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The gall fungus belongs to the Boletaceae family, the genus Tilopil. It has a bitter taste and is considered inedible. It is called differently – bitter or false white.
Where does gall fungus grow
It is found in the temperate climate zone of Europe and North America. It grows mainly in coniferous forests, loves acidic soils. Settles at the bases of trees, sometimes on rotting stumps. Fruits sparsely from July to October. Found in small groups or singly.
What does bitterness look like
A description of the gall fungus will help distinguish it from similar species. Its fruiting body consists of a cap and a stem. The pulp is thick, white, soft. The gall fungus on the cut becomes pinkish or remains unchanged, the taste is very bitter, there is no smell, it does not happen to be wormy.
The hymenophore is tubular. The spore-bearing layer is dense, with small adherent tubules. The color of the hymenium is white, then pink, with the growth of the fungus it becomes dirty pink, turns red when pressed. The powder is pinkish. Spores are smooth, fusiform, colorless or grayish-pinkish.
The mustard mushroom has a rather dense leg and an elastic hat.
The cap of the bitter fungus is first hemispherical, then hemispherical, prostrate in the old specimen. Its surface is dry to the touch, at first fibrous or velvety, then becomes smooth. Slightly tacky in wet weather. The color is yellowish brown, yellowish brownish, light brown, creamy brown, gray-ocher, gray-brown or brown, less often dark brown or chestnut brown. The peel does not separate well. Size – from 4 to 10 cm in diameter, sometimes grows up to 15 cm.
The length of the stem is up to 7 cm, the thickness is 1-3 cm. It is cylindrical or swollen at the base, brown or creamy-ocher, with a mesh pattern of the same or slightly darker color.
Gall mushroom edible or not
Inedible, but poisonous gall fungus is not recognized by all experts. It is believed that it cannot be eaten because of the very bitter taste, which, when boiled, not only does not disappear, but also intensifies.
In foreign sources there is information about its toxicity. In its pulp there are toxic substances that are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and penetrate into the liver cells.
Attractive in appearance, but completely unsuitable for eating
How to distinguish a gall fungus
It can be confused with mushrooms such as:
- white;
- boletus;
- boletus (bronze, mesh);
- boletus.
Distinctive features of gall fungus:
- The flesh is very bitter.
- The gall fungus turns pink in the context.
- When you press the tubes, they turn dirty pink.
- The mesh pattern on the stem almost does not differ in color from it, there are no scales.
- The skin on the hat, even in a mature specimen, is velvety.
White
It is considered the noblest and most valuable edible mushroom. It has a marble-white pulp and high taste, does not change color during heat treatment. It differs from bile in a thicker stem with a pronounced club-shaped shape, a white (yellowish or olive in old ones) tubular layer, the absence of bitterness, a lighter mesh pattern on the stem, and pulp that does not change color on the break.
The cap of a young porcini mushroom is spherical, in an adult it is flat, lighter along the edge than in the middle. Color – from white to brown, depending on climatic conditions. The diameter can be from 5 to 25 cm and even more.
The most coveted find in the forest – mushrooms
Its leg is massive, expanding downwards, barrel-shaped. Much of it is underground. Height – up to 20 cm, thickness – from 5 to 7 cm. Usually it is lighter than the cap: milky, light beige. It has a distinct mesh pattern.
The pulp is thick, dense, white, does not darken on a break. The smell is pleasant, with nutty notes, enhanced by heat treatment and drying.
Spore powder olive-brown. Spores are spindle-shaped.
Grows all over the world except Antarctica and Australia. Settles in coniferous or mixed forests next to lichens and mosses. Fruiting from June to October. Productivity is high in moderately warm and humid weather, with night fogs. Does not like too much moisture, practically does not occur in marshy places. In wet weather, it appears in open areas.
The Moss
Some types of flywheels look like false white. The main differences are the color of the pulp and the spore-bearing layer. On the fault, they turn blue (bitters turn pink). The tubules are yellow or greenish-yellow (in the bile – pinkish). Moss mushrooms are edible.
Mustards are easy to distinguish from mossiness mushrooms by a yellowish tubular layer.
Boletus mesh
Another similar edible species. Its other name is white oak / summer mushroom.
The cap of the netted boletus is first spherical, then cushion-shaped. The surface is velvety, in old specimens it cracks in dry weather, forming a peculiar pattern. The color may be different, but, as a rule, it is light: gray-brown, coffee, ocher, brownish. Size – from 8 to 25 cm.
The tubules are thin, free, first white, then yellowish-green or olive. The powder is olive brown.
The reticulated boletus has a white spore-bearing layer with an olive tint
The height of the stem is from 10 to 25 cm, the thickness is from 2 to 7 cm. In young mushrooms, it is cylindrical-club-shaped or club-shaped, in old ones it is usually cylindrical. The color is light hazel with a distinct brown mesh on top.
The pulp is spongy, dense, springy when compressed. The color is white, does not change on the fault. The smell is pleasant mushroom, the taste is sweetish.
The earliest of the mushrooms. Begins to bear fruit in May, appears until October in periods. It occurs in deciduous forests, prefers oaks, hornbeams, beeches, lindens. It grows in places with a warm climate, most often in hilly areas.
Bolet bronze
Other names for this edible mushroom are bronze/dark chestnut boletus.
The hat grows up to 7-17 cm in diameter. In young mushrooms, it is almost black in color, in mature ones it is saturated brown, the shape is hemispherical at first, then becomes flat with raised edges. The surface is dry, velvety, in old mushrooms with small cracks.
The bronze boletus has a dark hat
The leg is cylindrical, massive, thicker at the base. Height – up to 12 cm, thickness – from 2 to 4 cm. Covered with a fine mesh, which at first is almost white, becomes beige with age.
The tubules are thin, small, adherent. The color of the spore-bearing layer is white, gradually turning yellow, turning greenish when pressed. Spores are long, large, fusiform, olive in mass.
In a young specimen, the flesh is thick, hard, in an old specimen it becomes soft. The color is white, slightly darker on the cut. The smell and taste of mushroom, pleasant, unexpressed.
It is rare, grows in mixed forests, where there are oaks and beeches, prefers moist humus. In Our Country, it is distributed in the southern regions. Found singly and in small groups. Fruiting from July to October.
Differs in high palatability, represents gastronomic value.
Underbird
You can confuse the gall fungus and boletus, which has other names – obabok and birch. Among the differences is a pattern of black scales on the stem, reminiscent of a birch tree (the mustard has a pale mesh pattern). Another sign is the whitish or light gray color of the tubular layer (it is pinkish in the gall fungus).
The boletus forms mycorrhiza with birches. At first it has a hemispherical cap, then a pillow-shaped one. The surface is thin-felt or bare. The peel is poorly separated, in wet weather it becomes mucous. The color varies from white to dark gray and almost black. The lower part of the cap in a young specimen is white, then grayish-brown. Size – up to 15 cm in diameter.
The pulp is white, the color on the cut does not change, sometimes it turns slightly pink. In old mushrooms it becomes watery, spongy. The smell is mushroom, pleasant, the taste is neutral.
Boletus business card – black scales, forming a kind of pattern on the leg
The leg is high – up to 15 cm, thickness – about 3 cm. The shape is cylindrical, slightly expanding near the ground. The surface is whitish-gray with longitudinal dark scales. In young mushrooms, the leg is fleshy, dense, in old mushrooms it is tough, fibrous. Spore powder olive-brown.
The fungus is distributed throughout the temperate climate zone in deciduous and mixed forests near birches. Occurs frequently. Appears at the beginning of summer one of the first and finishes fruiting at the end of autumn. Especially actively grows in young birch forests. Sometimes it occurs in large quantities in spruce forests with rare birches.
It has a good taste, but in terms of gastronomic qualities it is inferior to mushrooms. Fertility is cyclical: in some years there is a lot of it, in others it is not at all. In the area where it was distributed, it may disappear for several years, after a while it will reappear.
Podisinovik
The differences between the boletus and the gall fungus are in the remarkable form of the first. It stands out for its bright appearance – most often an orange-red cap and a leg covered with black scales. It is called a redhead, but the color of the cap may be different: chestnut, yellow-brown, red-brown, white. There are several species (red, oak, pine) combined under one name, but there is no clear classification. On the cut, the boletus becomes blue, purple or almost black. Fruiting from June to October, found in large quantities. Forms mycorrhiza most often with aspens. The mushroom is edible, with good taste.
An important sign of the boletus is a bright orange hat.
Poisoning with gall fungus
The question of the possibility of bitter poisoning is still open. It is said that signs of poisoning with a gall fungus appear if you just try it on your tongue. Initially, weakness and dizziness may occur. Very soon, the symptoms disappear, after a few days there are problems with the outflow of bile, the liver is disturbed, with a high concentration of toxins there is a risk of developing cirrhosis. There is an opinion that irreparable harm is done to the kidneys.
Do not experiment with your health. Most mushroom pickers do not advise trying it.
Human use of gall fungus
Traditional healers attribute medicinal properties to the gall fungus. It is believed that it has a choleretic effect, is used to treat the liver.
Some mushroom pickers claim that bitterness is easy to get rid of. To do this, soak the gall fungus in salted water or milk before cooking. Others say that it does not help, but only enhances the unpleasant taste.
Conclusion
The gall fungus is very bitter, it is impossible to eat its food. Its name fully justifies the unpleasant taste. It repels insects and is never wormy.
