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Honey mushrooms are considered one of the most popular fruit bodies in Russia. Their productivity can only be envied, because finding just one stump or tree with mushrooms growing on them, you can collect more than one basket. However, many people consider the most collected mushrooms to be autumn mushrooms, which are often called "Uspensky" mushrooms. They usually end the mushroom season and are the last representatives of the fruiting bodies in the forest.

"Assumption" mushrooms are called honey mushrooms for their mass growth at the end of summer, namely, just for the celebration of the Orthodox holiday of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. This holiday is known for the fact that on this day, autumn mushrooms begin to appear in the forests and forest plantations of Russia. Experienced mushroom pickers boldly go to the forest for the first young mushrooms, which grow for 2-3 weeks from that very day. There are years when, due to a dry and hot summer, the dates for collecting Uspensky mushrooms can be postponed by 2 weeks, but these are very rare cases.

When to collect "Uspensky" and autumn mushrooms?

When to collect "Uspensky" mushrooms, you may ask? Some regions of the territory of Russia abound in autumn mushrooms. In the Northern Hemisphere, you can observe 2 or even 3 waves of fruiting in autumn and "Uspensky" honey agarics. Depending on the weather conditions of a particular area, these mushrooms can be harvested almost until the end of October. We offer you to see photos of "Uspensky" honey agarics growing in our forests:

Autumn mushrooms or "Uspensky" mushrooms begin to appear first on birches or birch stumps. Their size resembles a pinhead, which cannot be cut or poked out with a knife. However, in just 2-3 days, returning to this place, you will be able to collect a large harvest of mushrooms. How "Uspensky" mushrooms grow, see the photo that will help you see these fruiting bodies closer:

How "Uspensky" mushrooms grow and photos of mushrooms

Since mushrooms grow in large colonies, collecting them is a pleasure. Having found a mushroom place, all you have to do is to do monotonous work - to cut off honey mushrooms and put them in a basket. In addition, "Uspensky" mushrooms are perfectly transported in any container. The main thing is that they need to be delivered home quickly so that they do not "burn out" and scattered in a thin layer. You will be surprised how strong mushrooms are, because only overripe mushrooms can break during transportation. If they were collected in rainy weather, then during transportation they lose their attractive appearance, but the aroma and taste remain the same. From these honey mushrooms, it will be possible to cook caviar, pate, fry or boil and freeze.

For beginner mushroom pickers who are just going to go to the forest for a "quiet hunt", we offer a photo and description of the "Uspensky" honey agarics:

Indeed, sometimes these fruiting bodies are confused with false representatives of this species, so everyone needs to know the distinctive features.

The main difference between the autumn honey fungus and the false one is a "skirt" made of a film on a leg, located at the level of the lower edge of the mushroom cap. In young honey agarics, the space under the hat is always covered with a white film. During the growth of the mushroom, the "skirt" breaks off from the cap and remains on the stem, forming a ring at the same time. Note that not a single type of false agarics has such a ring. Autumn edible mushrooms at a young age have a hemispherical hat. With age, the cap becomes umbellate with a tubercle, and then completely flat. It has a diameter of 2 cm to 12 cm. The caps of edible mushrooms are covered with small scales, but they disappear in adulthood. The color of the caps ranges from cream to reddish shades. The legs are from 2 to 17 cm long, and up to 3 cm in circumference.

Experienced mushroom pickers advise to always remember the places where you found stumps or fallen trees with "Uspensky" mushrooms. Their subsequent harvest can always be harvested at the previous place of collection, if no one found it before.

Experts consider mushrooms to be a dangerous enemy for forests. These fruiting bodies infect weakened and diseased trees, but they can also settle on healthy ones. Honey mushrooms spread to those parts of the forest where they never existed before, especially if felling was carried out there without prevention.

But this information is of little interest to fans of "quiet hunting". A stump on which a lot of honey mushrooms grows is a godsend for any mushroom picker. As for cooking, here he simply has no equal among other species.

Although the "Uspensky" mushrooms are harvested from the end of summer to October, the harvesting season can shift both in one direction and in the other, depending on weather conditions. However, the harvest is in September and early October.

Now, after looking at the photos of "Uspensky" honey agarics and knowing what these fruiting bodies look like, you can safely go to the nearest forest. However, do not forget about safety rules and do not go to the forest alone, especially if this forest is completely unfamiliar to you.