Honey mushrooms are dangerous. What types of honey mushrooms are there and mushrooms similar to them. Myths about edible and poisonous mushrooms

Honey mushrooms are mushrooms familiar to every Russian. From them you can prepare a large number of different aromatic and delicious dishes, and the benefits of these mushrooms have been known for a long time. And collecting honey mushrooms is quite pleasant - they grow in groups, covering large areas, so you can even collect several buckets from one place.

The mushroom got its name due to the characteristics of its growth. It is no secret that honey mushrooms grow on tree stumps and around them, not singly, 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 “honey agaric” is a word with the same root as the word “stump”, and the second says that one day mushroom pickers discovered this mushroom, and after cutting it off, they saw several more growing nearby and exclaimed: “There they are again!”, and so Thus, the word “honey agaric” follows from the word “again”.

In any case, this name has been assigned 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 forests, both coniferous and deciduous. They are found on absolutely all continents, except for permafrost regions. They prefer to grow on old rotten stumps and any rotten wood.

These mushrooms can be recognized by their long stem, which can reach 15 cm, and a round cap with pronounced plates on the underside. The color of the stem can vary from light to dark brown shades, and the cap from light cream and yellow to brown-red tones. More detailed characteristics of honey mushrooms depend on their type, age and place of growth.

Types of mushrooms

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

Characterized not large sizes caps - 3...7 mm in diameter and a high stem, reaching 10 cm. Moreover, its thickness reaches 8 mm. Its color is yellowish with a white coating. The cap is also a light yellow shade, and in damp 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 honey mushrooms, in waves, starting in June and ending with autumn frosts;

This species of honey mushrooms 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. The 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 honey mushrooms can be found already in June, and their fruiting lasts until late autumn;

They are large in size. For example, the cap of the real honey mushroom can reach 17 mm in diameter. Both the cap and the leg of young representatives of this species are completely covered with scales. The color of the mushroom is a soft pastel, from light to dark brown shades. These honey mushrooms appear in the summer towards the end of August and bear fruit until October, until the first frost;

They bear fruit from autumn to spring, so you can even find them under the snow in thawed areas. 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. Leg dark brown, and the cap changes from dark yellow to orange-brown.

October mushrooms, autumn honey mushrooms: video

Benefits and harms

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 and also contain zinc, copper, phosphorus, potassium, iron, etc. At the same time, honey mushrooms are low-calorie and suitable for consumption by people watching their weight and diabetics.

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

In principle, honey mushrooms will not cause any harm to the human body if they undergo good preliminary preparation before preparing the dish: cleaning and cooking. But you shouldn’t overuse honey mushrooms, since they, like all mushrooms, are difficult food to digest. Therefore, you should not gorge yourself on honey mushrooms at night. In addition, the cleansing effect of honey mushrooms can turn into diarrhea with unlimited consumption of these mushrooms.

How to cook

Honey mushrooms, like most mushrooms, need to be processed as quickly as possible after harvesting or purchasing. Depending on how many of these mushrooms are available, you can use in various ways preparing honey mushrooms for lunch, for example, making soup from them or simply frying them with onions, or processing them for longer storage: freezing or pickling.

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

honey mushrooms – 0.5 kg;
onion (medium) – 2 pcs;
butter or vegetable oil;
salt, pepper - to taste.

After all the ingredients have been collected, begin washing the mushrooms. They need to be washed thoroughly under running water, paying special attention to the undersides of the caps, as the plates may contain grains of sand and other debris. Then you can dry them a little and cut them into large pieces. Small mushrooms are fried whole.
While the mushrooms are drying after washing, you can heat a frying pan with oil and fry the peeled onions and cut into half rings until transparent. Usually this takes no more than 2...3 minutes.
Then add honey mushrooms to the onion and fry, stirring constantly, until the liquid that comes out of the mushrooms during cooking has completely evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
K already ready-made dish you can add sour cream and simmer under the lid for about 5 minutes, or add fresh dill.

From honey mushrooms it turns out very delicious snack for the winter for long-term storage, which will suit any festive table. To prepare pickled mushrooms you will need:

honey 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 tbsp;
sugar – 1 tbsp.

After all the products have been collected, you can begin to prepare honey mushrooms. Small mushrooms are ideal for seaming. In some varieties of honey 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 a 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). Afterwards they are thrown into a colander and the water is drained.
To prepare the marinade, add all the spices except vinegar to the water and bring to a boil. Then add the prepared mushrooms and cook everything together for 5...10 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, add vinegar to the pan.
The mushrooms are placed in clean jars and the marinade is poured on top. The jars are rolled up and allowed to cool at room temperature. It is recommended to store the preparations in a cool place, and they can be eaten about a month after preparation.

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

honey mushrooms – 0.3…0.4 kg;
potatoes – 0.5 kg;
onion (medium) – 1 piece;
carrots – 1 piece;
vegetable oil – 3…4 tbsp;
salt, pepper - to taste.

After all the ingredients have been collected, begin the preliminary preparation of honey mushrooms. They must be thoroughly washed and cut into small pieces.
The soup can then be prepared in different ways. For example, some people pre-boil honey mushrooms over low heat for half an hour, after which the water is drained, and the honey mushrooms are filled with new water and the soup is prepared. Others do things a little differently, dropping the mushrooms into boiling water and cooking them for 15 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
In any case, potatoes are added first to the honey mushrooms after the specified time. While it is boiling with the mushrooms, they prepare the frying. 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.
When the potatoes are almost ready, add the fried potatoes to the soup, mix everything and season with salt and pepper. After this, cook the honey mushroom soup for another 5 minutes.
The finished soup is poured into plates; fresh herbs and sour cream can be added to each of them.

fresh;
with preliminary heat treatment.

The first freezing method will preserve the taste and aroma of freshly picked honey mushrooms, and if defrosted correctly, the mushrooms will be firm and suitable for preparing any dish. The second method is suitable for those housewives who are hesitant about freezing fresh honey mushrooms. Both of these methods allow sufficient for a long time store the harvest in the freezer, so both will be considered separately.

If it was decided to keep the collected honey mushrooms frozen in fresh, then it costs with special attention treat them with pre-treatment - cleaning them from dirt. The fact is that honey mushrooms cannot be washed before freezing; all plant residues must be removed from small fungi manually, which requires patience from the housewife.

But first, the mushrooms are sorted into large and small ones and, at the same time, rejected - only healthy honey mushrooms without signs of rot and stains are considered suitable for freezing. Then they begin to clean them.

If the mushrooms are very dirty, they can be wiped with a clean damp towel and then dried. To preserve the aroma, it is best not to cut honey mushrooms, but to freeze them whole. Honey mushrooms can be packaged in flat containers, resealable freezer bags, or on trays.

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

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

blanching. This term means short-term scalding of fresh mushrooms with boiling water or steam. This method allows you to quickly get rid of dirt on mushrooms, but honey mushrooms prepared in this way after defrosting are not suitable for preparing all dishes. The fact is that after blanching, the mushrooms fall apart and their shape is deformed. Such honey mushrooms can be used in soup or for preparing mushroom caviar;
by boiling. You can boil honey mushrooms. They are also pre-cleaned, then dipped in salted water and cooked for half an hour over low heat. After this, the mushrooms are placed in a colander, waiting for the water to drain, and then drying the mushrooms on a cloth or paper towels. When the mushrooms have dried and cooled, they can be placed in containers for freezing;
frying. The mushrooms are pre-fried for 20...25 minutes, and then after cooling they are placed in containers in portions. In addition, you can extinguish honey mushrooms and also package them, and pour the liquid in which they were stewed on top. Fried and stewed honey mushrooms are stored twice as long when frozen as fresh ones - 3...4 months.

How to clean mushrooms quickly and effortlessly: video

You can find summer honey fungus from June until frost on dead wood and stumps of deciduous trees. This edible mushroom, called Kuehneromyces mutabilis, has a yellow-brown cap up to 8 cm in diameter with thin light yellow plates at the bottom and a tubercle at the top.

The stem of the mushroom is thin, cylindrical, with a dark membranous ring-skirt. It rarely grows on coniferous trees, and experienced mushroom pickers advise avoiding such finds; they may turn out to be Galerina marginata (fringed galerina) - an extremely poisonous counterpart of the summer honey fungus.

What does a bordered gallery look like?

Galerina has a very attractive appearance and this is its most dangerous property. If it looked like a toadstool, the likelihood of it ending up in the basket would not be so high.

Galerina bordered from summer mushrooms is distinguished by a monochromatic cap, about 3 cm in diameter, having an even shade from the middle to the edges. In a young fungus, the cap has a conical shape, over time it becomes convex with a small tubercle in the middle.

There is a light border along the edge of the cap, but it is not always pronounced. The leg has a membranous ring that lasts for a very long time. Despite its toxicity, the mushroom has a pleasant powdery odor and neutral taste.

This deadly mushroom grows on stumps, dead wood and soil saturated with rotting debris. coniferous trees. Its poison is similar in effect to the toxins of the toadstool. Galerina does not grow in colonies, like summer honey mushrooms, but one at a time.

Mushroom picker advice: If you accidentally eat Galerina fringed, you should immediately contact a medical facility. Without medical attention, poisoning can be fatal.

And if it is found in groups, then each mushroom stands somewhat apart, without forming large clumps, two or three at most. It is insidious and can sometimes crawl out among a colony of edible honey mushrooms. It’s good that there won’t be any serious consequences from one mushroom. When poisoned by the fungus, the liver is affected, convulsions, uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting occur.

Other doubles

There are several varieties of false honey mushrooms, which are very similar in appearance to summer honey fungus.

They also grow on stumps, dead wood and rotten trees and bear fruit at the same time as summer honey mushrooms.

It is difficult for an inexperienced mushroom picker to distinguish such mushrooms from their counterparts.

Similar types:

Hypholoma sublatertiium (brick-red honey fungus);
Hypholoma fasciculare (sulfur-yellow honey fungus);
Hypholoma capnoides (sulphurous honey fungus).

Please note: in dry weather, all universal differences are erased, and the mushrooms become difficult to distinguish.

Unlike summer honey fungus, most of these mushrooms have an unpleasant earthy odor and more bright color, and they also lack a membranous ring on the stem.

Honey fungus brick-red

This mushroom has a round red-brown cap with the edges turned down, the stem of the mushroom is thin and fibrous, without a ring. It grows on moss-covered stumps and snags of deciduous trees.

This false honey fungus with a brick-red cap can be edible if you boil it by draining the water twice, but most mushroom pickers avoid it, considering it poisonous. Meanwhile, it has long been used in folk medicine as an emetic and was not afraid to be eaten.

Please note: even if the brick-red honey fungus is almost non-toxic, it does not have nutritional value, it would be safer not to eat it.

Honey fungus is brick-red after appropriate processing. According to other sources, it causes eating disorders and abdominal pain.

Honey fungus sulfur-yellow

Another view. It is a poisonous mushroom and grows in groups on the roots and stumps of pine and deciduous trees.

Fruits from late summer until frost. The mushroom has a dirty cap yellow with a darkening in the center, and a ring pattern on a thin long leg.

This mushroom is easily confused with edible species. The main difference can be called bad smell sulfur-yellow honey mushroom.

Honey fungus seroplate

A young fungus has a round cap; as it ages, it straightens and becomes flat. The leg is cylindrical, the ring on it disappears over time.

This mushroom is quite edible, grows in large groups and bears fruit from late summer to October.. Its plates, judging by the name, are gray, greenish-yellow or olive color. It grows mainly on pine stumps, rotten roots and dead wood.

Things to remember: During the mushroom rush, it is very easy to confuse types of mushrooms and choose a poisonous one. Summer honey fungus has variable characteristics and sometimes a mature mushroom that has lost its scales cannot be distinguished from a poisonous galerina.

The caps are usually light brown with small scales. False honey mushrooms are characterized by brighter colored caps and plates, and also have an unpleasant odor.

How to distinguish edible mushrooms from false ones, see the following video:

Honey mushrooms are very popular among mushroom pickers, which are pickled, fried, and made into salads and various sauces. But there is a danger of confusing edible representatives of the mushroom kingdom with false honey mushrooms.

Inedible doubles of honey mushrooms prefer to settle, like their brothers, in large families on dead wood, stumps and rotten trees.

Inedible doubles of honey mushrooms prefer to settle, like their brothers, in large families on dead wood, stumps and rotten trees. All of their types are very similar in appearance.

Mushroom stems are very thin and hollow inside. The surface of the caps is painted in bright colors, which depend on the place of growth, soil composition and time of year. The skin is smooth to the touch.

Features of false mushrooms (video)

Botanical description of the main types of false mushrooms

The group of false mushrooms includes several types of mushrooms. Since they grow in identical conditions to edible representatives, they are very easy to confuse. Some species are conditionally edible, others are inedible, and others are poisonous. Due to the danger of serious poisoning, an inexperienced mushroom picker is advised not to collect suspicious mushrooms.

Poppy honey fungus

The second name of the mushroom is honey fungus. Grows on fallen trees and pine stumps. In rare cases, it is found on rotting rhizomes. It begins to bear fruit in the last month of summer and continues until mid-autumn.

The hemispherical cap reaches a size of 7 cm. During the growth of the fruiting body, it changes its appearance to a convex-prostrate one, along the edge of which particles of the cover remain. If the fruit grows in a humid environment, the cap becomes light brown in color. In a dry place, its surface is light yellow. The middle of the cap is much brighter than the edges. The smell of the whitish pulp is reminiscent of dampness.

The plates located on the inner surface of the cap grow to the stem. In young individuals their color is pale yellow. Over time, the color changes, becoming similar to poppy seeds. The long leg (up to 10 cm) can be either straight or curved. The membranous ring quickly disappears. It has a red-red color at the base, and yellow near the cap.

Since poppy honey fungus belongs to the conditionally edible category, after processing it can be used for culinary purposes. It is not recommended to collect old mushrooms, which lose their taste with age.

Poppy honey fungus

Brick-red honey fungus

A poisonous mushroom that at a young age has a rounded-convex cap, which turns into a semi-prostrate one as it grows older. The surface can be light reddish-brown tones, or red-brown and brick-red. In the central part the color is much richer. Along the edges there are white hanging fragments, which are the remains of the bedspread. Bitterish pulp of yellowish tones. The plates change color over time. In young specimens they are dirty yellow, and in mature specimens they are olive-brown. The shape of the leg can be flat or narrowed at the bottom. The color is yellowish, slightly brown at the bottom. The structure is dense.

It prefers to settle on deciduous trees in large families. Peak fruiting occurs at the end of summer - beginning of autumn.

Brick-red honey fungus

Sulfur-yellow honey fungus

The diameter of the cap of the poisonous honey mushroom is from 2 to 7 cm. In a young mushroom, its shape is similar to a bell. With age it becomes prostrate. The color can be yellow-brown or sulfur-yellow, which is reflected in its name. The central part of the cap is slightly darker than the edge.

The inside of the fruit is whitish or sulfur-yellow. The smell emanating from the pulp is unpleasant. The leg with a diameter of 0.5 cm grows up to 10 cm in length. The top is sulfur-yellow with a fibrous structure. Mushrooms grow in groups of about 50 fruits, fused at the base with stalks.

The difference between false mushrooms and autumn mushrooms (video)

How to distinguish false honey fungus from edible mushrooms

Despite the fact that the characteristics of edible honey mushrooms are in many ways similar to their false counterparts, having understood characteristic features and the differences between each type, you can learn to distinguish them. The main differences:

Appearance of the hat. In real mushrooms, its surface layer is covered with peculiar scales of a darker color than the cap itself. Mature mushrooms become smooth, losing their scales. But this is not scary, since such mushrooms are no longer of interest.
Ring or skirt. Edible young specimens have a white film under the cap, which, as the mushroom grows, turns into a ring on a stalk. False copies do not have it.
Skin color on the cap. False representatives are much brighter edible mushrooms. Real honey mushrooms are usually a soft brown color. Inedible species with the addition of red and yellow-gray tones.
Smell. Edible mushrooms have a mushroom aroma. Dangerous doubles, on the contrary, exude an unpleasant earthy or moldy odor.
Records. True honey mushrooms are characterized by the presence of light plates (yellowish or beige). In inedible species they are brighter and darker (olive, greenish, yellow).

The fruits also taste different from real mushrooms. False species are unpleasant and bitter, but trying them is prohibited. By carefully studying the signs that help distinguish an edible mushroom from a dangerous one, you can protect yourself from the serious consequences of poisoning with toxic substances.

Toxic elements of false mushrooms negatively affect the cardiovascular system and brain

Signs of poisoning by false honey mushrooms

In case of mistaken use of false honey mushrooms, intoxication of the body occurs, which manifests itself in the following symptoms:

The first signs of poisoning appear within the first hour after eating, but there are cases when up to 12 hours pass.
Toxic compounds that enter the body are very quickly absorbed into the blood. Then, with its current, they penetrate into all organs, causing a negative effect.
There are complaints about discomfort in the stomach, there is slight dizziness, heartburn, stomach rumbling, nausea.
After 4-6 hours, symptoms begin to progress. Lethargy, apathy, tremors in the limbs and general weakness are added. As the nausea worsens, vomiting occurs. Stomach cramps spread to the entire abdominal area. The stool becomes frequent and watery, accompanied by sharp abdominal pain. Cold sweat is released. Cold sweat appears on the palms and soles. Blood sugar levels drop.

The most poisonous mushrooms (video)

Toxic elements negatively affect the cardiovascular system and brain. As a result, the heart rate slows down and decreases blood pressure to a critical level. Lack of oxygen leads to blue skin (cyanosis). The patient suffers from headache and dizziness.

Intense vomiting and diarrhea dehydrate the body, so fluid balance must be replenished, otherwise vital processes will be disrupted. In the absence necessary assistance The patient begins to delusion and hallucinations appear. There is an alternation of excitement and inhibition.

Restoring health after poisoning depends on the speed of measures taken. Timely contact with a specialist and carrying out the necessary procedures shortens the recovery time and minimizes the consequences.

Those going in search of mushrooms should remember that they should only collect in the basket those mushrooms that there is no doubt that they are edible species. Otherwise, the find must be abandoned.

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Honey fungus translated from Latin into Russian means “bracelet”. This name is not at all surprising, because if you look at the stump on which honey mushrooms are most often comfortably located, you can see a peculiar form of mushroom growth in the form of a ring.

A small mushroom with a stalk up to 7 cm high and a diameter of 0.4 to 1 cm. The top of the stalk is light, smooth, the bottom of the stalk is covered with dark scales. The “skirt” is narrow, filmy, and may disappear over time; thanks to falling spores, it turns brownish. The diameter of the mushroom cap is from 3 to 6 cm. Young summer honey mushrooms are distinguished by a convex cap; as the mushroom grows, the surface flattens, but a noticeable light tubercle remains in the center. The skin is smooth, matte, honey-yellow with dark edges. In damp weather, the skin becomes translucent, and characteristic circles form around the tubercle. The pulp of the summer honey mushroom is tender, moist, pale yellow in color, pleasant to the taste, with a pronounced aroma of living wood. The plates are often located, light, and become dark brown over time.

Summer honey fungus is found mainly in deciduous forests throughout the temperate zone. Appears in April and bears fruit until November. In areas with a favorable climate it can bear fruit without interruption. Sometimes summer honey mushrooms are confused with the poisonous galerina fringed (lat. Galerina marginata), which is distinguished by the small size of the fruiting body and the absence of scales at the bottom of the stem.

Autumn honey fungus, aka real honey fungus(lat. Armillaria mellea)

The height of the leg of the autumn honey mushroom is from 8 to 10 cm, the diameter is 1-2 cm. At the very bottom, the leg may have a slight expansion. The leg is yellowish-brown at the top and becomes dark brown at the bottom. The cap of the autumn mushroom, with a diameter of 3 to 10 cm (sometimes up to 15-17 cm), is convex at the beginning of the growth of the mushroom, then becomes flattened, with a few scales on the surface and a characteristic wavy edge. The ring is very pronounced, white with a yellow border, located almost under the cap itself. The pulp of autumn honey mushrooms is white, dense, fibrous, aromatic in the stem. The color of the skin on the cap varies and depends on the type of trees on which the mushroom grows.

Autumn honey mushrooms of honey-yellow color grow on poplar, mulberry, and black locust. Brown ones grow on, dark gray - on elderberry, red-brown - on the trunks of coniferous trees. The plates are sparse, light beige in color, darken with age and dotted with dark brown spots.

The first autumn honey mushrooms appear at the end of August. Depending on the region, fruiting occurs in 2-3 layers, lasting about 3 weeks. Autumn mushrooms are widespread in swampy forests and clearings throughout the Northern Hemisphere, except in permafrost areas.

Winter honey fungus(flammulina velvetypod, collibia velvetypod, winter mushroom)(lat. Flammulina velutipes)

The leg, with a height of 2 to 7 cm and a diameter of 0.3 to 1 cm, has a dense structure and a distinctive, velvety-brown color, turning into brown with yellowness towards the top. In young mushrooms, the cap is convex, flattens with age and can reach 2-10 cm in diameter. The skin is yellow, brownish or brown with orange. The blades are planted sparsely, white or ocher, different lengths. The pulp is almost white or yellowish. Unlike the bulk of edible honey mushrooms, the winter honey mushroom does not have a “skirt” under the cap.

It grows throughout the temperate part of the forest-park zone of the northern hemisphere from autumn to spring. Winter honey fungus grows in large, often fused groups and is easily found in thawed areas during thaws. According to some reports, the pulp of the winter honey mushroom contains a small dose of unstable toxins, so it is recommended that the mushroom be subjected to more thorough heat treatment.

Honey fungus (meadowweed, meadow rotten mushroom, clove mushroom, meadow marasmius)(lat. Marasmius oreades)

Edible mushroom of the non-rotting family, genus non-rotting. A typical soil saprophyte growing in fields, meadows, pastures, summer cottages, along the edges of clearings and ditches, in ravines and on forest edges. It bears abundant fruit, often grows in straight or arched rows, and sometimes forms “witch circles.”

The leg of the meadow grass is long and thin, sometimes curved, up to 10 cm in height, and from 0.2 to 0.5 cm in diameter. Dense along the entire length, widened at the very bottom, the color of the cap or slightly lighter. In young meadow mushrooms, the cap is convex, flattens over time, the edges become uneven, and a pronounced blunt tubercle remains in the center. In wet weather, the skin becomes sticky, yellow-brown or reddish. In good weather, the cap is light beige, but always with a center darker than the edges. The plates are sparse, light-colored, darker in rain, and there is no “skirt” under the cap. The pulp is thin, light, tastes sweet, with a characteristic odor of almonds.

Meadowweed is found from May to October throughout Eurasia: from Japan to the Canary Islands. It tolerates drought well, and after rains it comes to life and is again capable of reproduction. Honey fungus is sometimes confused with wood-loving collibia (lat. Collybia dryophila), a conditionally edible mushroom with biotopes similar to meadow grass. It differs from the meadow grass by a tubular, hollow inside leg, more frequently located plates and unpleasant smell. It is much more dangerous to confuse the meadow grass with the furrowed talker (lat. Clitocybe rivulosa), a poisonous mushroom, distinguished by a whitish cap, devoid of a tubercle, often seated plates and a powdery spirit.

Honey fungus thick-legged(lat. Armillaria lutea, Armillaria gallica)

The leg of the thick-legged honey mushroom is low, straight, thickened at the bottom like an onion. Below the ring the leg is brown, above it is whitish, and at the base it is gray. The ring is pronounced, white, the edges are distinguished by star-shaped breaks and are often strewn with brown scales. The diameter of the cap is from 2.5 to 10 cm. In young thick-legged honey mushrooms, the cap has the shape of an expanded cone with rolled edges, in old mushrooms it is flat with descending edges. Young thick-legged honey mushrooms are brownish-brown, beige or pinkish. The middle of the cap is abundantly strewn with dry conical-shaped scales of gray-brown color, which are also preserved in old mushrooms. The plates are planted frequently, light in color, and darken over time. The pulp is light, astringent in taste, with a slight cheesy smell.

Honey fungus mucous or udemanciella mucosa(lat. Oudemansiella mucida)

A species of edible mushrooms of the Physalacriaceae family, genus Udemanciella. A rare mushroom that grows on the trunks of fallen European beech, sometimes on damaged trees that are still alive.

The curved leg reaches 2-8 cm in length and has a diameter of 2 to 4 mm. Under the cap itself it is light, below the “skirt” it is covered with brown flakes, and at the base it has a characteristic thickening. The ring is thick and slimy. The caps of young honey mushrooms have the shape of a wide cone; with age, they open up and become flat-convex. At first, the skin of the mushrooms is dry and olive-gray in color; with age, it becomes slimy, whitish or beige with yellowness. The plates are sparsely located and have a yellowish color. The pulp of the mucous honey fungus is tasteless, odorless, white; in old mushrooms, the lower part of the stem turns brown.

Slimy honey fungus is found in the broad-leaved European zone.

Spring honey fungus or wood-loving collibia(lat. Gymnopus dryophilus, Collybia dryophila)

A species of edible mushrooms of the non-gnacaceae family, the genus Gymnopus. Grows in separate small groups on fallen trees and decaying foliage, in forests dominated by oak and.

The elastic leg, 3 to 9 cm long, is usually smooth, but sometimes has a thickened base. The cap of young honey mushrooms is convex, and over time it acquires a broadly convex or flattened shape. The skin of young mushrooms is brick-colored; in mature individuals it becomes lighter and becomes yellow-brown. The plates are frequent, white, sometimes with a pink or yellow tint. The pulp is white or yellowish, with a weak taste and smell.

Spring honey mushrooms grow throughout the temperate zone from early summer to November.

Common garlic mushroom (common garlic mushroom) (lat. Mycetinis scorodonius, Marasmius scorodonius)

An edible small mushroom of the non-rot family, genus garlic. It has a characteristic garlic smell, which is why it is often used in seasonings.

The cap is slightly convex or hemispherical, and can reach 2.5 cm in diameter. The color of the cap depends on humidity: in rainy weather and fogs it is brownish, sometimes a rich red hue, in dry weather it becomes creamy. The plates are light, very rare. The leg of this honey mushroom is hard and shiny, darker below.

(lat. Myc etinis allia ceus)

Belongs to the genus garlic of the non-rot family. The mushroom cap can be quite large (up to 6.5 cm), slightly translucent closer to the edge. The surface of the cap is smooth, yellow or red in color, brighter in the center. The pulp has a pronounced garlic aroma. A strong leg up to 5 mm thick and 6 to 15 cm long, gray or black, covered with pubescence.

The mushroom grows in Europe, preferring deciduous forests, and especially rotting leaves and twigs of beech.

Pine honey fungus (yellow-red row, reddened row, yellow-red honey fungus, red honey fungus) (lat. Tricholomopsis rutilans)

A conditionally edible mushroom belonging to the family Aryadorova. Some consider it inedible.

The cap is convex; as the mushroom ages, it becomes flatter, up to 15 cm in diameter. The surface is covered with small red-purple scales. The flesh of the honey mushroom is yellow, its structure in the stem is more fibrous, and in the cap it is dense. The taste may be bitter, and the smell may be sour or woody-putrid. The leg is usually curved, hollow in the middle and upper part, thickened at the base.

The name honey mushroom comes from the Latin word meaning bracelet, since the mushrooms grow in whole families, located around a trunk or stump, resembling a ring.

The cap of the honey mushroom is yellow-brown in color. The edges are usually darker than the center. The size of the cap reaches 8 cm in diameter. In young individuals, the shape is convex, which straightens during growth, turning into a flat one. When it rains, the top layer becomes sticky. Often, the caps of mushrooms located in the lower rows acquire a brown coating, which is the spore powder of mushrooms growing in the tier above.

Colonies of summer mushrooms prefer to settle on deciduous trees

The yellowish plates in adult specimens darken, becoming rusty-brown. They usually grow to the stem. The height of the cylindrical curved leg does not exceed 8 cm, and the thickness is 0.5 cm. The interior is hollow. On the surface there is a ring-skirt, above which the color of the leg is brown, and below it is dark brown. Over time, the ring may disappear.

Colonies of summer mushrooms prefer to settle on deciduous trees. Usually mushroom pickers collect them on windbreaks, rotten and damaged trunks and stumps, and less often on coniferous trees. Typically, wood fungi feed on substances that contribute to the destruction of wood.

Gallery: summer honey mushrooms (25 photos)

Where do summer honey mushrooms grow (video)

Description of false twins of summer mushrooms

Beginning mushroom pickers may confuse real summer mushrooms with their doubles, for example:

Sulfur-yellow poisonous mushroom

It is considered one of the most dangerous false brothers, the color of which differs from the area where it grows. In the southern areas of growth, the color of its cap is sulfur-yellow, and in the central areas it is red-brown. The pulp of the fruit body and plates are sulfur-yellow in color, and it tastes bitter.

Galerina bordered

It is a tree mushroom. It has a small cap (up to 3 cm), which in young individuals is bell-shaped with the edge turned inward. With age, the fruiting body becomes almost flat or convex with a small tubercle in the center and a translucent edge. At high humidity it feels sticky to the touch. The color is yellow-brown or reddish-brown. The pulp has a floury smell. The hollow whitish stalk is slightly thickened at the base. Has a powdery coating. Likes to settle on the trunks and stumps of coniferous trees, as well as on roots and soil with a predominance of rotting wood.

Galerina bordered

Brick-red false honey fungus

Found throughout the summer until late autumn. They grow on rotting trunks of deciduous trees and stumps. The structure of the mushroom is dense. In the central part of the cap the color is brick-red or orange-red, and at the edges it is yellow and uneven. In mature individuals, the plates become brown or black with a green tint.

Main differences poisonous mushrooms are the legs widened at the base and the absence of a ring on it. Along the circumference there is only a trace from the bedspread in the form of slightly noticeable dark stripes. The color of the cap of poisonous individuals is more saturated.

The edible species is easily distinguished by its smell. Unlike false mushrooms, which smell very unpleasantly (rotten wood), real representatives have a mushroom aroma. Another important difference is the presence of small scales on the cap.

Brick-red false honey fungus

Where and when do summer honey mushrooms grow in Russia?

Mushroom pickers usually find honey mushrooms near swampy areas or in damp, difficult-to-pass forests. They have spread throughout the entire northern hemisphere, except for the far north, which is characterized by permafrost. They are very popular in Russia and Eastern Europe.

The yield of honey mushrooms depends on the place of growth. In a coniferous forest you can count on good harvest only if it is a mountainous area. Otherwise, the summer representatives of the group will not have enough moisture, and they will not settle there.

In deciduous forests you can pick up a single basket of honey mushrooms, because even the harvest collected from one stump is enough for several dishes. Mixed forests are less humid, so there are fewer mushrooms there. In addition, honey mushrooms themselves prefer to settle on linden, birch, as well as on dead oak trunks, maple and acacia. Since this group of fungi requires a lot of moisture, warmth and stumps of old trees for comfort, they are almost never found in meadows and steppes. Honey mushrooms do not tolerate direct sunlight.

Summer honey mushrooms begin to bear fruit from the beginning of summer and continue until October. The peak harvesting season is in July and August, a time when there is high rainfall as the damp surface encourages rapid growth.

Varieties of honey mushrooms (video)

Processing of summer mushrooms after collection and features of their preparation

The substances that make up the summer honey mushroom have a beneficial effect on the functionality of the thyroid gland. The taste of raw fruits is low, so it is better to heat them. Mushrooms can be boiled or fried, which takes a little time. If you pickle them, salt them or dry them, the procedure will take much longer. The finished product is suitable for preparing salads and baking fillings.

Experienced mushroom pickers recommend processing the harvest immediately, without delaying for a long time, since all representatives of the mushroom kingdom are not subject to long-term storage. The maximum storage period is one day. Before you put it away fresh mushrooms in the refrigerator, they need to be sorted and placed in paper containers. Storage duration does not exceed 36 hours.

Honey mushrooms are one of the easiest mushrooms to clean, since they practically do not require scraping. Rules for their processing:

The first step is to sort through the collected mushrooms, removing debris and adhering leaves and grass.
Removing the film located under the cap using a sharp knife.
Excision of wormholes and bad areas.
Rinse in cool water. For thorough washing, it is recommended to place the mushrooms in a colander and let the water drain.

Mushrooms lend themselves well to transportation, compressing and springing like rubber, but without breaking. In addition to easy processing, summer honey fungus has the advantage of containing vitamins C and B1, copper and zinc, for the preservation of which it is recommended to adhere to certain rules during cooking:

to prevent oxidation and preserve the original color of the fruit, during cleaning they should be placed in water salted and acidified with lemon, citric acid or vinegar;
It is important to boil the forest product well, otherwise it may cause stomach upset;
cooking time is from 40 to 60 minutes;
after the water boils and foam rises, it must be drained and refilled with fresh water;
frozen fruit bodies should be thawed and boiled for 15 - 20 minutes;
if honey mushrooms are planned to be fried, then they must first be boiled for a third of an hour;
Cooking utensils must be enameled without chips;
the water in which honey mushrooms are boiled should be salted at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 2 liters;
the finished honey mushrooms settle to the bottom of the container.