For the territory of Our Country, false valuation is common in forests and fields. It grows in large groups in the autumn, so many confuse it with edible valui and russula, which leads to poisoning.
In scientific reference books, the false valui is called hebeloma sticky, and among the people it was dubbed the “horseradish mushroom”. Its toxins have characteristic features that give an idea of toxicity.
Visual photos and descriptions of false value mushrooms will help to distinguish them from edible species.
What a false value looks like and how to distinguish it from a real one
Latin name: Hebeloma crustuliniform.
Family: Strophariaceae.
Synonyms: “horseradish mushroom”, false valu, hebeloma crustacean.
Hat: up to 10 cm in diameter, has a neatly convex shape and tucked edges. In adulthood, the cap curves inward and becomes dense. The surface is smooth, but sticky, yellow with white edges. Sometimes there are hats with a reddish and even brick tint.
Leg: diameter up to 2,5 cm, height up to 9 cm, white-yellow shade, with a thickening towards the base and powdery coating.
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Pulp: thick, compacted, with a bitter taste and an unpleasant smell of fresh radish. The color of the pulp is cream or white, in adulthood the shade becomes darker.
Records: adherent and often located, gray or white in young specimens, brown-yellow with light edges in old fruiting bodies. On the entire surface of the plates, drops of exudate are visible, which become black when dried.
Edibility: poisonous mushroom with an unpleasant odor and bitter flesh.
Similarities and differences: sticky hebeloma or false valui has similarities with some poisonous counterparts: coal-loving hebeloma, girdled hebeloma and mustard hebeloma.
Coal-loving is distinguished by its small size, dark-colored hat, soft leg and place of growth – in burnt areas of the forest.
Belted is distinguished by a brown hat, as well as a thinner leg.
Mustard is distinguished by its smaller size, rare plates and a practically non-sticky surface of the cap.
Gobeloma sticky mushroom pickers are also often confused with edible russula. A distinctive feature is the unpleasant and pungent smell of horseradish hebeloma at the site of the cut or break. Therefore, if you hear an unpleasant aroma when picking a fruiting body, do not take it in any case.
The information provided will help you see how to distinguish a false value from a real one in order to protect yourself and loved ones from the negative consequences of its use.
Spread: grows throughout Our Country, preferring moist, light soil on open edges of deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as along forest roadsides. Fruiting time – from mid-August to early November. Prefers to form mycorrhiza with aspen, birch and oak roots. It can be found in the Caucasus, Central Asia and even in Australia.
After reading the description of false value, and learning what these mushrooms look like, you can safely go to the forest and collect edible species.