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Honey mushrooms are fairly common mushrooms, there are several varieties of them. One of the most popular are autumn types of mushrooms. They are highly valued for their taste and versatility.
According to some external signs, edible species of mushrooms may resemble poisonous ones. They can be easily confused if you do not have an idea of the characteristic differences that allow you to identify a real mushroom. However, armed with the right information, you can make harvesting safer. So, it must be remembered that the autumn honey agaric also has a poisonous double. I must say that the risk of meeting such an inedible specimen in the forest is quite large. However, this does not discourage those who know how to distinguish a good edible mushroom from a poisonous relative.
All dangerous doubles of autumn honey agarics are called “false mushrooms”. This is a collective phrase, because it can be attributed to several species resembling real autumn mushrooms. You can confuse them not only by external signs, but also by the place of growth. The fact is that false mushrooms grow in the same places as real ones: on stumps, fallen tree trunks or branches. In addition, they bear fruit at the same time, meeting in whole groups.
We offer you to see a photo of the autumn honey agaric and its dangerous counterpart – a sulfur-yellow and brick-red false honey agaric. In addition, the above description of the aforementioned species will help you not to get lost in the forest and correctly identify the edible mushroom.
Sulfur-yellow poisonous twin of autumn honey agaric
One of the main mushrooms-twins of the autumn honey agaric is the sulfur-yellow false honey agaric mushroom. This species is a dangerous “guest” for your table, as it is considered poisonous.
Latin name: Hypholoma fasciculare.
Sort by: Hypholoma.
Family: Strophariaceae.
Hat: 3-7 cm in diameter, bell-shaped, which becomes prostrate as the fruiting body matures. The color of the twin of autumn honey mushroom corresponds to the name: gray-yellow, yellow-brown. The center of the cap is darker, sometimes reddish-brown, but the edges are lighter.
Leg: smooth, cylindrical, up to 10 cm high and up to 0,5 cm thick. Hollow, fibrous, light yellow in color.
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Pulp: light yellow or whitish, with a pronounced unpleasant odor and bitter taste.
Records: thin, densely spaced, often attached to the stem. At a young age, the plates are sulfur-yellow, then acquire a greenish tint, and immediately before dying off they become olive-black.
Edibility: poisonous mushroom. When eaten, it causes poisoning, up to fainting.
Spread: practically throughout the Federation, except for permafrost zones. It grows in whole groups from mid-June to early October. Found on decaying deciduous and coniferous trees. It also grows on stumps and on soil near tree roots.
In the photo, there is an autumn honey agaric and a dangerous twin called a sulfur-yellow false honey agaric. As you can see, the inedible mushroom has a brighter color and there is no characteristic skirt ring on its leg, which all edible fruiting bodies have.
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Dangerous brick-red twin of autumn honey agaric (with video)
Another representative of false species is mushrooms, the edibility of which is still being discussed. Many believe that it is poisonous, others argue the opposite. Nevertheless, when going to the forest, it must be remembered that the autumn honey agaric and its dangerous counterpart have a number of differences.
Latin name: Hypholoma sublateritium.
Sort by: Hypholoma.
Family: Strophariaceae.
Hat: spherical, opens with age, from 4 to 8 cm in diameter (sometimes reaches 12 cm). Thick, fleshy, red-brown, rarely yellow-brown. The center of the cap is darker, and white flakes can often be seen around the edges – the remains of a private bedspread.
Leg: smooth, dense and fibrous, eventually becomes hollow and curved. Up to 10 cm long and 1-1,5 cm thick. The upper part is bright yellow, the lower part is red-brown. Like other false species, the brick-red honey agaric lacks a skirt ring, which is the main difference between the edible fruiting body.
Pulp: dense, whitish or dirty yellow, bitter in taste and unpleasant in smell.
Records: frequent, narrowly grown, light gray or yellow-gray. With age, the color changes to gray-olive, sometimes with a purple tint.
Edibility: popularly considered a poisonous mushroom, although in most sources brick-red honey agaric is classified as a conditionally edible mushroom.
Spread: territory of Eurasia and North America. It grows on decaying stumps, branches and trunks of deciduous trees.
Watch also a video showing the autumn honey agaric and its dangerous counterparts:
