Hebeloma girdled: edibility, description and photo

Hebeloma girdled is a representative of the Hymenogaster family, the genus Gebeloma. The Latin name for this species is hebeloma mesophaeum. Also, this fungus is known as hebeloma borosredial.

What does a girdled hebeloma look like?

Some older specimens may have wavy edges.

You can recognize this species by the following characteristics of the fruiting body:

1. At a young age, the cap of the girdled hebeloma is convex with bent edges inward, gradually straightens, becomes wide – bell-shaped, prostrate or even depressed. On the edges, sometimes you can see the remains of the bedspread. The size of the cap in diameter varies from 2 to 7 cm. The surface is smooth, a little sticky during the rainy season. It is painted in yellow-brown or pinkish-brown shades with a darker center and lighter edges.
2. On the underside of the cap are wide and fairly frequent plates. With a magnifying glass, you can see that their edges are slightly wavy. At the initial stage of maturation, they are painted in cream or light pink color, with time they acquire brown shades.
3. Spores are ellipsoid, practically smooth. The spore powder is pale brown or with a pinkish tinge.
4. The leg is slightly curved, close to cylindrical, the length is from 2 to 9 cm, and the thickness is up to 1 cm in diameter. Feels smooth and silky to the touch. Some specimens may be expanded at the base. White when young, becoming brown as it matures with darker undersides. Sometimes in the central part of the stem, one can see an annular zone, but without the remains of the bedspread.
5. The flesh is rather thin, whitish in color. It has a rare smell and bitter taste.

Where does hebeloma girdled grow

This species can be found in late summer or autumn, and in mild climates even in winter. As a rule, it lives in forests of various types, forms mycorrhiza with deciduous and coniferous trees. Also quite often girdled hebeloma is found in parks, gardens and in any other grassy places. Prefers to grow in temperate regions. Most often grows in large groups.

Is it possible to eat girdled hebeloma

Most reference books place this species in the category of conditionally edible or edible mushrooms. However, experts do not recommend using girdled gobeloma for food for a number of reasons:

• its pulp has a bitter taste, similar to radish;
• regarding this species, there are difficulties in determining edibility;
• quite difficult to distinguish from inedible and poisonous counterparts.

Twins of hebeloma girdled

This species has many venomous counterparts.

By external signs, this mushroom is very similar to the inedible gifts of the forest, which even experienced mushroom pickers cannot always distinguish. These include:

1. Gebeloma mustard – a poisonous mushroom, use in food leads to intoxication. Within a couple of hours after consumption, the first signs appear: nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. It differs from hebeloma girdled by the large size of the fruiting bodies. So, the double’s hat reaches up to 15 cm. The color varies from beige to red-brown with lighter edges. The surface is shiny, sticky to the touch. The leg is cylindrical, about 15 cm long. It is very similar in taste and smell to the species in question. Grows in various forests within a temperate climate.

   

2. Gebeloma inaccessible – is an inedible copy, eating leads to poisoning. You can distinguish a double by a flat cap, depressed in the middle. It is painted in a reddish color, as it grows older, it fades to a white tone. The pulp is very bitter with a rare smell. A distinctive feature is also a twisted leg, curved in several places at once.

   

3. Hebeloma is carbophilous – is a medium-sized fruiting body, the cap is about 2-4 cm in diameter. During the rainy season, its surface is covered with an abundant layer of mucus. The color is uneven, often the edge is whitish, and closer to the center is yellow-brown. The height of the leg reaches 4 cm, its surface is rough. The entire length is covered with bloom, and slightly pubescent at the base. It grows everywhere on the remains of fires, burnt areas and conflagrations. The pulp of the double has a bitter taste, which is why it belongs to the group of inedible mushrooms.

   

Conclusion

Hebeloma girdled – an edible specimen with a graceful leg and a dark hat. But due to the fact that most of the relatives of the Gebeloma genus are inedible or poisonous, this specimen is not recommended for consumption. There is still no consensus among experts regarding this instance.