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Dung beetle flickering (crumbled), the Latin name Coprinellus micaceus belongs to the Psatirellaceae family, the genus Coprinellus (Koprinellus, Dung beetle). Previously, the species was separated into a separate group – Dung beetles. In Our Country, its rare name is mica dung beetle. The species is referred to as saprotrophs – fungi that decompose wood. Its first description was presented in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Where the shimmering dung beetle grows
The species grows in the northern and temperate climatic zones. The mushroom picker spreads on the remains of old wood from early spring to late autumn, before the onset of the first frost. Early small specimens appear in early May. The period of active fruiting falls on June-July. The species is found in forests, parks, in the courtyards of houses on the trunks of dead deciduous trees. You can find it in the countryside and in the city on garbage and compost heaps. The fungus grows everywhere in a moist and nutritious environment. It does not live on the stumps of coniferous trees and in pine forests. The flickering dung beetle is found in large crowded groups, families.
What does a flickering dung beetle look like
This is a small mushroom, its length does not exceed 4 cm. The cap is bell-shaped, with edges pubescent down. Young specimens have an ovoid cap. Its diameter and height do not exceed 3 cm. The color of the skin is dirty yellow or brown, more intense in the center than along the edge. The surface of the cap is covered with small shiny scales, which are easily washed off by precipitation. The edges of the cap are more ribbed than the center, and may be even or torn.
The pulp of the shimmering dung beetle is thin, tender, fragile, fibrous, does not have a pronounced mushroom smell, and is sour in taste. In young mushrooms it is white, in old mushrooms it is dirty yellow.
The leg is thin (no more than 2 cm in diameter), cylindrical in shape, can expand towards the bottom, hollow inside. Its length does not exceed 6-7 cm. The color is bright white, yellow at the base. Its surface is loose, velvety, the ring is absent. The flesh of the leg is fragile, easily crumbles.
The plates of a young flickering mushroom are white, cream, or light brown, frequent, adherent, quickly decompose, turn green. In wet weather, they blur, blacken.
The spore powder of the fungus is dark gray or black. Spores are flat, smooth.
Is it possible to eat flickering dung beetle
This species resembles a toadstool, so mushroom pickers prefer to bypass it. The dung beetle is conditionally edible, but this applies only to young specimens, their plates and legs are still white. It is eaten after heat treatment (at least 20 minutes). The first mushroom broth must be drained. The mushroom should be cooked within an hour after collection, after a longer time it darkens, deteriorates, and can cause indigestion.
The pulp of the shimmering dung beetle does not have a pronounced taste and smell. In combination with alcohol, it acquires an unpleasant bitter aftertaste, which can cause food poisoning. The first symptoms of intoxication are tachycardia, impaired speech, fever, decreased visual clarity. When cooking, do not mix with other types of mushrooms.
Flickering dung beetle, like other representatives of the genus, contains the substance koprin in its composition, which blocks the absorption of alcohol by the human body. In folk medicine, dung beetle is used to treat alcoholism. After eating this type of food, another 48 hours later, you can not drink alcohol-containing substances – the likelihood of poisoning still remains.
Similar species
Many mushrooms of the genus Dung beetle are similar to each other. All of them are conditionally edible. The shimmering dung beetle looks like a toadstool and an edible mushroom at the same time. Only an experienced mushroom picker can distinguish between these edible and inedible species.
Dung beetle (Coprinellus domesticus)
This is a larger and lighter mushroom than the shimmering dung beetle. Its cap in diameter and the stem in length can exceed 5 cm. The surface of the cap is not covered with shimmering plates, but with velvety, white or creamy skin. The fungus is also a saprotroph, a species parasitic on old trees. He prefers to grow on aspen or birch stumps, on wooden buildings. In the wild, the house dung beetle is rare, which is why it got its name.
The plates are also subject to autolysis – decomposition in a humid environment. In young mushrooms, they are white, darken over time and turn into an inky mass.
Dung beetle is classified as an inedible species. Unlike the twinkling dung beetle, the home grows singly or in small groups.
Willow dung beetle (Coprinellus truncorum)
It is an edible member of the Psatirellaceae family. Its other name is willow ink mushroom. In appearance, it is similar to the shimmering dung beetle. It is distinguished by a longer and thinner off-white leg. The surface of a young mushroom is covered with a white, loose coating, which is easily washed off by rain. The hat of a mature willow dung beetle is smooth, creamy, there are no roughness and shiny particles on it. In older representatives of the species, the skin is wrinkled, ribbed. The hat is brown in the center, and the edges have a whitish stripe.
The flesh is thin, white, translucent, through which you can see the plates, which makes the mushroom look wrinkled.
Willow dung beetle grows in large families in well-fertilized meadows, fields, pastures, and garbage heaps. It needs a moist environment.
Willow dung beetle, like shimmering, is used only young, while the plates are still white. Mushroom pickers do not like it for the quick decomposition process; in just an hour, a strong yellow specimen can turn into a black jelly-like mass.
false honey agaric
The mushroom can be mistaken for a shimmering dung beetle. This species also grows on woody debris everywhere. Mushrooms false have a thin white, hollow leg.
The hat of the false honey agaric is yellow or light brown, but unlike the dung beetle, it is smooth and slippery. False honey agaric exudes an unpleasant smell of dampness or mold. The plates on the back of the hat are olive or green. False honey agaric refers to inedible (poisonous) mushrooms. The poisonous representative of the species begins to bear fruit at the end of summer, while the flickering dung beetle sprouts already in early May.
Conclusion
Flickering dung beetle is a mushroom that is ubiquitous in almost the entire territory of Eastern Europe and in Our Country. It is considered a conditionally edible species, since the terms of use are very short. Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse it with an edible mushroom. When interacting with alcohol, the fungus becomes poisonous. Old species can also cause indigestion. It is better for inexperienced mushroom pickers to refuse to collect.