopped: onions - into small cubes, carrots - on a grater; after which they are fried in a small amount of vegetable oil.
  4. When the potatoes are almost ready, the fry is thrown into the soup, everything is mixed and seasoned with salt and pepper. After that, the soup is boiled from mushrooms for another 5 minutes.
  5. The finished soup is poured into plates, fresh herbs and sour cream can be added to each of them.


  • fresh;
  • with pre-heat treatment.

The first method of freezing will preserve the taste and aroma of freshly picked mushrooms, and when properly defrosted, the mushrooms will be firm and suitable for cooking any dish. The second method is suitable for those housewives who are hesitant about freezing fresh mushrooms. Both of these methods allow for a long time keep the crop in the freezer, so both will be considered separately.


If it was decided to keep the collected mushrooms frozen fresh, then it is worth special attention refer to their pre-treatment - cleaning from dirt. The fact is that mushrooms cannot be washed before freezing, all plant residues must be removed from small fungi manually, which requires patience from the hostess.

But first, mushrooms are sorted into large and small, and in parallel with this, they are rejected - only healthy mushrooms without signs of rot and stains are considered suitable for freezing. Then they start cleaning them up.

If the mushrooms are heavily soiled, they can be wiped with a clean, damp towel and then dried. It is best to preserve the aroma of mushrooms not cut, but frozen whole. Mushrooms can be packed in flat containers, resealable freezer bags or on trays.

It is important to lay them out in one layer. If they are put too tightly on top of each other, then the mushrooms will simply stick together, and when defrosted they will lose their shape. Mushrooms can be stored frozen at a temperature of about -18 0 C for 6 months.


Here you can use one of three methods of heat treatment before freezing mushrooms:

  1. blanching. This term means short-term scalding with boiling water or steam of fresh mushrooms. This method allows you to quickly get rid of dirt on mushrooms, but mushrooms prepared in this way after defrosting are suitable for cooking far from all dishes. The fact is that after blanching, the mushrooms fall apart, and their shape is deformed. Such mushrooms can be used in soup or for cooking mushroom caviar;
  2. boiling. You can mushroom and boil. They are also pre-cleaned, then dipped in salted water and boiled for half an hour over low heat. After that, the mushrooms are thrown into a colander, waiting for the water to drain, and then the mushrooms are dried on a cloth or paper towels. When the mushrooms dry and cool, you can put them in containers for freezing;
  3. frying. Mushrooms are pre-fried for 20 ... 25 minutes, and then, after cooling, they are laid out in portions in containers. In addition, you can put out the mushrooms and also pack them up, and pour the liquid in which they were stewed on top. Fried and stewed mushrooms are stored half as much frozen than fresh - 3 ... 4 months.

How to clean mushrooms quickly and effortlessly: video

True, their exceptional fans are also on the rise - mainly due to the “ability” of these mushrooms, like a sponge, to absorb the taste of all kinds of marinades and spices. They also have another nice property - ease of collection. Mushrooms tend to bear fruit en masse and tend to grow in numerous clusters - so that from one place you can cut a whole basket in five minutes - this is also liked by gatherers.

There are several types of mushrooms (of which three are not honey mushrooms at all), but some of them are very similar in appearance and grow at the same time, which is why the lion's share of mushroom pickers consider them one mushroom (honey agaric - it is also a honey agaric in Africa). This article is intended to fill this gap, at the same time I will describe in detail - in which forests and when, each of the mushrooms bears fruit. I'll start, of course - with the most real, most often collected, autumn mushrooms.

Autumn honey agaric, he is real honey agaric

If in the fall you happen to observe a basket of freshly picked mushrooms in the market or at the mushroom pickers you know, then most likely this is the autumn mushroom (see photo at the beginning of the article). This fungus is very widespread throughout temperate zone our continent (by the way - in North America too), and in certain years - when there is a wet and more or less Warm autumn- bears fruit so massively that it is harvested half a ton from one hectare.

The autumn mushroom is very recognizable, therefore, it is quickly recognized even by novice mushroom pickers. Its fruit bodies usually have a pleasant-looking yellowish color - the color of honey (for which it is called “honey agaric” in Latin), or not very intensely orange, or light brown. Some connoisseurs associate the shade with the wood on which honey agaric grows.

Still young, but just suitable for food, mushrooms grow in dense clusters, have small - 3-5 cm in diameter, convex hats with slightly tucked edges on thin but strong legs - up to 10 cm long, often fused at the base. Both caps and legs are usually covered with dark scales that disappear with age (in the center of the cap, these scales form a kind of dark spot). Required attribute(one of the signs by which autumn honey agarics can be distinguished from poisonous false mushrooms) - a ring on a leg almost at the very base of the hat, left over from the bedspread. And the younger the fungus, the more likely it will be a membrane - full or partial, covering the plates on inside hats.

Photo 2. Young fruiting bodies of autumn honey agaric on the roots of an old tree.

With age, the cap of the honey agaric unfolds, expands and flattens. Its flesh becomes coarse, from which it becomes virtually unfit for food. Unless, such mushrooms can be put into a decoction (and then thrown out themselves), or - fried, stewed and finely scrolled into caviar. But, as practice has shown, with age, the honey agaric not only grows stiff, but also somewhat loses its taste, which is why more or less picky mushroom pickers categorically neglect it.

Photo 3. A decent "plantation" of ripe fruiting bodies of autumn honey agaric on old, almost rotten wood residues.

Autumn honey agaric begins to bear fruit in August - towards the end of the month, appears most massively in our forests in September, for all that - continues to throw fruiting bodies until the very beginning real winter(in other years, when autumn is warm, it can be collected until December).

Seasoned mushroom pickers claim that honey mushrooms come in “three layers”, you can also hear a bike from them that mushrooms may appear in July, but such a statement is from ignorance of scientific subtleties. For at the height of summer, slightly different types of mushrooms appear.

Honey agaric northern

He is the autumn northern honey agaric. In many respects it is similar to the previous mushroom, except that it differs in color - it is more often light brown than yellow, at least in our area. It also sometimes looks a little stronger.

Photo 5. Mature fruiting bodies of northern honey agaric.

According to other characteristics - from preferred forests to fruiting periods - this mushroom fully corresponds to the autumn honey agaric.

Honey agaric autumn thick-legged

It differs from the usual autumn honey agaric by a thicker stem at the base, the color is almost identical, but at times it is somewhat lighter and paler, and sometimes with light scales instead of dark ones. In addition, this mushroom looks stronger and does not grow in large clusters, but throws out fruiting bodies in groups of no more than a dozen. It has not been seen on living trees, it feeds on rotting plant debris, so it can more often be found on windbreak and forest litter.

Fruits from August to October - evenly, without "layers". In especially warm years, fruiting bodies can appear as early as July. It is edible, in taste it is not inferior to the usual autumn honey agarics.

Honey agaric autumn bulbous

It is very similar to the previous mushroom (as well as to other autumn mushrooms), especially the stem, which has a characteristic tuberous swelling at the very base - but usually those mushrooms that grow on trees, the same ones that appear on the ground, have a "standard" stem ", thin. However, the cap of the bulbous-legged mushroom is usually noticeably darker than the stem, and the color of the entire fruiting body is often quite bright, ranging from brown to frankly yellow tones.

The onion-legged honey agaric bears fruit from August to September (the peak of fruiting occurs in the second month), usually appears in deciduous forests in a friendly layer on deadwood, old stumps and decayed wood residues.

Photo 8

In terms of edibility, it is somewhat inferior to real honey agaric (this is especially true for frail fruit bodies growing on the soil). Mushroom pickers who know a lot about mushrooms note that it is better to throw away the lowest part of the leg - as a rule, it is especially tough and has completely unsightly nutritional qualities.

Honey agaric shrinking

He is also an oak honey agaric, a ringless honey agaric. Another species from the genus of real mushrooms, preferring broad-leaved species to other trees. More often it is harvested on oak trees, for which he received one of his alternative names. It is also called ringless for good reason - the fruiting bodies of the honey agaric do not have a shrinking cover, respectively, its leg is always without a ring, which greatly increases the chances of confusing this mushroom with false mushrooms, therefore only experienced mushroom pickers collect it.

Photo 0 close-up.

Nevertheless, the typical “honeycomb” hairiness of the fruiting body and the presence of scales on the cap are eloquent signs by which it becomes clear that we are dealing with a representative of true mushrooms.

This mushroom bears fruit from July to October. AT warm summers fruiting bodies may appear earlier - as early as June.

In terms of taste, shrinking mushrooms correspond to other real mushrooms.

summer honey agaric

This mushroom, despite a decent resemblance, has nothing to do with real mushrooms. This is a representative of fungi with the unpronounceable name "Küneromyces". However, it is quite edible and gathers no less actively.

It grows on damaged living trees, but prefers rotten wood, and not anyhow, but hardwood (although sometimes this fungus is also observed on coniferous trees).

Photo 10. The lower surface of the summer cap.

The summer honey agaric bears fruit virtually the entire warm season - from April to November (and in countries with a mild climate - all year round).

The size of the fruiting bodies of the summer mushroom is slightly different than that of the autumn one - the hat does not grow more than 6 cm in diameter, the leg is also three centimeters shorter. The color is slightly lighter, more yellowish. The main difference is a wide tubercle on the cap, very noticeable - usually light, but sometimes dark. In addition, summer hats are often smooth, and if they have scales, they are light.

This mushroom has a poisonous "double" (which will be discussed below - in the chapter on the distinguishing features of edible mushrooms from false and poisonous ones), therefore only experienced mushroom pickers collect it.

Honey agaric winter

This mushroom - despite the name, as well as some external resemblance to true mushrooms and the "habit" of growing on stumps and trees - is by no means a mushroom. To be honest, this is the most natural row.

Photo 12. Winter mushrooms - the lower surface of the hats.

But it is called “winter” for a reason - it is one of the few mushrooms in our latitudes that can develop at very low temperatures close to zero.

The fruiting season of winter honey agarics is from late autumn to early spring.

It's clear - at 40-degree frosts you will not wait for the harvest from him - at this moment he will be in a state of suspended animation. But as soon as the thaw comes, the mushroom instantly comes to life and throws out fruit bodies, which can be observed even in the city - peeking out from under the snow - on ancient, battered poplars, or stumps - left from them.

In addition to poplars, this fungus “occupies” willows, less often other deciduous trees, mostly old or damaged ones, as well as everything that remains from their felling or windbreak. It grows everywhere, from forests to parks and gardens, but it is especially abundant along the banks of small rivers and streams.

In warm winters, I often observe winter mushrooms in the courtyard of my house - on old poplars. Mushrooms look very unusual, powdered with snow.

Winter honey agaric is edible and has a very good taste. palatability, for which it is cultivated in Japan and Korea, and more recently in some other countries. All over the world it is known under the trade name "enokitake", the youngest fruiting bodies are sold, grown in the dark and devoid of pigment, similar to bunches of light "pins".

Photo 14. Winter mushrooms grown on an artificial substrate - "enokitake".

However, in our country, it is not collected by all mushroom pickers: the winter honey agaric is very similar to false mushrooms - it does not have a ring on the leg, and the color is just as bright. In addition, there is evidence that this mushroom may contain a small amount of toxins that cause indigestion (for which it is recommended to always pre-boil it).

The cap is from 2 to 10 cm in diameter, convex in young fruiting bodies, flat in old ones, usually has a yellowish or orange-brown color, is more saturated in the center, paler along the edges. Leg - up to 7 cm long, up to 1 cm in diameter, hollow inside, velvety, brownish-yellowish, lighter in the upper part.

Experienced mushroom pickers recognize and distinguish it without difficulty. The main feature is the time of growth. In winter, no false mushrooms, by definition, can bear fruit, especially on trees, and winter mushrooms sometimes “climb” very high.

Honey agaric meadow

Another fake honey agaric, which is directly related to non-rot mushrooms. The honey agaric is named only for a partial external resemblance to true mushrooms, otherwise it does not look like them at all.

Fresh fruiting bodies of meadow honey agaric are usually small: the hat is on average 5 cm in diameter, the stem is 6 cm long, occasionally there are specimens with an 8-centimeter hat and a stem up to 10 cm. The color is ocher-brownish, depending on the weather: in the heat it is paler than at high humidity (the hat also becomes sticky). The mushroom does not have a ring on the stem - from which it looks similar to some "toadstools", therefore only experienced mushroom pickers collect it. However, in some places, meadow honey agaric is very popular.

This fungus avoids forests, preferring open spaces overgrown with grass, especially those where cows and other herbivores often graze, and the land is well fertilized. Meadow honey agaric is a typical saprophyte that feeds on organic residues.

Fruits almost the entire warm season - from late May to late October.

"Royal honey agaric" (flecky flake)

This sample mushroom kingdom It also has nothing to do with dungarees. Nevertheless, the nickname "royal honey agaric" has stuck with the people, so I will still mention it.

It was called “royal” primarily for its appearance - the mushroom looks very impressive and photogenic, has a beautifully shaped bell-shaped hat and is covered with large scales, the pattern of which vaguely resembles a royal mantle.

As for the taste, the opinions of mushroom pickers are divided here. Some consider this mushroom tasteless, others, on the contrary, praise and value it above the usual autumn mushroom. Fleecy flake has a pronounced "rare" taste and smell.

The "royal honey agaric" grows in any forest - on the stumps and trunks of old trees, as well as on rotting wood. Fruiting from mid-August to late autumn.

About the places where mushrooms grow

It would seem that it is easier to find mushrooms than a steamed turnip: purely logically, they should be in any forest in which their potential host plants grow. But in reality, everything turns out to be more complicated: we are surrounded by giant forests, but anyhow where mushrooms are not found in them, but only in special places - which are “registered” by hardened mushroom pickers and are strictly classified.

If suddenly the bark is damaged, then the second means of defense comes into play - chemical substances that inhibit the development of fungi (garden fungicides are a kind of analogue of these substances). Any plant releases especially a lot of these substances at a young age - when it develops intensively.

Therefore, in places where the trees are young and healthy - mushrooms are unlikely to bear fruit, it most likely does not make sense to look for these mushrooms.

But where the trees are old or damaged, where there are stumps, fallen trunks or fallen trees, mushrooms, as a rule, develop “with a bang”, and rather quickly throw out their fruiting bodies. If you want to find them, go to some old forest, for example - with huge birch trees, in which trunks are 80 centimeters in diameter. And pay attention to the butt and the roots of these very trunks - if they are overgrown with moss and lichen, then all the necessary conditions are met for mushrooms. Here, mushrooms grow not only on the bark of old trees (sometimes "climbing" very high), but also on their roots, so they can often be seen not on the trunk, but right on the ground.

The next places where you can successfully collect mushrooms are clearings, and it doesn’t matter at all whether they are fresh or old. Although it has been noticed that mushrooms grow more intensively in ancient clearings, the fact of the appearance of the first fruiting bodies on stumps is known for certain a little more than six months after logging.

In places where trees were felled natural causes- from the wind, for example, mushrooms also appear quite quickly. Therefore, any areas of the forest littered with windbreak must also be inspected during collection.

From my own experience, I can also add the following: mushrooms (at least ours - the Ural ones) do not like places well warmed by the sun. They definitely prefer shade and some coolness, so you should look for them on the northern slopes of the mountains, in logs or ravines, as well as in spruce urmans mixed with other trees.

In such places, I often observed breathtaking clusters of mushrooms, which covered everything with an orange carpet - stumps, and the foot of trees, and fallen trunks, and forest floor. From one mediocre stump, you could easily cut a whole basket of mushrooms.

The main thing is to be in such a place on time - when the fruiting bodies are still small, tender, and have not developed to "burdocks", while becoming hard and inedible.

Important: how to distinguish edible mushrooms from inedible and poisonous

With autumn honey agaric (as well as with its other varieties), everything is simple: it has a ring on the stem, most often decorated with a dark spot in the center of the cap, and almost always its fruiting body, especially the cap, is covered with dark scales. It also has a characteristic pleasant smell. With the well-known false honey mushrooms, even if you want to, you can’t confuse it.

However, another mushroom is somewhat similar to it - bordered gallerina, which contains dangerous toxins, which are not inferior in power to the poison of a pale toadstool. It grows in almost the same places as edible mushrooms. It has a noticeable ring on the stem, however, it can be quickly distinguished by an absolutely monophonic, smooth, often shiny hat.

A slightly different thing is summer honey agaric. It is also difficult to confuse it with false mushrooms - thanks to the ring on the stem, but it has a decent resemblance to the gallery described above, especially with its young fruiting bodies.

Photo 17

Nevertheless, a very noticeable light tubercle on the cap of the summer honey agaric is the very first sign of its difference from the poisonous galerina. Also seasoned mushroom pickers claim that no one has ever seen her in deciduous forests. So it is - the gallery prefers to eat rotten coniferous wood.

Experts advise novice mushroom pickers not to collect summer mushrooms in coniferous forests or mixed with an admixture of conifers.

The winter honey agaric does not have a ring on the leg, so it is virtually impossible to confuse it with a gallery, but with false mushrooms it is easy. It takes some experience to recognize it. Also, do not forget about the growth time - when winter honey agaric begins to bear fruit, false mushrooms usually already finish fruiting, and of course - in the middle of the cold season, even more so in spring, winter honey agaric is the only mushroom found in our forests.

From all of the above, there is only one conclusion: mushrooms should be collected only with full confidence that they are edible(and accordingly - in the presence of all necessary features differences). At the slightest doubt, it is better to bypass them.

Also look at the edible mushrooms in the photo very carefully, because in field conditions there will be nothing to compare the found instances with:

Mushroom mushrooms in the photo

Mushroom mushrooms in the photo

Yellow-red edible mushrooms in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Yellow-red varieties of edible mushrooms adorn velvety caps 5-15 cm in diameter, in young specimens hemispherical, later convex, fleshy, covered with red scales at a young age, solid red, later yellow spots appear on the edge of the cap and where the light does not fall due to a fallen leaf or twig. The caps are dry, not slimy. The plates are often yellow or golden yellow. The leg is cylindrical, 6-15 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, yellow-red, velvety.

The description of edible mushrooms should be continued by the fact that they grow in mixed and coniferous forests on stumps, trunks and roots. coniferous trees, on the roots of dry pines.

Fruiting from July to October.

Toxic twin honey agaric yellow-red - sulfur-yellow rowing (Tricholoba sulphureum) easily distinguished by the color of the fruiting body and the unpleasant acetylene smell of the pulp.

The mushroom is slightly bitter. Some experts advise pre-boiling it before cooking.

Seasonal types of mushrooms mushrooms: photo and description

Look at the seasonal views of honey mushrooms in the photo, which shows the summer and autumn, winter mushrooms:

summer mushrooms
summer mushrooms

autumn mushrooms
autumn mushrooms

These types of mushrooms are very common, but only in certain time of the year. This is where their names come from.

Seasonal mushrooms, their types and descriptions are presented further on the page, you can see them in the photo:

Honey agaric winter
Honey agaric winter

Honey agaric winter
Honey agaric winter

Winter honey agaric in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Caps 2-8 cm, young - bell-shaped or convex, then prostrate, sticky, yellow-ocher or rusty-brown, with frequent white-ocher or white plates below. The legs are thin, velvety, without a ring, at first the color of the cap, not very hard, then they become dark brown or almost black and hard. Main hallmark winter honey agaric - a hard velvety leg. The intergrowths of its fruiting bodies look like fiery spots against the background of snow. The fungus has adapted to bear fruit during thaws in winter. It can be observed under a microscope how, when the temperature rises above zero, the cells of its mycelium that burst when freezing grow together.

It grows on dead and living tree trunks, as well as on the stumps of willow, poplar, birch and linden. Sometimes it can be found on coniferous trees.

Fruiting from September to December. Sometimes grows in the spring.

Has no poisonous twins.

Soups are cooked from winter mushrooms, hot salted, marinated in jars.

Summer honey agaric in the photo

Summer honey agaric in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Caps 3-8 cm, at first hemispherical closed, then almost open, smooth from yellow to yellow-brown with a darker edge. The plates are pale clay-yellow, rusty-brown with age, in young mushrooms they are covered with a film of white or yellow. Leg hard, dense yellow-brown 3-8 cm long, 6-12 mm thick with a whitish ring, covered below the ring with lagging scales. Spore powder is rusty brown.

Grows on dead tree trunks, stumps, sometimes on land rich in woody debris. Joints contain a large number of fungi.

Summer honey agaric appears in June, sometimes even in May, bears fruit until September.

A poisonous mushroom resembles a summer honey agaric - bordered galerina (Galerina marginata). Her growths and mushrooms are much smaller, the ring is not obvious, but barely noticeable, the scales on the leg are white and pressed.

Only hats are used in preparations and dishes, the legs of old mushrooms are thrown away or left in the forest when harvested.

Autumn honey agaric in the photo

Autumn honey agaric in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Beautiful, rather fleshy caps 3-10 cm, at first hemispherical, then convex, dull due to small scales, yellow-cream, ocher-brown. At first, the plates are yellowish-white, hidden under the coverlet. Then the plates become ocher or brown. Legs 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, with remnants of a coverlet in the form of a white ring under the hat. The flesh in the cap is whitish with a pleasant smell.

In the birch forest, the autumn honey agaric captures a vast territory. The mycelium develops in stumps and in weakened trees, uniting with the help of strands up to 3 mm in diameter into a single organism.

They grow in large clusters from August to November.

big harvest happens once every three years.

You can confuse autumn honey agaric with inedible red-brick false honey agaric (Hypholoma sublateritium), which is distinguished by later fruiting on the same stumps and bitter pulp.

Autumn honey agaric is edible after heat treatment or drying. Poisonous when cold salted.

Meadow mushrooms in the photo

Meadow mushrooms in the photo

Meadow mushrooms are edible species used in cooking in boiled and canned form.

Look at these types of mushrooms in the photo and in the description, which will allow you to distinguish meadow honey agaric from not edible mushrooms:

Meadow mushrooms
Meadow mushrooms

Caps 3-5 cm, at first hemispherical convex, then open with a blunt hump, smooth light ocher, sometimes light flesh-red. The plates are rare, adherent in young mushrooms, later free, ocher in wet weather, creamy whitish in dry weather. The mushroom cap does not age, droops in dry weather, restores elasticity during rain and rises on a leg. From this, in old mushrooms, the edge of the cap crumbles, the tips of the plates are visible from above. Leg 3-10 cm high, fine velvety light ocher, Bottom part ocher. The pulp is whitish sweetish with a sweetish slight aftertaste of cloves. The smell is pleasant. Spore powder is white.

Grows in the grass in clearings in the forest, on the lawn. Forms "witch circles".

The honey agaric bears fruit from June to October. In dry weather, the fungus is not visible in the grass.

There are no poisonous twins in the meadow agaric.

Other types of edible mushrooms: what they look like, photos

We offer you to look at other types of edible mushrooms in the photo, which illustrate appearances bulbous and dark honey agaric:

Mushroom bulbous

You need to know what edible mushrooms look like, since most of the species presented have false poisonous twins.

Agaric bulbous in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Beautiful, rather fleshy hats 3-10 cm. At first hemispherical, then convex, matte due to small scales, yellow-brown, sometimes with a meat-red tint. At first, the plates are yellowish-white, hidden under the coverlet. Then the plates become ocher or brown. Cap-colored legs 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, with remnants of a veil in the form of a white ring under the cap, with a bulbous thickening at the bottom. The flesh in the cap is whitish with a pleasant smell.

Grows mainly in birch forest, sometimes in orchards, coniferous forests. It occurs on old stumps, on the roots of stumps and trees so that it seems that it grows on the ground.

Occurs from August to October in clusters or single mushrooms.

It is possible to confuse bulbous honey agaric with inedible false red-brick honey agaric (Hypholoma sublateritium), which is distinguished by later fruiting on the same stumps and bitter pulp.

The bulbous honey agaric is edible after heat treatment or drying.

Poisonous when cold salting!

Agaric dark in the photo

Agaric dark in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Beautiful, rather fleshy caps 3-10 cm, at first hemispherical, then convex, matte due to dark scales, ocher-brown. At first, the plates are yellowish-white, hidden under the coverlet. Then the plates become ocher or brown. Legs 5-10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, with remnants of a bedspread in the form of a ring with a brown edge under the cap. The flesh in the cap is whitish with a pleasant smell.

AT coniferous forest honey agaric dark captures a vast territory. A 35-hectare mycelium was found in Swiss forests.

They grow in large clusters from August to November. A big harvest happens once every three years.

You can confuse dark honey agaric with inedible false red-brick honey agaric (Hypholoma sublateritium), which is distinguished by later fruiting on the same stumps and bitter pulp.

Dark honey agaric is edible after heat treatment or drying.

Poisonous when cold salting!

Mushroom pickers of all countries - unite! (FROM) mushroom pickers on facebook

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

One of the most loved 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 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 silent hunting”, but prefer to buy mushrooms, 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. Records of false mushrooms at a young age have yellow, and over time they acquire a greenish, and then an olive-black hue.

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

The popular opinion is 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, you should not use them in any form.

Growth time

Honey mushrooms grow throughout the 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 bad smell.

Honey mushrooms are very popular mushrooms. They grow in families and most often near stumps. Hence the name.

Mushrooms mushrooms: photo and description

Around one stump you can collect a full basket of these useful and delicious mushrooms. They contain substances such as:

  • proteins;
  • cellulose;
  • amino acids;
  • vitamins of groups C, B, E, PP;
  • trace elements (iron, phosphorus, zinc, potassium, etc.);
  • natural sugars.

In nature, there are many types of mushrooms. All of them differ from each other both externally and in the composition of useful vitamin elements:

Honey mushrooms are edible and false, how to distinguish them

Let's give a description of several types of edible mushrooms:

summer honey agaric- a medium-sized mushroom with a leg height of up to 8 cm and a diameter of up to 1 cm. The leg is light and smooth on top, and covered with dark scales below. On the leg - a brown skirt, not wide, completely disappears with time. The cap of a young mushroom looks convex, has a diameter of up to 5 cm, becomes flat with growth, but a light tubercle remains in the middle. The color of the cap is yellow, darkens towards the edges. The plates are light, they also darken with time.

Summer mushrooms grow in colonies mainly on deciduous trees, love rotten and damaged wood. They appear already in the middle of spring and, under favorable conditions, breed all summer, autumn, until frost. The taste of mushrooms is tender, with a smell young tree. These edible mushrooms are often confused with poisonous doppelgangers having biological name"bordered gallery" or "marginate gallery". It must be remembered that these poisonous mushrooms from the bottom of the legs do not have scales at all, which is why they differ from edible counterparts.

The color of the cap is different and depends on the tree on which the autumn honey agaric has grown (yellow on poplar, brown on oak, gray on elderberry, conifers- red-brown). The plates of the fungus are beige, gradually darken, dotted with brownish spots.

Autumn mushrooms appear closer to autumn, around the end of August. Fruiting depends on the climate of the region and lasts about 3 weeks. The mushroom is tasty, fragrant, its flesh is dense and white, in a leg with tangible fibers. These mushrooms are saprophytes, growing on rotten stumps, deadwood, broken branches, provide their night glow.

Royal honey agaric(golden scale). Your name royal mushrooms fully justify. Their hats reach up to 20 cm in diameter, and the height of the legs is more than 12 cm. There is a skirt on the leg, which disappears over time. The color of the cap is different, from rusty yellow to dirty golden. The entire surface of the fungus is dotted with flakes-flakes of a reddish color. These are autumn mushrooms. They grow in small clusters. They are found in both deciduous and coniferous forests.

Mushroom pickers do not always collect them, they consider them inedible, although the taste of royal mushrooms is no different from the popular autumn species. Flakes must be boiled in salt water for at least 30 minutes before use. They have an excellent taste, they are used in appetizers, salads, first and second courses, salted, marinated, dried and frozen.

winter honey agaric- grows on weak, damaged deciduous trees, more often on poplars and willows. The fungus, with its presence, further destroys their wood. Nevertheless, winter honey agaric is quite edible, has a stem 2 to 7 cm long, up to 1 cm in diameter, dense structure and velvety brown color, with yellowness on top. But there is no skirt on the leg.

The hat of a young winter honey agaric is convex, almost flat with age, from 2 to 10 cm in diameter. The color can be yellow, brown or orange. The plates are white or ocher. The flesh is white or yellowish. growing large groups from autumn and all winter, easily detected during thaw on thawed patches. This type is required to be boiled for a long time and at least twice before use, since it contains a small proportion of toxins in its composition, which become harmless during heat treatment.

Thick-legged honey agaric. Grows on damaged spruce, fir, beech, ash. Often grows on fallen leaves and dust. The leg has a low, straight, thicker bottom in the form of an onion. The color of the legs to the ring-skirt is dark, and above to the hat it is white or gray. The skirt is well defined, with dark scales and ragged edges.

The cap is cone-shaped, with curled edges, flat with age, descending. The color of young mushrooms is beige, brown or pink. The cap has scales in the middle. gray color. The plates under the hat are frequent, light, and eventually dark. The cap diameter is from 2 to 10 cm. The pulp is astringent, light, with a cheesy flavor.

spring honey agaric. This edible mushroom grows in small groups on deadwood and decaying foliage, in pine or oak forests. Its leg is elastic, up to 9 cm long, even, with a thickened base. The cap of young mushrooms is convex, with time it is broadly convex or flat. The color at first has a dark orange (brick), and in mature it becomes yellow-brown. The plates under the hat are frequent, white, with a yellowish or pink tint. The pulp is light (white with yellowness). Spring mushrooms are distributed almost throughout the temperate zone.

Honey agaric meadow- soil saprophyte growing in meadows, fields, ditches and ravines. A very prolific species. The mushroom has a thin and long stem, expanded from below, often curved, up to 10 cm high and up to 0.5 cm in diameter. The color of the stem and the cap is the same. The cap of a young mushroom is convex, in an adult it is flat with a pimple in the middle, the edges are uneven. In wet weather, the skin of the cap becomes sticky, red or brown. In dry weather, the hat is light, larger towards the edges, darker in the center. The skirt is missing.

The light pulp of the mushroom tastes sweet, with a hint of almonds. Meadow mushrooms are found throughout Eurasia, grow from May to October, tolerate drought well, reviving after a rainstorm and again ready to produce new mushroom colonies. This mushroom has a twin, a conditionally edible mushroom culture called "forest-loving collibia" is very similar to it. Their difference is that the collibium has a tubular, empty stem and the fungus has an unpleasant odor. And also you can’t confuse the meadow honey agarics with the poisonous “furrowed talker”, she white hat without upper tubercle, with frequent mealy scales (plates).

Description of the conditionally edible species of mushrooms

Honey agaric pine. Some mushroom pickers consider this conditionally edible mushroom to be dangerous, because it tastes bitter, and the smell is sour or even woody and putrefactive. The cap of the young species is convex, with aging it becomes flat, up to 15 cm in diameter. The surface of the cap is covered with small red scales. The flesh is yellowish in color, fibrous in the stem, dense in the cap. The stalk is usually curved, thickened at the base, empty (hollow) in the middle and upper parts.

What do false mushrooms look like

It seems that everything is known about edible mushrooms and it is not difficult to recognize them. The edible mushroom has a thin and long stem (up to 12-15 cm), color from light beige or yellow to brown (depending on age and growth conditions). Not all, but many species have a skirt ring and a lamellar, often rounded down hat. At of a young appearance, it is convex in shape, with small scales, and with age becomes flat or umbrella-shaped and smooth. The hat has a different shade - from light cream color to red-brown tones.

To distinguish inedible mushroom from edible, you need to carefully look and sniff. Here is some description of false poisonous mushrooms:

  • False mushrooms on a cylindrical leg do not have a ring with a skirt.
  • The hat is painted in a bright, but not joyful color.
  • The colors of the plates under the hat of false mushrooms are yellow, greenish, sometimes brown, but as if dirty.
  • The smell of poisonous mushrooms rotten, earthy.

They repel the mushroom picker with all their appearance and seem to be shouting "don't take me into the basket." Therefore, any experienced forester will feel that such a mushroom is not suitable for food and should be kept away from it. But, the whole trick of poisonous mushrooms is that they are next to edible ones. Moreover, they are intertwined with them on stumps, trunks of rotten trees. Therefore, be careful, because everyone can make a mistake when picking mushrooms. And it is better to carefully study the mushrooms first.

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