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Honey mushrooms are considered one of the most popular and fruitful fruiting bodies among lovers of “silent hunting”. They got their name because they usually grow around stumps. These mushrooms grow in large colonies, so they are collected with great pleasure. Finding only one stump with mushrooms, you can pick up several baskets of these mushrooms.
If mushrooms can mainly be found on stumps, then the question arises: do mushrooms grow on trees? Translated from Latin, the word “fennel” means “bracelet”. This name is not surprising, because in addition to stumps, these fruiting bodies grow on diseased and dying trees, growing in the form of a circle. Finding such mushrooms in the forest is not difficult at all, especially if there are often a lot of them in one area.
Edible honey mushrooms that grow on living trees (with photo)
Honey mushrooms have thin, flexible and long legs, reaching 10 and sometimes 15 cm in height. Its color ranges from light honey to brown, depending on the soil and trees on which the mushrooms grow.
Pay attention to the photo of edible mushrooms growing on trees. Shown here is that each piece has a foil skirt ring. She frames the legs again at a young age, and in adulthood the skirt is torn and hangs in “tatters”. The caps of real mushrooms are hemispherical in shape and covered with small scales. The color of the caps varies from creamy yellow to red.
Mushroom mushrooms growing on a tree are known to all lovers of “silent hunting”, because they are able to capture large areas under their range. It often happens that even on living trees, mushrooms feel great. In addition, they can be found near some types of shrubs, such as hazel, in meadows, forest clearings, in ravines and in damp alder forests.
For beginner mushroom pickers, we suggest looking at photos of mushrooms that grow on trees:
However, these fruiting bodies are often found in forest clearings, such as under power lines. There, almost every stump is dotted with large groups of mushrooms. On the stumps of which trees do mushrooms prefer to grow? These fruiting bodies are found throughout Our Country, including the Northern Hemisphere and the subtropical zone. Honey mushrooms do not grow only in the harsh areas of eternal ice. Rotten stumps of birch, alder, aspen and oak are of great advantage. But other tree species are also in “demand” among honey mushrooms, for example, acacia and even fruit trees.
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What trees do edible mushrooms grow on and what do they look like?
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Edible mushrooms are divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter species. We note specifically on which trees edible mushrooms grow. Spring and summer mushrooms are distributed mainly on deciduous trees, trunks with damaged and rotten wood are especially preferred. And in mountainous areas, summer mushrooms are found on spruce and spruce stumps. Mushrooms growing on coniferous trees have a bitter taste and dark color, although this does not affect their nutritional value. Summer mushrooms have a leg up to 7 cm high and up to 1 cm in diameter. The lower part of the leg is covered with dark small scales. The “skirt” around the leg is narrow with some steep edges.
In the deciduous forests of the temperate zone of Our Country, summer mushrooms can be collected from April to August. In a favorable climate, this species can bear fruit without interruption. Since summer mushrooms have false twins, experienced mushroom pickers advise collecting them only on the remains of deciduous trees, or better, exclusively on stumps left after cutting down birches.
The most popular among mushrooms is the autumn species, which is known as “real honey agaric”, “autumn” or “Assumption honey agaric”. Mushroom pickers with experience are happy to share information about which trees grow autumn mushrooms. This species begins its growth in August and continues almost until November. Most often it prefers birches and birch stumps, then aspens, maples and oaks. Usually, autumn mushrooms choose trees that show signs of decay or disease. Although sometimes these mushrooms can even choose a living tree. Especially expanse for them are old birch forests with fallen trees or swampy birch forests with many rotten trunks and stumps.
Do mushrooms grow on coniferous trees?
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On coniferous trees, autumn mushrooms are much less common, although their beneficial properties and vitamins are not inferior to mushrooms growing on hardwoods. These fungi can sometimes choose pines and spruces, as well as their stumps.
It is worth saying that almost all types of mushrooms are considered parasites of the forest, as they affect almost 200 species of tree species. Young trees can die from mushrooms in just 3-4 years, adults – in 8-10 years. And if mushrooms get into the garden plot, it can greatly harm fruit trees. Spores of mushrooms germinate very quickly on the surface of fresh stumps. Under the bark, mycelium begins to develop and destroy the wood. Honey mushrooms are able to move to nearby trees and kill living tissue with their toxins. Therefore, mushrooms that grow on trees are cut, the tree is cut down, and the stump is pulled out of the ground. If it is not possible to remove the stump, it is lubricated with machine oil once every six months.
Despite the fact that mushrooms are a parasitic fungus, they are very tasty and healthy. When used, honey mushrooms in the human body normalizes metabolism. The body gets enough calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and potassium. A special sign of edible mushrooms that grow on trees and stumps is a glow in the dark. If you are not too lazy to look at mushrooms at night, the bottom of the caps of these mushrooms, as well as the threads of the mycelium, glow with a gentle glow.
Autumn mushrooms are the largest representatives of their species, since their hat reaches 15-17 cm in diameter. There is a convex tubercle in the middle of the hat, and small brown scales are located on the surface. The skirt framing the leg eventually comes off and forms a veil hanging under the hat. Sometimes, during the dry summer months, autumn mushrooms are found even on drying deciduous trees at a height of about 2-3 m from the ground. Therefore, you need to have a large stick with a hook with you in order to collect these fruiting bodies.
At the beginning of June, edible meadow mushrooms appear, flashing yellow-brown among tall grass in fields, pastures, along forest paths and in ravines. As you have noticed, meadow mushrooms do not grow on a tree, preferring the ground.
The end of September and the beginning of October is notable for the fact that the season for collecting winter mushrooms begins. These fruit bodies grow in families that grow together with legs on fallen poplars, maples, willows, aspens, as well as on their stumps. Gather winter mushrooms all autumn until the onset of severe frosts. It is noteworthy that these mushrooms do not disappear in winter, but simply “fall asleep”. During thaws, almost until April, they continue to grow.
Winter mushrooms on trees look like a bright red or orange spot. In the winter forest, such mushrooms are very easy to see even from a distance. They do not have false twins due to their late fruiting. Although winter honey agaric is considered a conditionally edible mushroom, many mushroom pickers call it the most delicious. In addition, winter mushrooms are the best for growing at home.
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Do false mushrooms grow on trees and photos of mushrooms
However, autumn and summer mushrooms have false twins. Many are interested in the question: do false mushrooms grow on trees? The danger of these mushrooms lies in the fact that they can grow next to edible species, one might say, right on the same stump or tree. Therefore, if you find a family of honey mushrooms, carefully look for false ones nearby. The main difference is the “skirt” on the leg, which is characteristic only of edible mushrooms. Poison mushrooms have a wormwood taste and a disgusting smell, reminiscent of a corpse.
Picking mushrooms is a very gambling activity, as there is a risk of bringing false mushrooms home in a basket with edible mushrooms. Therefore, before you go on a “silent hunt”, brush up on all the necessary differences in your memory in order to be able to recognize poisonous doubles. We offer you to see photos of false mushrooms growing on a tree, which at first glance are very similar to real ones:
Another point that novice mushroom pickers need to remember is that do not collect mushrooms near industrial enterprises or right next to highways. In this case, even edible mushrooms can lead to poisoning and harm health.