emmabrewda.com

Honey mushrooms got their name because of the peculiarities of growth. The main habitat of these mushrooms is stumps, both rotten and live. That is why mushrooms are also called hemp mushrooms. Mushroom pickers are very fond of collecting honey mushrooms, as they grow in large groups and practically in one place. If you have found such a place, then believe me, several baskets or buckets with these valuable fruit bodies are provided to you.

Forest hemp mushrooms are considered a low-calorie product, but they are quite capable of replacing fish and meat. They are especially appreciated by vegetarians, as well as those who observe fasting and diet. The honey agaric contains vitamins of group C, BB, E and PP, phosphorus, iron, zinc, potassium, a lot of protein, amino acids and fiber. All types of hemp honey agaric have a positive effect on human health. For example, in case of anemia, it is recommended to use autumn mushrooms to improve the processes of hematopoiesis. Only 100 g of these fruiting bodies per day will be able to maintain the level of hemoglobin in the blood.

In addition, autumn mushrooms growing on stumps are rich in a substance such as retinol, which can strengthen nails, hair, rejuvenate skin and improve vision. Thanks to these types of mushrooms, the human body is enriched with vitamins C and E, which improve the hormonal and immune systems. Doctors advise using hemp mushrooms for those who have found Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. And the daily use of autumn hemp honey agaric prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases and the thyroid gland. In addition, honey mushrooms contain a substance that can fight benign and malignant tumors.

When is the best time to pick forest honey mushrooms?

Novice mushroom pickers are interested in the question of when is it better to collect hemp mushrooms? Knowing this, the quality of the mushroom harvest and its volume will always be 5+. Note that the harvesting season for these mushrooms will depend on the type of honey agaric and weather conditions. For example, autumn mushrooms grow from mid-August to mid-November, summer mushrooms - from mid-April to October, and winter mushrooms - from late October to March.

To summarize, the peak of the collection of hemp honey agaric falls in the autumn months, especially September and October. See a photo showing autumn hemp mushrooms in the forest:

On the tree stumps of which mushrooms grow: birch, pine and other varieties

In addition, fans of "quiet hunting" are interested in what kind of tree stumps honey mushrooms grow? In this case, it would be wise to seek advice from more experienced mushroom pickers. They will surely tell you about the hot mushroom places in the forest. Of course, the information you need can be found freely in books and on the Internet, which will also help to “arm” yourself with knowledge in collecting fruit bodies. So, almost all varieties of hemp honey agaric grow on weakened or damaged trees and stumps. Often choose for the habitat dead or rotten wood of deciduous trees: birch, alder, elm, aspen, oak or beech. Less often, honey agarics grow on pine stumps or fallen tree trunks. Very often, these mushrooms are found in humid forests throughout Russia. Honey mushrooms do not grow only in the area of ​​eternal ice.

Honey mushrooms grow on hemp in huge colonies, occasionally they are found in small groups and even lonely specimens. If you find such a small group, do not leave immediately, take a good look around and you can see another cluster of fruit bodies. Their filamentous mycelium is interconnected by tens of meters. Sometimes it is easy to spot it under the bark of a stump or diseased plant. What are hemp mushrooms and how many types are there?

We note right away that on the territory of Russia there are several varieties of hemp honey agarics, the video of which you can watch at the end of the article. This is autumn, summer, meadow, and winter honey fungus. However, only three species grow on stumps, except for meadow. This representative prefers to settle in humid ravines, in fields, meadows, gardens and even parks.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the photo and description of hemp honey agarics:

Thanks to the photos presented, you can find out what hemp mushrooms look like.

What autumn hemp mushrooms look like and the season for their collection (with photo)

Latin name:Armillaria mellea.

Synonyms: real honey fungus, osennik, hemp honey fungus.

Family: Physalacrylic.

Genus: honey mushroom (Armillaria).

Hat: diameter from 3 to 17 cm, has a convex shape, which then fully opens and becomes flat with wavy edges. The color ranges from honey brown to olive green with a darker center. Covered with light scales with a rare arrangement, which then disappear.

Leg: has a light yellow hue, which changes with age and becomes pink-brown. Length from 8 to 12 cm, with a diameter of 1 to 2 cm. The upper part is lighter, darkens towards the base and turns brown. The surface of the leg is also covered with scales. In the upper part, right under the cap, there is a narrow membrane-like skirt-ring.

Pulp: young mushrooms have white, dense flesh. With the growth of the fungus, it becomes thinner. Has a pleasant smell and taste. If mushrooms grow on spruce or pine, then the color of the mushroom will be darker, and the taste of the pulp will be bitter.

Plates: rare, adherent to the leg, white.

Edibility: edible mushroom of the III category.

Application: from this species, you can cook a wide variety of dishes and preparations for the winter. In addition, autumn flowers are widely used in medicine.

Spreading: parasites that grow not only on stumps, but also on tree trunks, regardless of whether the trees are living or dead. They prefer damp forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Usually, hemp mushrooms cause white rot on the wood, which leads to the death of the tree. Sometimes it can parasitize on herbaceous plants. Edible hemp mushrooms can be seen in the photo below:

Collection season: can be harvested from August to November, when the daily temperature does not drop + 10 ° C. The peak of the mushroom picking season is all September.

Many are interested in the question: on what stumps do autumn mushrooms grow? I would like to note that this type of fruit bodies can choose any deciduous tree species, less often conifers. However, birch stumps are chosen as their favorite place for mushroom growth, in the photo it looks like this:

Where and how do winter hemp mushrooms grow

Another type of hemp honey agaric is winter, which grows in the cold season. Winter hemp mushrooms are considered edible, and the photos presented below will help you consider them in more detail. The winter mushroom grows in deciduous as well as pine forests.

Latin name:Flammulina velutipes.

Synonyms: colibia velvety-footed, winter mushroom, enokitake.

Family: Physalacrylic.

Genus: Flammulina.

Hat: diameter from 2 to 10 cm, flat in adults, and convex in juveniles. The main color is yellowish or orange-brown, and the middle is darker shades.

Leg: length from 2 to 8 cm, diameter from 0.2 to 1.5 cm. It has a cylindrical shape, dense, tubular. The color is brown, the upper part is lighter - reddish brown. Only young mushrooms have a skirt on a leg, while in adults it disappears over time.

Pulp: thin, with a pleasant smell and taste. The flesh is often white or light yellow in color.

Plates: adhered to the leg, may be shortened. The color ranges from whitish to ocher.

Edibility: in terms of taste, the mushroom belongs to category 4 and is considered conditionally edible. However, it can be boiled, salted, fried, dried, and pickled.

Collection season: from late October to early March, especially during thaw periods.

Spreading: Where do winter-species hemp mushrooms grow? Usually these mushrooms settle on the dead wood of poplars or birches. They prefer temperate climatic zones in the territory of not only Russia, but also Belarus and Ukraine.

Although it has already been noted how hemp mushrooms grow, I would like to show that the winter species prefers to climb to a height. That is, mushrooms choose their places for growing not only on stumps, but also on trees, climbing to a height of 2-3 m.

Summer edible mushrooms

Summer honey mushroom known to all mushroom pickers is a popular type of hemp forest mushrooms.

Latin name:Kuehneromyces mutabilis.

Family: Stropharia.

Genus: Kyuneromyces.

Hat: diameter from 2 to 9 cm, yellow-brown in color, with a lighter center. It absorbs moisture well and is considered hygrophane, as it increases in size when moisture is absorbed. At a young age, the shape of the cap is convex with a clearly visible tubercle in the center. As it grows, the cap becomes flat-convex. In wet weather, the surface of the cap becomes sticky.

Leg: thickness from 0.5 to 1 cm, length from 3 to 9 cm. It has a cylindrical curved shape, hollow inside, but rigid. On the brown leg there is a filmy ring-skirt of brown color. The lower part of the leg has a dark brown tint.

Pulp: thin, white with a pleasant smell and taste.

Plates: the color of the plates varies from light yellow at a young age to rusty brown at maturity. Young specimens have a cobweb blanket that covers the plates. Usually the plates grow to the stem.

Edibility: edible mushroom, used boiled, salted and pickled.

Collection season: fruiting begins from early June to late September. The peak of harvest is in the months of July and August.

Spreading: grow on rotten and decaying wood, deadwood and deciduous tree stumps. If weather conditions permit, they bear fruit in large quantities.

However, all these types of fruiting bodies can be confused with false representatives. Pay attention to the photo of false hemp honey agarics, thanks to which you can see a number of differences from edible species:

How to distinguish edible hemp mushrooms from false ones (with photo and video)

How to distinguish hemp mushrooms from false doubles? The main difference is considered to be a ring-skirt on a leg, which is only found in edible representatives of fruit bodies. It follows that the false counterparts of these mushrooms do not have such a ring. However, there are other differences that help mushroom pickers recognize the "enemy".

For example, the smell of false hemp honey agarics is unpleasant, with an earthy tint. The taste is bitter, but experts do not recommend trying them.

The color of false hemp mushrooms is much brighter than that of their edible counterparts. False doppelgangers' hats are scaleless, but note that adult edible honey agarics also have virtually no scales.

The most common false doubles of hemp honey agarics include:

pseudo-foil sulfur-yellow, seroplate

brick red, watery, and Candoll's false foil.

All these mushrooms have dark plates: from sulfur-yellow to black-olive.

How do hemp mushrooms grow and what kind of hemp do they choose? It is worth saying that they grow in the same way as edible species - in large groups on old, rotten stumps or fallen deciduous trees, less often conifers.

All methods showing how to distinguish hemp mushrooms from false twins should be used by each mushroom picker with extreme caution. After all, you need to have a lot of experience in picking mushrooms. Therefore, if you are not sure which mushroom is in front of you, do not take it at all.

Although some types of false counterparts are considered conditionally edible, that is, poor quality mushrooms, everyone should remember that the harmlessness of these fruit bodies has not yet been proven.Therefore, in order not to risk your health and the health of loved ones, do not take false hemp mushrooms in your baskets.