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Mokhovik is a typical representative of the extensive family of mushrooms Boletovye, which include boletus mushrooms or boletus. Representatives of this family are especially loved by mushroom pickers, since there are no deadly poisonous among them. The only exception was the satanic mushroom, it really poses a health hazard if consumed raw. What does the flywheel mushroom look like, where to find it and how to avoid mistakes in its identification.
What do mushrooms look like
All fly mushrooms, photos and descriptions of which are given below, have similar features. Their hat is pillow-shaped, hemispherical, velvety to the touch, in wet weather it can be sticky and slippery. Its diameter can reach up to 12-15 cm. The color of the cap can vary from light brown with a golden hue to cognac. The color of the tubular layer changes with age from light orange to greenish brown. The leg is dense, even, may be slightly wrinkled, without a veil. It is usually yellow-brown. The pulp of the mushroom may have a yellowish or pinkish tint.
Where do mushrooms grow
The moss fly got its name because it grows most often in moss. Its distribution area is quite wide. The flywheel is found in deciduous and mixed forests in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and can even be found in the tundra. This fungus has become a soil saprophyte; some species can parasitize plant debris or even other fungi. Flywheel forms mycorrhiza with coniferous and deciduous trees, often found on old stumps or fallen trees.
Varieties of flywheels
Mossiness mushrooms are quite similar to classic porcini mushrooms. Therefore, some mycologists even classify them as mushrooms, but most scientists still consider these fungi to be a separate genus. Here are some varieties and photos of flywheels that are included in it:
- Porosporous. It has a convex pillow-shaped hat up to 8 cm in diameter. Its color is gray-brown, with numerous cracks forming a characteristic mesh. The pulp of the fungus is dense, light, turns blue when pressed. It has a pronounced fruity aroma. Tubular layer of lemon color. The growth period is June-September.
- Sandy (marsh, yellow-brown, variegated butterdish). The cap is semicircular, becoming pillow-shaped with age. The color of the young mushroom is orange-grayish, changing to bright orange with age, sometimes darkening to ocher. With age, the surface of the cap cracks and becomes scaly. The leg is dense, cylindrical or club-shaped, thickened below. The pulp is dense, light, turning blue on the cut. It has a pronounced pine aroma. It usually grows in large groups in coniferous and mixed forests, from June to October.
- Velvet (waxy, frosty, matte). This species has a semi-circular or cushion-shaped hat, 4 to 12 cm in size. Its color varies from light brown to rich with a reddish tinge. The skin of the cap is smooth, cracks may appear only in some mushrooms in adulthood. The tubular layer is olive or yellow-green. The leg is smooth, can be up to 2 cm thick. It is yellow, sometimes with a reddish tint. The pulp is yellowish, of a dense consistence, on a break turns blue. This type of flywheel grows mainly in deciduous forests with a predominance of oak, beech, hornbeam, and can also be found in coniferous forests, where it forms mycorrhiza with spruce and pine. The period of active growth falls on August-September.
- Green. The most typical representative of flywheels. It has a semicircular hat up to 15 cm in diameter. From above it is greenish-brown or olive-brown, velvety to the touch. The tubular layer is dark green, turning blue on the cut. The leg is light brown, dense, usually thickened on top. The pulp of the mushroom is loose, has the aroma of dried fruits. It occurs both in deciduous and coniferous forests, along roadsides, often grows on anthills, old rotten wood. As a rule, it occurs in single specimens, rarely in a group.
- Kashtanovыy (brown, dark brown). The hat is olive-brown, grows up to 10 cm in diameter. In wet weather it darkens, turning brown, often covered with a white bloom. With age, cracks appear on the skin. The leg is usually straight, cylindrical, with age it can bend. It has a brown or pinkish tint. The pulp of a young fungus is dense, becoming loose with age. With mechanical damage, its color does not change, remaining creamy, no characteristic blue is observed. The chestnut flywheel has a very wide area of growth, occurs as single specimens or large groups in mixed forests, forming mycorrhiza with spruce or birch. Active growth of the fungus is observed from July to October.
- Red (reddish, blushing). It got its name from the color of the cap, which can vary from pinkish-purple to cherry or reddish-brown. The size of the hat can reach 8 cm in diameter, the shape is pillow-shaped. The pulp is medium density, yellow, turns blue when damaged. The leg is cylindrical, slightly thickened in the lower part, yellow, brown-red below. It grows in August-September, most often found in single specimens in deciduous forests in well-lit areas: forest edges, old roads, clearings.
- larch. The fungus strongly resembles a lamellar, but this similarity is purely external. The cap can reach 20 cm in diameter, it is semicircular, with edges strongly turned inward, becoming flat-convex with age. Its color is dirty brown, the surface is dry, velvety to the touch. The tubular layer is thin, greenish-yellow. The tubules go strongly to the stem, visually enhancing the resemblance to agaric mushrooms. The flesh is light yellow, medium density, turns blue on the cut. Leg thickened downwards, velvety to the touch, brownish. These mushrooms grow in August-September in mixed forests with the obligatory presence of larch. They are found only in Our Country, the main area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbgrowth is Siberia, the Khabarovsk Territory, the Far East, Sakhalin.
- Motley (yellow-fleshed, fissured). The size of the cap of this type of flywheel can reach 10 cm. It is semicircular, convex, slightly felted. The color is brown or brown, in places of numerous small cracks and reddish along the edge of the cap. The tubular layer is pale yellow-green, becoming greener with age. The flesh is quite loose, yellowish, at the break it first turns blue, and then becomes reddish. The leg is cylindrical, solid, often curved, the color is red, turning into brown. Turns blue quickly when pressed. It grows from July to October, mainly in deciduous forests. It is quite rare, does not form mass colonies.
- Kashtanovыy (Polish, pansky mushroom). The hat is up to 20 cm in diameter, strongly convex, semicircular, becoming more voluminous with age and takes on a pillow-like shape. Color from light brown to chocolate and almost black. The skin of the cap is velvety, pleasant to the touch, in wet weather it can be slippery and shiny. The pulp is very dense, light yellow, when mechanically damaged it turns a little blue, then turns brown, after which it brightens again. The leg is cylindrical, thickened below, light brown below and lighter above, dense. It is found in many regions of Our Country, from the European part to the Far East. Usually grows in deciduous or mixed forests with the presence of spruce, rarely pine.
Flywheel edible mushroom or not
Most mushrooms are classified as edible or conditionally edible mushrooms. The following species are classified as inedible:
- Moss fly parasitic.
- Wood moss.
These species are not eaten due to their bitter or pungent taste.
Taste qualities of moss mushroom
The taste of most species of mossiness mushrooms is well pronounced, mushroomy, in some species it is slightly sweet. At the same time, fruit tones are clearly traced in the aroma.
Benefits and harm to the body
The fruit bodies of the fungus contain many substances that are beneficial to human health. Moss mushroom pulp is rich in calcium and molybdenum, it contains vitamins PP, D. Mushrooms are considered a low-calorie food, while they are quite capable of replacing the protein of animal origin necessary for the body. With caution, you need to use these products for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as with liver diseases.
How to distinguish false flywheels
It is rather difficult to confuse a flywheel with any mushroom. They do not have deadly poisonous counterparts, and this makes it much easier for mushroom pickers to recognize this species. Below are a few inedible types of flywheels that can be mistaken for edible.
- Moss fly parasitic. The fruiting bodies of this fungus are small and can be found on false puffballs. They grow, as a rule, in groups, while the size of the cap of the parasitic flywheel does not exceed 5 cm. It is semicircular, brown-yellow, dense, velvety to the touch.
The stem of the mushroom is thin, cylindrical, usually curved. Its color is yellow-brown, darker below. The parasitic flywheel is not poisonous, but is not eaten due to poor taste.
- Gall fungus, or mustard. The cap is semicircular, up to 15 cm in diameter, becoming flatter and more cushion-shaped with age. The skin is pleasant to the touch, velvety, in wet weather it becomes slippery and shiny. Its color is yellow-gray-brown. The tubular layer is pinkish, turning red when pressed.
The leg is thick, cylindrical, may have a club-shaped shape with a thickening at the bottom. It is brown with a mesh pattern, darker at the bottom. It grows all summer and until mid-autumn in pine or mixed forests with a predominance of spruce. It is not eaten because of the bitter taste that does not disappear with any processing.
Important! Worms never start in the gall fungus. - Pepper mushroom (pepper butter). Outwardly, these mushrooms really look more like oil than mossiness mushrooms. They have a semicircular convex hat, with age it becomes flatter, reaches a diameter of 7 cm. It is painted red-brown in various shades, often there is a yellow or orange border on the edge of the hat. The spore layer is brown or pinkish-brick in color. The pulp is yellow, loose.
The leg is cylindrical, rather thin, often curved. Its color is yellow, brighter below. When cut, the pepper mushroom turns red. It is not poisonous, but due to its pungent taste, it is almost never used in food. Some cooks use dried pepper mushroom powder instead of hot peppers.
Collection rules
Collecting mushrooms is quite simple, since the risk of taking a poisonous mushroom instead of an edible one is rather insignificant. Similar inedible species are easily identified, so at home, when parsing and processing forest gifts, they are easy to reject. You should not take mushrooms with worms, especially if you have a long way home. During the time that the crop reaches the processing point, the worms will not only spoil the worm fungus even more, but also infect the neighboring ones.
Silent hunting is quite an exciting activity. Communication with the forest, with wildlife always has a positive effect on the body. In addition, picking mushrooms is a great way to diversify your menu. However, it must be remembered that the fruiting bodies of fungi are capable of accumulating heavy metals and radionuclides. Therefore, you should not collect them in the immediate vicinity of the sources of these harmful substances: highways, industrial zones, railways. And also you should not take mushrooms if there is no 100% confidence in their edibility and safety.
Use
Flywheel can be used for a variety of culinary purposes. It is fried, boiled, used in soups, salted and pickled, mushroom caviar and sauce are prepared from it, filling for pies. They are often dried for the winter, however, unlike porcini mushrooms, moss mushrooms turn very black when dried, so the mushroom soup from them then turns out to be dark, albeit fragrant. Mushrooms can also be frozen.
Particularly valuable in culinary terms is the Polish (Pansky) mushroom, which belongs to category 2 in terms of nutritional value. The rest of the flywheels belong to the 3rd and 4th categories.
A short video on how to pickle mushrooms:
Conclusion
Most mushroom pickers are well aware of what a mushroom mushroom looks like, and they are happy to take it into their basket. Beginners can be advised, if in doubt, to consult more experienced comrades. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice when it comes to picking mushrooms. It must be remembered that some species are deadly poisonous, although in the case of flywheels, the likelihood of this is very small.