emmabrewda.com

Those who are impatient to engage in "quiet hunting" may not wait for the main mushroom season and go with a basket to the forest in spring.

However, in this case, you should be very careful: at this time there are not so many edible mushrooms as in autumn, there is a great risk of bringing home poisonous fruit bodies, which are easily disguised as edible species.

This article presents photos, names and descriptions of edible and inedible spring mushrooms that can be found in the forests near Moscow.

Picking spring mushrooms in a forest near Moscow (with video)

Spring mushrooms are well known in villages, but city and country residents know them poorly. During this period, you can find wonderful morels, oyster mushrooms and summer mushrooms. However, it is in the spring that the first hallucinogenic and poisonous mushrooms appear, for example, ordinary lines.

In early spring, when the snow has not completely melted and the first thawed patches appeared, you can see autumn oyster mushrooms. They are called autumn because they appear in the fall, but they hide under the snow all winter. They can be simultaneously attributed to winter and early spring mushrooms. They keep well in spring. In early spring, on forest glades, you can find everywhere: strobilurus, sarcoscifs, xeromfolins.

In the spring, tinder fungi (May, changeable) and many other species begin to grow intensively in the forests.

Spring walks or hikes in the forest are not only good for your health, they give you more energy and awaken your inner strength. This period is also good because there are no mosquitoes and moose flies in the forest yet, and nothing prevents you from enjoying nature. It is in the spring that you can not only pick mushrooms, but also hear the wonderful singing of birds, enjoy the pictures of their current flight, when the male soars up, flaps his wings and sings his wonderful trills.

At the beginning of the spring season, there are no other blood-sucking insects, but ticks already appear in May, and their activity at the end of May and at the beginning of June is especially high, therefore, during this period, you should have thick clothes, a hat or a scarf, use appropriate means that impregnate clothes ...

This video tells in detail about spring mushrooms in the forests near Moscow:

Strobilurus edible and cuttings

After the snow melts, the first spring edible mushrooms the size of a ten-kopeck coin appear in the forest on scattered cones and on a spruce bedding. They are called strobiliuses. These early spring mushrooms grow in groups. Although they are edible, strobiliuses are not very tasty and difficult to collect due to their small size.

Photos and descriptions of spring strobilirus mushrooms of different species are presented below:

Strobilurus edible, or juicy (Strobilurus esculentus).

Habitat: spruce forests, on spruce bedding or on cones, grows in groups.

Season: early mushroom, April-May.

The cap is 1-2 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 3 cm, at first convex, later spread out, flat. A distinctive feature of the species is a brownish or chestnut slippery cap with a tubercle in the center and a thin edge. The color in the center of the cap is darker, brownish brown.

As you can see in the photo, these spring mushrooms have a thin stem, 3-5 cm high and 1-3 mm thick, cylindrical, yellowish on top, yellowish-brown below:

The second distinctive feature of the species is the presence of a long hairy rooting with woolly strands stretching to the bump.

The pulp is white, dense, with a pleasant, at first with a slightly pungent odor, later with a slightly herring odor.

Plates of medium frequency, notched-attached, at first white, later yellowish. Spore powder is white.

Variability: the color of the cap varies from brownish to brownish-brown.

Similar species.The edible strobilurus is similar to the edible cuttings strobilurus (Strobilurus tenacellus), which has a more convex yellow-brown cap.

These first spring mushrooms are edible and fall into the 4th category. Only young caps are used for food; they are fried after preliminary boiling for 15 minutes.

Cutting strobilurus (Strobilurus tenacellus).

In addition to edible strobiluriuses, there are also inedible Lai, which are distinguished by a herring smell. They are called cuttings strobiliuses.

Habitat: pine and spruce forests, on litter or cones, grows in groups.

The harvesting season for these spring mushrooms is May-June.

The cap is 0.7-1.5 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 2 cm, initially convex, later extended, flat. A distinctive feature of the species is a light brown, pinkish-brown matte cap with a blunt tubercle in the center, uneven and with a slightly tubular thin edge.

The leg of these mushrooms, growing in spring in the Moscow region, is thin, 2-5 cm high and 1-2.5 mm thick, cylindrical, cartilaginous, often pubescent at the base, white above, yellowish below. The second distinctive feature of the species is the presence of a long hairy rooting with woolly strands stretching to the bump.

Look at the photo - the flesh of these mushrooms, which are one of the first to appear in spring, is white, dense:

At first, the smell of the pulp is pleasant, slightly herring later becomes unpleasant, gives off a little mustiness.

Plates of medium frequency, notched-attached, at first white, later yellowish. Spore powder is white.

Variability: the color of the cap varies from brownish to brownish-brown.

Similar species. Cutting strobilurus is similar to edible strobilurus (Strobilurus esculentus), which differs in a shinier cap with a darker brownish-brown tint, a more brightly colored stem, and a less strong odor.

These first spring mushrooms are considered conditionally edible due to their specific herring scent.

Spring mushroom xerompholine

At the end of April and at the beginning of May, the first colonies of fungi appear, which occupy the whole rotten stump or rotten trunk. These are primarily stem-like xerompholines (Xeromphalina cauticinalis). These spring mushrooms growing in the Moscow region are cute, resembling tiny yellow chanterelles with a long thin leg. These little-known fruiting bodies can be seen close to country roads and paths, in a wet area.

Habitat: in mixed and coniferous forests, grow in large groups on rotten stumps.

Season: May-July.

The hat has a diameter of 0.5-3 cm. A distinctive feature of the species is a shiny, sticky bright yellow or yellow-orange umbrella-shaped hat with a small depression in the center and radial stripes from translucent plates.

The leg is 2-6 cm high, 1-3 mm thick. A cone extends from the cap, then the leg is smooth, cylindrical, pinkish-brown or yellowish-orange.

The plates of these mushrooms, which are one of the first to grow in spring, are rare, at first creamy, later yellowish-creamy, descending in a cone along the stem.

The pulp is white at first, later light yellow, fragile, odorless.

Variability. The color of the cap varies from yellow-orange to egg.

Similar species. Xerampholine stem-shaped in color is similar to the oak hygrocybe (Hygrocybe quieta), which also has a yellowish-orange color, but there is a tubercle on the cap.

Xerompholine mushrooms are inedible.

Poisonous False Foam

The most widespread spring poisonous mushrooms in the Moscow region are sulfur-yellow false foams. They grow in large groups on stumps and trunks of fallen trees. From a distance, they look like edible summer mushrooms, but differ in the sulfur-yellow color of the underside of the cap. Most often they are found in mixed forests, where spruce, birch, oak, and aspen grow.

Habitats of sulfur-yellow false foams (Hypholoma fasciculare): decaying wood and stumps of deciduous and coniferous species grow in large groups.

Habitat: decaying wood and stumps of deciduous and coniferous species grow in large groups.

Season: April - November

The hat has a diameter of 2-7 cm, at first hemispherical, later convex. A distinctive feature of the species is a light yellow or light pinkish-brown convex-flat cap with a noticeable tubercle, which has a brighter red-brick color.

The leg is thin and long, curved, has a height of 3-9 cm, thickness - 3-8 mm, has the same color as the cap, or slightly lighter, with a yellowish tinge, cylindrical, slightly narrowed near the base, with traces of a ring. The base of the stem is darker - orange-brown.

Pulp: sulfur yellow, delicate and fibrous, with an unpleasant odor and bitter taste.

The plates are frequent, wide, adherent, sulfur-yellow or olive-brown.

Variability. The color of the cap ranges from yellow-brown to sulfur-yellow.

Similar species. The inedible sulfur-yellow false froth can be confused with the edible gray-lamellar false froth (Hypholoma capnoides), which differs in the color of the plates - light gray, as well as a more convex oily cap of a yellowish-orange color.

These mushrooms are poisonous and toxic.

Psatirella mushrooms gathering in the forest in spring

Habitats of gray-brown psatirella (Psathyrella spadiceogrisea): soil, rotten wood and deciduous tree stumps grow in clusters.

Season: May - October.

The cap has a diameter of 2-5 cm, at first bell-shaped, later convex-outstretched with a blunt tubercle in the center. A distinctive feature of this spring type of mushroom is a gray-brown cap with radial fiber, which looks like thin lines, as well as a light thin border along the edge, uniform coloration in young specimens and large colored zones in adult mushrooms. These zones are of two types: yellowish-pink in the center of the cap or gray-brown in the center, and further, approximately in the middle zone, there is a yellowish-silver concentric zone with blurred edges.

The leg is 4-9 cm high, 3 to 7 mm thick, cylindrical, slightly thickened at the base, hollow, smooth, whitish, mealy in the upper part.

Pay attention to the photo - at the base, the leg of this edible spring mushroom is darker, brownish:

Pulp: watery, whitish, fragile, thin, with a pleasant taste and a good mushroom smell.

The plates are adherent, frequent, narrow, reddish-brown.

Variability. The color of the cap can vary from gray-brown to reddish-brown with yellowish-pink spots or zones.

Similar species. Psatirella gray-brown in shape and size is similar to Psathyrella velutina, which is distinguished by a reddish-buffy cap, densely covered with fibers, giving a velvety appearance.

Psatirella mushrooms are edible, 4th category, after preliminary boiling for at least 15 minutes.

Next, you will find out what other mushrooms grow in spring.

Edible colibia mushroom

In the middle and end of May, the first types of collibies appear. These include, first of all, chestnut or oily colibs. These cute little mushrooms attract with their spectacular appearance, although they are small in size. Although they are edible, they are not harvested due to their small size and the lowest, fourth category for food properties.

Habitats of the chestnut colibia, or oily (Collybia butyracea): mixed and coniferous forests, on forest floor, on decaying wood. These mushrooms usually grow in groups in the spring forest.

Season: May - October.

The cap has a diameter of 3-8 cm, at first hemispherical, later convex with a round tubercle and then prostrate with a flat tubercle and raised or curved edges. A distinctive feature of the spring mushroom called colibia is the chestnut brown color of the cap with a flat tubercle of a darker brown color and light, cream or light brown edges.

Stem 4-9 cm tall, thin, 2-8 mm thick, cylindrical, smooth, creamy at first, later pale brown. The base of the leg is thickened.

The pulp is watery, thin, soft, whitish or yellowish, odorless at first, later with a faint moldy odor.

The plates are creamy or yellowish, notched-adherent. Short free plates are located between the adherent plates.

Variability: the color of the cap is variable depending on the maturity of the mushroom, the month and the humidity of the season. The color can be chestnut brown, especially in early summer, red-brown with a brown tint, brown-brown with a dark middle, gray-brown with an olive tint, lilac brown. In the dry season, the cap fades to light shades of yellow, cream and light brown.

Similar species. Collybia chestnut in shape and size is similar to the edible wood-loving collybia (Collybia dryophila), which differs in that it has a much lighter cap.

Edibility: edible, but require prior boiling in 2 waters to eliminate mold odor. Belong to the 4th category.

Otidea inedible mushroom

The spring forest presents us with surprises. One of these surprises is the graceful otideas. Their name speaks for itself. You walk through the forest and suddenly on the forest floor you see delicate yellowish straw ears or tulips. They tell us: look how unique and diverse nature is. Guard us!

Habitats of graceful otidea (Otidea concinna): on forest floor in mixed forests, growing in groups.

Season: May - November.

The fruit body has a diameter of 2 to 8 cm, a height of 1 to 6 cm. A distinctive feature of the species is the rounded cupped shape of the yellow-brown fruit body with upward curved edges. Outwardly, these mushrooms are often similar in shape to tulips. The outer surface has a granular or powdery coating. The inside is yellow-brown.

As shown in the photo, these first spring mushrooms grow in groups, united by one common base:

The base of the fruiting body is leg-shaped.

Pulp: brittle, almost thick, light yellow.

Variability. The color of the fruiting body can vary from light brown to yellow-brown to lemon yellow.

Similar species. Otydea graceful is similar to the vesiculate platypus (Peziza vesiculosa), which is distinguished by its vesicular shape.

Graceful otideas are inedible.

These photos show spring mushrooms growing in the Moscow region: