Egg-like mushrooms: photo and description of white and other egg-shaped fruit bodies
Fancy-shaped mushrooms include fruit bodies that look like eggs. They can be both edible and poisonous. Ovate fungi are found in a wide variety of forests, but most often they prefer loose soils, often form mycorrhiza with coniferous and deciduous tree species of various types. Characteristics of the most common egg-shaped mushrooms are presented on this page.
Egg-shaped dung mushrooms
Gray dung beetle (Coprinus atramentarius).
Family: Dung beetles (Coprinaceae).
Season: end of June - end of October.
Growth: in large groups.
Description:
The cap of a young mushroom is ovoid, then broadly bell-shaped.
The pulp is light, quickly darkens, sweetish in taste. The surface of the cap is gray or grayish-brown, darker in the center, with small, darkish scales. The ring is white, quickly disappears. The edge of the cap is cracking.
Stem white, slightly brownish at base, smooth, hollow, often strongly curved. Plates are loose, wide, frequent; in young mushrooms, they are white, turn black towards old age, then autolize (blur into a black liquid) along with the cap.
Conditionally edible mushroom. It is edible only at a young age after preliminary boiling. Drinking with alcoholic beverages causes poisoning.
Ecology and distribution:
It grows on humus-rich soils, in fields, vegetable gardens, in dumps, near manure and compost heaps, in the forest in clearings, near trunks and stumps of deciduous trees.
White dung beetle (Coprinus comatus).
Family: Dung beetles (Coprinaceae).
Season: mid-August - mid-October.
Growth: in large groups.
Description:
The flesh is white, soft, with a brown tubercle on the top of the cap.
The stem is white, with a silky sheen, hollow. In old mushrooms, the plates and cap are autolyzed.
The cap of a young mushroom is elongate ovate, then narrowly bell-shaped, whitish or brownish, covered with fibrous scales. With age, the plates begin to turn pink below. The plates are loose, wide, frequent, white.
The mushroom is edible only at a young age (until the plates darken). Must be recycled on the day of collection; it is recommended to pre-boil. Should not be mixed with other mushrooms.
Ecology and distribution:
It grows on loose soils rich in organic fertilizers, in pastures, vegetable gardens, orchards and parks.
Flickering dung (Coprinus micaceus).
Family: Dung beetles (Coprinaceae).
Season: end of May - end of October.
Growth: in groups or aggregates.
Description:
The skin is yellow-brown, in young mushrooms it is covered with very small granular scales, formed from a thin common. The plates are thin, frequent, wide, adherent; the color is whitish at first, then they turn black and blur.
The pulp at a young age is white, sourish in taste.
The leg is whitish, hollow, fragile; its surface is smooth or slightly silky. The edge of the cap is sometimes torn.
The cap is bell-shaped or ovoid with a grooved surface.
Conditionally edible mushroom. Usually not harvested due to the small size and rapid autolysis of the caps. Used fresh.
Ecology and distribution:
It grows both in forests, on the wood of deciduous trees, and in city parks, courtyards, on stumps or on the roots of old and damaged trees.
Egg-like dung mushrooms are shown in these photos:
Veselka mushroom or damn (witch's) egg
Common Veselka (Phallus impudicus) or devil's (witch's) egg.
Family: Veselkovye (Phallaceae).
Season: May - October.
Growth: singly and in groups
Description of Veselka mushroom (devil's egg):
Remains of the egg shell. The mature cap is bell-shaped, with a hole at the top, covered with dark olive slime with the smell of falling. The growth rate after egg maturation reaches 5 mm per minute. When the spore layer is eaten by insects, the cap becomes cotton wool with clearly visible cells.
The stem is spongy, hollow, with thin walls.
The young fruit body is semi-underground, oval-spherical or ovate, 3-5 cm in diameter, off-white.
Young fruit bodies, peeled from the egg shell and fried, are used for food.
Ecology and distribution of the Veselka mushroom (witch's egg):
It grows most often in deciduous forests, prefers humus-rich soils. Spores are spread by insects attracted by the smell of the fungus.
Other mushrooms that look like eggs
Canine mutinus (Mutinus caninus).
Family: Veselkovye (Phallaceae).
Season: end of June - September.
Growth: singly and in groups.
Description:
The pulp is porous, very tender. The small tuberous tip of the "leg" when ripe is covered with brown-olive spore-bearing mucus with the smell of falling. When insects gnaw the mucus, the top of the fruit body turns orange and then the entire fruit body begins to decompose quickly.
The "leg" is hollow, spongy, yellowish. The young fruit body is ovoid, 2-3 cm in diameter, light, with a root process.
The skin of the egg remains a vagina at the base of the "leg".
This egg-like mushroom is considered inedible. According to some reports, young fruit bodies in the egg shell can be eaten.
Ecology and distribution:
Grows in coniferous forests, usually near rotten deadwood and stumps, sometimes on sawdust and rotting wood.
Scaly cystoderm (Cystoderma carcharias).
Family: Champignon (Agaricaceae).
Season: mid-August - November.
Growth: singly and in small groups.
Description:
The cap of young mushrooms is conical or ovoid. The cap of mature mushrooms is flat-convex or prostrate. The plates are frequent, thin, adherent, with intermediate plates, whitish. The skin is dry, pinkish. The ring is funnel-shaped, pink-gray.
The leg is slightly thickened towards the base, granular scaly, of the same color as the cap.
The flesh is fragile, pale pink or white, with a woody or earthy odor.
The mushroom is considered conditionally edible, but its taste is low. It is practically not used for food.
Ecology and distribution:
It grows in coniferous and mixed (with pine) forests, on chalky soils, in moss, on litter. In deciduous forests it is extremely rare.
Caesar mushroom (Amanita caesarea).
Family: Amanitaceae (Amanitaceae).
Season: June - October.
Growth: singly.
Description:
The cap of young mushrooms is ovoid or hemispherical. The cap of mature mushrooms is convex or flat, with a grooved edge. In the "egg" stage, the Caesar mushroom can be confused with a pale toadstool, from which it differs in section: the yellow skin of the cap and a very thick general blanket.
The skin is golden-orange or bright red, dry, usually without residues of the veil. The volva is white on the outside, the inner surface may be yellowish. The volva is loose, saccular, up to 6 cm wide, up to 4-5 mm thick.
The flesh of the cap is fleshy, light yellow under the skin. The plates are golden yellow, loose, frequent, wide in the middle, the edges are slightly fringed. The flesh of the leg is white, without a characteristic smell and taste.
It has been considered one of the best delicacies since ancient times. Ripe mushrooms can be boiled, baked on a wire rack or fried; the mushroom is also suitable for drying and pickling. Young mushrooms covered with unbroken volva are used raw in salads.
Ecology and distribution:
Forms mycorrhiza with beech, oak, chestnut and other hard tree species. Grows on soil in deciduous, occasionally coniferous forests, prefers sandy soils, warm and dry places. Distributed in the Mediterranean subtropics.In the countries of the former USSR, it is found in the western regions of Georgia, in Azerbaijan, in the North Caucasus, in the Crimea and Transcarpathia. For fruiting, stable warm weather (at least 20 ° C) is required for 15-20 days.
Similar species.
The Caesar mushroom differs from the red fly agaric (the remnants of the coverlet from the cap of which are sometimes washed off) by the yellow color of the rings and plates (in the fly agaric they are white).
Amanita phalloides.
Family: Amanitaceae (Amanitaceae).
Season: early August - mid-October.
Growth: singly and in groups.
Description:
The cap is olive, greenish or grayish, from hemispherical to flat, with a smooth edge and fibrous surface. The plates are white, soft, free.
The leg is the color of the cap or whitish, often covered with a moire pattern. The volva is well-defined, free, lobed, white, 3-5 cm wide, often half submerged in the soil. The ring is at first wide, fringed, on the outside it is striped, often disappears with age. On the skin of the cap the remains of the veil are usually absent. The fruit body at a young age is ovoid, completely covered with a film.
The pulp is white, fleshy, does not change color when damaged, with a mild taste and smell. Thickening at the base of the leg.
One of the most dangerous poisonous mushrooms. Contains bicyclic toxic polypeptides that are not destroyed by heat treatment and cause fatty degeneration and liver necrosis. A lethal dose for an adult is 30 g of a mushroom (one cap); for a child - a quarter of a hat. Not only fruit bodies are poisonous, but also spores, therefore, other mushrooms and berries should not be picked near the pale toadstool. The particular danger of the fungus is that the signs of poisoning do not appear for a long time. In the period from 6 to 48 hours after consumption, indomitable vomiting, intestinal colic, muscle pain, unquenchable thirst, cholera-like diarrhea (often with blood) appear. Jaundice and liver enlargement are possible. Pulse is weak, blood pressure is low, loss of consciousness is observed. There are no effective treatments after symptoms appear. On the third day, a "period of false well-being" begins, which usually lasts from two to four days. In fact, at this time, the destruction of the liver and kidneys continues. Death usually occurs within 10 days of poisoning.
Ecology and distribution:
Forms mycorrhiza with various deciduous species (oak, beech, hazel), prefers fertile soils, light deciduous and mixed forests.
Forest mushroom (Agaricus silvaticus).
Family: Champignon (Agaricaceae).
Season: end of June - mid-October.
Growth: in groups.
Description:
The plates are first white, then dark brown, tapering towards the ends. The flesh is white, reddening when broken.
The cap is ovate-bell-shaped, flat-spread when ripe, brown-brown, with dark scales.
The stem is cylindrical, often slightly swollen towards the base. The filmy white ring of the mushroom, similar to an egg, often disappears in maturity.
Delicious edible mushroom. Used fresh and pickled.
Ecology and distribution:
Grows in coniferous (spruce) and mixed (with spruce) forests, often near or on ant mounds. Appears abundantly after rains.
Cinnabar red (Calostoma cinnabarina).
Family: False raincoats (Sclerodermataceae).
Season: the end of summer is autumn.
Growth: singly and in groups.
Description:
The false pedicle is porous, surrounded by a gelatinous membrane.
The outer shell of the fruiting body breaks and peels off. As it matures, the stem lengthens, raising the fruit n above the substrate.
The fruit body is round, ovoid or tuberous, in young mushrooms from red to red-orange, enclosed in a three-layer shell.
Inedible.
Ecology and distribution:
It grows on soil, in deciduous and mixed forests, on forest edges, along roadsides and paths. Prefers sandy and clayey soils.Common in North America; in Russia, it is rarely found in the south of Primorsky Territory.
Warty puffin (Scleroderma verrucosum).
Family: False raincoats (Sclerodermataceae).
Season: August - October.
Growth: singly and in groups.
Description:
The fruit body is tuberous or reniform, often flattened on top. The skin is thin, corky, off-white, then ocher-yellow with brownish scales or warts.
When ripe, the pulp becomes flabby, grayish-black, acquiring a powdery structure. Root-like outgrowth of wide flat mycelial strands.
The false pedicle is often elongated.
Weakly poisonous mushroom. In large quantities, it causes poisoning, accompanied by dizziness, stomach cramps, vomiting.
Ecology and distribution: It grows on dry sandy soils in forests, gardens and parks, in clearings, often on roadsides, ditch edges, along paths.
Saccular head (Calvatia utriformis).
Family: Champignon (Agaricaceae).
Season: end of May - mid-September.
Growth: singly and in small groups.
Description:
The fruit body is broadly ovate, saccular, flattened from above, with a base in the form of a false stem. The outer shell is thick, woolly, at first white, later turns yellow and turns brown.
The pulp is white at first, then turns greenish and dark brown.
The mature mushroom cracks, breaks at the top and disintegrates.
Young mushrooms with white flesh are edible. It is consumed boiled and dried. Has a hemostatic effect.
Ecology and distribution:
It grows in deciduous and mixed forests, on forest edges and clearings, in meadows, pastures, pastures, on arable land.
