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Autumn mushrooms have always been popular among mushroom pickers. After all, these fruiting bodies grow in large colonies, and a considerable harvest of mushrooms can be harvested from one stump or a felled tree trunk. In addition, honey mushrooms are considered very useful because of the content of phosphorus, iron, calcium, as well as various vitamins and minerals. There are also autumn mushrooms called royal mushrooms.

Its name, widespread among the people, is fully justified by the royal mushrooms. Hats of this species reach up to 20 cm in diameter, and grow more than 20 cm in height. In the scientific world, royal mushrooms are called golden scales.

These autumn mushrooms do not grow in such large clusters as other species. Royal honeydew or golden scaly prefer "loneliness" or grow in small groups. This species is rare, but mushroom pickers, even in these cases, do not always collect them, considering them inedible. But I must say that the taste of scaly royal honey agarics practically does not differ from everyone's favorite and popular autumn species.

Novice mushroom pickers ask: is the royal honey fungus edible or not? To find out the answer to this question, let's look at the photo and description of royal mushrooms honey agarics.

What royal mushrooms look like: photos and descriptions of mushrooms

Latin name:Pholiota aurivella.

Family: stropharia.

Genus: foliota or scaly.

Synonyms: royal honeydew, golden scales, sulfur-yellow scales, willow.

Edibility: edible mushroom.

Hat: the diameter of the cap is large, at a young age from 5 to 10 cm; in adult specimens from 10 to 20 cm. The shape of the cap is broadly bell-shaped, but with age it changes to a flat-round shape. The color of the cap ranges from rusty yellow to dirty gold. The entire surface of the cap is dotted with flaky, reddish scales.

Leg: length from 6 to 12 cm, diameter from 1 to 2 cm. Dense, yellow-brown shade with brownish scales located on it. The stem is framed with a fibrous ring, but as the fungus grows, the ring disappears.

Plates: wide and adherent to the peduncle. The color of the plates at a young age of the fungus is light straw. As they mature, the color becomes olive or brown.

Pulp: has a pleasant smell, whitish-yellow in color.

Application: mushrooms are very beneficial for people with anemia. They contain a lot of magnesium and iron - substances that are involved in hematopoiesis. Eating royal autumn honeydew helps to replenish the lack of minerals in the human body and increases hemoglobin. In addition, this type of honey agaric regulates the proper functioning of the thyroid gland.

Spreading: often found in deciduous forests, as well as in coniferous forests of swampy areas throughout Russia.

Photos of royal mushrooms will help novice mushroom pickers distinguish this species from false mushrooms:

Where do autumn royal mushrooms grow?

It is worth noting that edible species of royal honey agaric grow on damaged tree trunks, old, long-felled stumps. They can also be found on the ground next to the roots of dead deciduous and coniferous species. Fruiting of golden scales or royal honey agarics begins in August and continues until the end of September. Residents of the Primorsky Territory can pick these amazing mushrooms from mid-May to mid-September.

Where else do royal mushrooms grow, and which trees are preferred most? Usually this species of honey agaric settles on the trunks of deciduous trees, especially on alder or willow, sometimes it chooses birch and birch stumps, less often - coniferous trees in swampy areas. Take a look at the photos below showing what the royal mushrooms look like on the trees in the forest:

Sometimes even experienced mushroom pickers, due to the rare appearance of golden scales, confuse them with false mushrooms that grow in the same territories. Therefore, we suggest that you carefully read the photos of edible and false royal mushrooms:

As mentioned, scales or royal mushrooms are edible mushrooms. However, before using it, it must be boiled in salted water for 20-25 minutes. Since royal mushrooms have excellent taste, they are used in appetizers, salads, first and second courses. Flakes are especially great with fried or boiled potatoes. In addition, many housewives make preparations for the winter from these mushrooms: pickled, salted, frozen and dried.

Sometimes honey agarics can be found in pine forests and spruce forests. What does a royal mushroom look like if you find it in a coniferous forest? Usually, flakes collected in deciduous forests are different from those growing in conifers. The first difference between honey agarics found in pine forests is the dark color of the cap and scales, and the second is the bitter taste. However, royal mushrooms contain a lot of vitamins C, PP and E. In addition, there are only 22 calories per 100 g of flake, so the calorie content of this species is very low. That is why they are useful for vegetarians and those who follow a low-calorie diet. In terms of the content of phosphorus and calcium, royal mushrooms even compete with fish.

Experts ranked royal mushrooms in the IV category of edibility. That is why in other countries they are not eaten and are not even harvested, since this category abroad refers to inedible species. However, in Russia they are prepared in the same way as ordinary autumn mushrooms. They are first boiled in salted water and only then the first courses are fried, stewed or cooked. In addition, royal autumn mushrooms are used in other culinary recipes: they prepare mushroom stew, julienne, make caviar, pates, sauces, hodgepodge and mushroom fillings for pizzas and pies.

Hats of royal mushrooms, reminiscent of prickly balls, are very good to pickle or salt. However, each mushroom must undergo primary processing: cleaning from scales and forest debris. The main taste of golden scales is hidden in the caps. After a long boil, the legs become hard and dry.

Although golden flake is widespread on the territory of Russia and is well recognizable, it is not collected so often. Perhaps this is due to the fact that very few people are familiar with this type of mushroom. However, real connoisseurs of mushroom delicacies put it on a par with autumn mushrooms and even boletus mushrooms. We offer you to watch a video of collecting royal honey agarics in deciduous forests by lovers of "quiet hunting":

How to distinguish royal mushrooms from false mushrooms (with photo)

Often royal honey mushrooms are called willow, since it is on the willows that it is harvested. These mushrooms grow practically from mid-summer until frost. Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse an edible mushroom with an inedible moth. How to distinguish royal mushrooms from false inedible mushrooms? False honey moth grows only on the ashes, as well as old fireplaces, overgrown with grass and shrubs. Has a bright color, bitter taste and unpleasant odor. Although the pulp is juicy and firm, it is not eaten due to its smell. The fungus can pose a serious health hazard. Therefore, we propose to compare the photo of the royal mushroom and the false one:

There are several more royal species of honey agarics, which are considered conditionally edible.

For example, slimy scaly, which is very similar to the royal golden scaly. The caps of young mushrooms have a bell-shaped shape, which becomes concave as the mushrooms grow, and the edges of the cap rise. If the weather is rainy, then the pulp becomes slimy and sticky, which was the name for scaly - slimy. The stem of this mushroom becomes hollow over time, and the ring on the stem disappears completely. Slimy scales grow only on decayed wood from mid-August to early October.

Another false royal honey cinder flakesis considered inedible.The shape of the cap at a young age of the fungus is hemispherical, and in mature it becomes completely spread. The color of the cap is very bright - orange-brown, the edges are covered with scraps of bedspread. The leg of the scale, especially its lower part, is densely covered with brown fibers. The ring inherent in real mushrooms is not visible at all on the leg.

Common flake is considered to be conditionally edible, which is similar to royal mushrooms of honey agarics. Although it has medicinal properties, it still has one drawback - hallucinogenicity. You can eat it, but only after a long heat treatment. Boil this species for at least 40 minutes and only then eat. Collect this type of mushroom very rarely, usually only those who know how to cook it. After all, experienced mushroom pickers know that it is strictly forbidden to consume ordinary flakes with alcohol. The opium contained in this form, in interaction with alcohol, can have unpredictable consequences for the body.To know how to distinguish royal mushrooms, we suggest looking at photos showing these differences:

Having become well acquainted with them, you can safely go to the forest for royal mushrooms. However, if you are still not sure of your knowledge, it is better not to take risks, but to collect only those fruiting bodies that are familiar to you.