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Late hygrophorus (or brown) is not the most attractive mushroom in appearance, it looks very much like a toadstool or, at best, honey agaric. But in fact, its fruiting body is edible, has excellent taste. Despite this, the hygrophore is collected only by experienced mushroom pickers, since it is not widely known.
Hygrophorus is also called brown because of its brown hat.
What does a late hygrophorus look like?
The late hygrophorus grows all autumn, right up to winter itself, sometimes even the whole of December. Mushrooms are located not one by one, but by large families or even entire colonies. Therefore, it is very easy to collect it, the main thing is to get to a productive place. Only one such clearing can carry a whole bucket.
Hygrophorus looks like many poisonous mushrooms, but it has a number of distinctive features. The cap of the mushroom is brown, brownish, with yellowness along the edge. The middle is always darker. It has a bump on it. The cap is 2-3 cm.
The plates are bright yellow, lemon-colored, rare and descending, as if adhering to the lower part of the fruiting body. All other types of hygrophores have pure white plates.
The leg also has a yellowness similar to that on the plates, sometimes it is reddish. Its thickness varies within 1 cm, height – up to 10 cm. It has an almost regular cylindrical shape, sometimes it can slightly expand downwards.
Grows in mixed or coniferous forests
Where does late hygrophorus grow
This type of hygrophores grows mainly in a pine forest, less often in a mixed one. They love mosses, lichens, and areas covered with heather. These mushrooms are late autumn. They grow when there are practically no other fruiting bodies in the forest, until the very snow.
The hygrophore can be slightly larger or smaller in size, depending on the soil in which it grows. But in any case, this mushroom is small in size. Due to the fact that it does not grow alone, but in large families, it is easy to collect it. For one trip to the forest, you can quickly pick up a bucket of mushrooms.
Fruits in August-November. Under favorable weather conditions, it grows in the forests throughout December, until the new year. It is not afraid of frost and can be harvested right up to the first snow. Many mushroom lovers can grow a late hygrophor not only in the country, but even in the apartment.
To get a harvest at home, a number of conditions must be met:
- purchase spore powder at a specialized point of sale;
- in open ground conditions, planting is carried out near fruit trees, in the middle of spring, loosen the soil by 10 cm, dig holes and put sand with spores (5: 1) in them, cover with a layer of soil or humus on top, ensure abundant watering every 2-3 days ;
- choose a place in the cellar, basement or any room where it is possible to maintain high humidity, the required temperature and air circulation.
To grow a hygrophore at home, it is necessary to prepare a suitable substrate. Mix: dry straw (100 kg) + manure (60 kg) + superphosphate (2 kg) + urea (2 kg) + chalk (5 kg) + gypsum (8 kg). First, soak the straw for several days, then transfer it with manure, adding urea and superphosphate along the way. Water it every day for a week. Then mix all the layers and do this every 3-4 days. 5 days before the end of the compost preparation, introduce gypsum and chalk. Everything will take a total of just over 20 days.
Then put the finished mass into bags, boxes. After a few days, when the temperature of the compost becomes stable at +23 – +25, plant the spore powder, placing the holes in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of at least 20 cm from each other. Top cover with a substrate, pour abundantly. Maintain high humidity in the room. When the first web of mycelium appears after 2 weeks, crush with a mixture of limestone, earth and peat. After 5 days, reduce the temperature in the room to +12 – +17 degrees.
Hygrophores should first be boiled, but you can immediately fry
Is it possible to eat late hygrophorus
The late hygrophorus is very similar in appearance to the toadstool. But in fact, this is a very tasty mushroom, suitable for all types of blanks. It can be salted, pickled and even frozen for the winter. Hygrophore makes a very tasty soup. There are two ways to fry in a pan: with and without pre-boiling. Opinions differ among mushroom pickers, but mushrooms are tasty and edible in both cases.
Cooking hygrofor should be no more than 15-20 minutes. It does, however, get a little slippery. Then lightly fry and that will be enough. You don’t need to add any spices other than salt. The mushroom is very tasty, it is not without reason that it is also called the sweet one. Hygrophores contain a lot of nutrients, protein. This is what determines their high taste qualities. Here is some of them:
- vitamins A, C, B, PP;
- trace elements Zn, Fe, Mn, I, K, S;
- amino acids.
There are different types of hygrophores, but later ones can be immediately recognized by their brown hat and yellow plates.
False doubles
Hygrophoric mushrooms come in different types, but they all belong to conditionally edible mushrooms. None of them are poisonous. Some species are widely used in folk medicine due to their high antibacterial activity, beneficial effects on the entire body.
Most similar to the brown (late) species is the deciduous hygrophore. But the double has a lighter color of the cap. On this basis, they can be distinguished.
Both mushrooms are edible, so they are often collected together as one species.
Hygrofor is easy to confuse with a false honey agaric. They are very similar, and the danger is that the double is poisonous. As a rule, the cap of the false mushroom is painted in brighter, flashier colors. In hygrophorus and real honey agaric, they are more muted brown.
Poisonous mushrooms almost always have a very unpleasant odor.
Rules for collection and use
Late hygrophorus is a very fragile mushroom. Therefore, it must be folded into a basket or bucket very carefully. During collection, the lower part of the leg with the ground should be cut off so that the mushrooms are clean, without excess debris, which is then very difficult to get rid of. Hygrophorus is often found wormy. You need to follow this and take only strong, whole mushrooms into the basket.
Conclusion
Late hygrophorus is a little-known edible mushroom that has excellent taste. It grows until late autumn, when there are practically no other mushrooms in the forest. Suitable for any cooking, not poisonous, not bitter, has an excellent taste.