The pig mushroom is well known to experienced mushroom pickers and is very popular among cooks. You can start collecting it in the summer, and finish it almost in late autumn. However, there is such a mushroom as a thin pig, which is very similar to edible, but is considered poisonous. This fruiting body is capable of accumulating harmful substances in itself and synthesizing the most dangerous poison, which is called muscarine. It can be equated to the poison of the red fly agaric.
Name thin pig (rolled pin) means “bag or small bag”. The definition in the name arose due to the fact that the young fleshy hats of this type of mushroom are very reminiscent of pig ears.
The poisonous fungus svinushka thin is common in all countries where a temperate climate prevails. This fruiting body grows in mixed, deciduous, and coniferous forests. However, most often, the poisonous mushroom prefers to grow in bright glades, forest edges, and along the outskirts of swampy areas. Less often, pigs grow on the rhizomes of trees that are uprooted by strong winds. We offer you to see a photo of a thin pig mushroom that grows in such conditions.
Where does the thin pig grow?
[ »»]
Many experienced mushroom pickers collect pigs and eat them. But novice lovers of “silent hunting” are at a loss: Is the thin pig edible or not? This mushroom is found in almost all regions of Our Country and is characterized by massive fruiting and great similarity with edible pigs. In many areas, it is considered conditionally edible and is eaten after a long soak and boil for 1 hour. But experts say that in fact, all this does not correspond to the true state of affairs. In the mid-1990s, all pigs were officially considered poisonous mushrooms. Their venom can lead to death from kidney failure.
The thin pig grows throughout Our Country, as well as in the countries of Eastern, Southern and Central Europe. This fungus can be found even in young forests with a predominance of birch and oak, which are less than 10 years old. Sometimes they can settle on tree trunks in small groups. However, the thin pig bears fruit very often and is characterized by a long period of fruiting – from early July to mid-October.
In real conditions in the forest, when picking mushrooms, it is very difficult to recognize the poisonous thin pig. Therefore, we suggest that you read and, if possible, remember the presented photo and description of the thin pig mushroom, so as not to expose yourself and your loved ones to the negative effects of its poisons.
[ »wp-content/plugins/include-me/ya1-h2.php»]
What does the slender pig (Paxillus involutus) look like?
Latin name: Peg wrapped.
Family: swine.
Department: basidiomycota.
Class: agaricomycetes.
Synonyms: pig, cow, filly, pig, pig, pig ear.
Hat: reaches sizes from 10 to 20 cm in diameter, but more often the dimensions do not exceed 15-17 cm. Young pigs have a slightly convex hat and wrapped edges. Middle-aged specimens have a flat and slightly depressed cap, which becomes like a funnel in maturity. The color varies from olive to grey-brown. In rainy weather and high humidity it becomes sticky and slippery.
Records: as such are not available. The hat has pseudo plates called Hymenophore.
Leg: has a length of not more than 10 cm, in diameter is about 2 cm. The surface is smooth, in contact with the skin there is a “velvety” feeling. The color is the same as that of the hat, sometimes a little lighter.
Pulp: at a young age it is dense, thin and soft, and at a mature age it is loose and wormy. If you break off a piece from the cap, the flesh immediately darkens.
Edibility: a poisonous mushroom, when broken in any part of the mushroom, the flesh immediately becomes an unpleasant brown color and the smell of wood appears, more reminiscent of the smell of decay.
Spread: throughout Our Country in mixed, deciduous and coniferous forests, preferring dark, damp areas. Fruiting begins from June to mid-October.
We offer you to watch a video showing a thin pig during the mushroom season:
In addition, the most common types of this poisonous fruiting body include not only the thin pig, but also the fat pig. Look at the photo of the difference between a thin and thick pig:
[ »wp-content/plugins/include-me/goog-left.php»]
It is worth noting that the fat pig is a rare species of fungus found only in countries with a temperate climate. The main place for growth, she chooses coniferous forests, where there are a lot of uprooted trees, rotten stumps and moss.
The shape of the hat is slightly different from the thin pig and more like an elongated tongue. It reaches a diameter of up to 20 cm, has a brown or brown color. The surface is velvety, in adulthood it dries and cracks. The leg is short, with a fleecy coating, dense and shifted to the edge of the cap.
These mushrooms start fruiting from the beginning of July and grow until the end of autumn, but they are extremely rare. Sometimes they can grow on the ground, on tree roots and old stumps in a coniferous forest.
After reading the description of the thin pig and learning what this poisonous mushroom looks like, you will never collect it. Remember that it is able to synthesize the dangerous poison muscarine, which is equivalent to the poison of the red fly agaric. In addition, the thin pig accumulates a huge amount of salts of heavy metals, as well as radioactive substances – copper and cesium, which leads to death.