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Champignons look different, there are many varieties of them. To recognize an edible mushroom in the forest, you need to figure out what they are and what their external features are.
What do mushrooms look like
Agaric mushrooms can be very small or large in size – from 3 to 25 cm in diameter of the cap. The champignon cap itself is always massive, rounded and ovoid at a young age, but then straightens and flattens. Its surface is smooth or slightly scaly, the color of the fruiting bodies of different species varies from white to brown and brown.
All varieties of champignons have common features
On the lower surface of the cap there are plates, white at a young age, turning pink and darkening in the process of maturation. The stem of the mushrooms is dense and even, sometimes loose and hollow, with a single-layer or two-layer ring, and the remains of a bedspread.
At the break, the fruiting bodies are white and with a pronounced anise or mushroom aroma. In the air, the flesh often acquires a reddish or yellowish tint.
Types of champignons
It is customary to distinguish several varieties of champignons. Although all mushrooms belong to the same genus, they can differ quite a lot in appearance and size.
Ordinary
The most common species is a mushroom with a dense stem up to 9 cm in height and a convex or flattened hat of white or grayish color. In diameter, the cap reaches 15 cm, the skin on it is dry, easily removed during cleaning.
The common species is the most common
The pulp of the fungus is dense and white, turning pink when broken. The common species is completely edible and suitable for any food use, and usually grows on fertile land in open areas.
Field
The fungus grows mainly in pastures and lawns, as well as in forest clearings. Mushroom cap in adulthood is prostrate, up to 15 cm wide and silky to the touch. The mushroom is whitish or grayish in color, rises 12 cm above the ground. Pinkish plates are located on the underside of the cap.
The field species grows mainly in lawns and pastures.
The field species has white, yellowing flesh on the cut with a pleasant taste and smell. The mushroom grows from May until the first frost, you can use it in any form.
Forest
Unlike most champignons, the forest one does not grow in open areas, but in the forest. Basically, you can find a mushroom in spruce forests, sometimes in mixed plantings. Its height is 5-10 cm, the width of the cap is on average 10 cm. The last one in the forest mushroom in adulthood is brownish-brown, with large dark scales.
Forest champignon is darker than many related species
A distinctive feature of the forest species is that its light flesh quickly turns red when cut. The mushroom is completely edible.
augustovsky
This species is one of the largest in size of all champignons. In adult fruit bodies, the diameter of the cap can reach 20 cm. The species grows in coniferous and mixed forests. It is not common, but it is easy to recognize it by its light yellow or dark orange, open hat with brown scales.
The August view is one of the largest
The color of the pulp of the August mushroom is white, it smells slightly of almonds and is suitable for food. Grows in forests from August to mid-autumn.
Mushroom Bernard
The mushroom belongs to the rare category and grows mainly in Central Asia, on desert soils. The caps of the fruiting bodies are prostrate in adulthood and convex at a young age, relatively small – up to 10 cm. The height of the fungus rises by 6-8 cm.
Mushroom Bernard grows mainly in the steppes
The skin color of fruiting bodies is usually white with a pinkish or brown tint. The flesh is white when cut, but quickly turns pink when exposed to air. The fruiting bodies are edible.
Mushroom Benesha
In nature, the species is not common, but it can be found in forests, both coniferous and deciduous. The fungus has a fleshy prostrate brownish cap with a blunt tubercle, up to 10 cm in diameter. The plates of the fruiting bodies are pinkish at first, turn brown with age, the stem is white and cylindrical.
Benesha champignon turns red from contact with air
Edible champignon Benesha is white on the cut, but later turns red. You can eat a mushroom, including raw.
Garden
Mostly this species is grown industrially, but sometimes it is found in natural conditions – in gardens, in fields and on compost heaps. The diameter of the mushroom usually does not exceed 8 cm, it rises up to 10 cm on the stem. The hat at the fruiting body can be white or brown, smooth in the center and along the edges.
A garden view can accidentally grow in a summer cottage
The pulp of the fungus is juicy, turns pink on the cut. Edible qualities are highly valued.
Elegant
Quite a rare species that grows in meadows and clearings. The diameter of the cap does not exceed 3,5 cm, and the height is only 3 cm. Miniature fruiting bodies have a gray-yellow color with a pinkish tint, their caps are dry and dull. The plates of young mushroom fruits are pink, while those of adults are red-brown.
Graceful appearance differs in miniature sizes
The mushroom can be recognized by its pungent anise smell; after processing, it is very tasty and is actively used for culinary purposes.
large spore
A fairly common species grows mainly in meadows on fertile soils. It can reach a height of 10 cm, the hat sometimes grows up to 25 cm wide. The surface of the cap is dry, covered with wide scales, the skin is whitish in color.
Large-spore species – very large, light in color
If you break a large-spore champignon, then its flesh will turn out to be white, but it will quickly turn red in the air. From the pulp comes an almond-ammonia characteristic smell.
coppice
The species is relatively small – up to 10 cm wide, but can also rise up to 10 cm in height. The dense, thin flesh has an aniseed odor, turning yellow-orange upon contact with air.
Photographs of mushrooms that allow correct identification by class and species. Photo colored unique, made in the forest. The coppice species has almost no scales on the cap
The stem of the mushroom fruit is thin and hollow, usually with a noticeable white ring. An edible species grows mainly in forests.
How mushrooms grow in the forest
Mushrooms of all kinds feel most comfortable at moderate temperatures. Mushrooms are most likely to grow at 20-23 ° C. And if the weather changes in the process, and the temperature drops to about 14 ° C, the mushrooms turn out to be especially beautiful and strong.
Like most mushrooms, champignons prefer high humidity. You can find them in forests and fields soon after heavy rains, since the humidity at the level of 75-95% creates ideal conditions for them to grow.
Since the champignon mycelium is located shallow underground, natural moisture reaches it very quickly, and mushroom fruits start to grow. It should be borne in mind that it is prolonged rains that create the appropriate conditions for growth. A short downpour or light drizzle will not contribute to the germination of mushrooms, because they will not have time to saturate the soil with moisture.
For the growth of mushroom bodies, a moderately warm temperature without sudden changes is important.
How much do champignons grow
On average, the growth of fruiting bodies takes about 3-6 days, which is how long it takes champignons to reach medium size. 12 days after the appearance above the ground, the fruiting bodies reach their maximum size. The fastest growth occurs in the first days, up to 1,5 cm per day, after which the rate decreases slightly. An adult champignon on average can weigh about 200 g.
Interestingly, in warm and dry weather, mushrooms age much faster, it is better to collect them in the middle of their life cycle. But in the fall, with the onset of rains and cold weather, the fruiting bodies retain their elasticity and freshness longer. Therefore, the largest specimens suitable for food consumption can be found in the autumn period.
Where mushrooms grow in nature
Champignon is a very common mushroom all over the world. You can meet him throughout Europe, in England and in the Scandinavian countries, on the American continent. Mushrooms grow in the southern regions – in Central Asia, in the Crimea, in the steppe and even desert regions.
You can meet mushroom bodies throughout Our Country on rich soils.
You can meet edible mushrooms almost everywhere on well-fertilized soil rich in organic compounds. Mushroom fruits grow in gardens and pastures, in swamps and along roads. Sometimes you can even see them in the city, although they are not suitable for collection in this case, in the city the pulp picks up too many toxins.
Where do champignons grow in Our Country
On the territory of Our Country, you can find champignons almost everywhere, the mushroom is not at all rare. In particular, we can name the following fruitful places that are very popular with mushroom pickers:
- A forest near the village of Saburovo near Opalikha, and a forest near the Nakhabino station in the Moscow region. These places are of particular interest to mushroom pickers, since every season you can collect a huge amount of champignons here.
- Sverdlovsk region in the Urals. According to experienced mushroom pickers, many types of edible champignons grow in the local swampy forests, and you can collect them in whole baskets.
- In the middle lane, good harvests of champignons are noted in the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions. If you go for mushrooms in the meadows and mixed forests in these areas, you can pick up a lot of edible fruiting bodies in the season of maximum fruiting.
- Mushrooms also grow in Siberia. In particular, they can be collected in the Barnaul region and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, they also find productive places near Novosibirsk.
Almost all regions have places with good harvests of champignons
When mushrooms grow
The champignon season begins at the end of spring – the first mushrooms of early species appear in May. However, in spring and early summer, fruiting bodies do not grow too abundantly. The season of mass fruiting begins in July and August, after which you can pick mushrooms in large quantities until November.
When can you pick mushrooms?
It is best to go for champignons to forests and meadows in the second wave of fruiting – from July to August. It is recommended to choose days about a week after heavy rains. Fruiting bodies during this time have time to ripen properly, but do not yet become too old and darkened.
It is better to collect mushroom bodies in the second wave, at the end of summer
Continue harvesting champignons until October. You can find edible mushrooms later, before the first frost and snow. But such a late find will be the exception rather than the rule; it is better to purposefully go in search of warm autumn weather.
How to harvest champignons
Champignons are very popular due to the fact that most species are absolutely edible. They can be safely consumed even raw. But that is why, when collecting fruiting bodies, it is necessary to choose the most clean places from the point of view of ecology. Like any mushrooms, champignons easily accumulate toxins from the soil and precipitation during the growth process. If you collect contaminated mushrooms, then after minimal processing they can lead to poisoning.
Collection rules:
- Direct collection of champignons is recommended to be carried out with great care. Miniature primordia of young mushrooms usually grow next to the adult fruiting body.
- If the champignon is pulled out of the ground inaccurately, then the mycelium can be damaged, and this will lead to the death of germinating mushrooms.
- To remove the fruiting body from the ground according to the rules, you need to carefully take it by the leg and start turning it clockwise or counterclockwise. The champignon is thus unscrewed from the mycelium, and the mycelium itself remains intact.
According to the rules, mushroom fruits must be twisted out of the ground with slow movements.
Often mushroom pickers use a sharp knife to quickly cut the fruiting body from the stem without damaging the mycelium. However, in the case of champignon, this cannot be done, the remaining “stumps” will prevent the growth of small mushrooms.
Conclusion
Mushrooms do not always look the same, but there are common features in their structure. Recognizing these mushrooms is quite simple if you know the places for collection and the time of the main fruiting.
