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The fungus of the Strophariaceae flake family is distributed throughout the country. There are many varieties of it: mucous flake, fiery, golden and other types.
Mushrooms are considered conditionally edible, have useful properties used for treatment in traditional medicine. They grow in families on stumps, roots and in hollows of trees (most often birches and willows).
What does the mucosal flake look like
Outwardly, the mucous flake is similar to honey mushrooms, it grows in the same groups. Avid mushroom pickers in our country most often neglect this species, mistaking it for a toadstool.
In eastern countries, the flake is very popular, it occupies a worthy place in cooking, it is grown in artificially created conditions for this.
This fungus is also called slimy champignon, flamulla, fiber and Greenland flake.
Cap Description
In young specimens of Flamulla mucus, the cap is bell-shaped with a closed margin. With growth, the cap becomes slightly concave and unfolded, reaching a size of 50 – 100 mm.
The color of the cap is brown, more saturated in the center. It is covered with a matte skin, richly covered with scales. In wet weather, the skin becomes sticky. Along the edges of the cap, you can find the remains of a bedspread, washed off by rain during growth.
The bottom of the hat, as it grows, is covered with weak yellow-green plates, occasionally covered with brown spots.
Description of the leg
The cylindrical hollow leg of a young fungus is usually crooked, up to 10 cm high, and its diameter is no more than 10 mm. As it grows, the cavity of the leg is filled with cotton pulp.
On the leg of a young flake there is a yellowish ring, which quickly disappears. The edges of the ringlet are red in color, and under the ring itself there are many scales.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Mucosal fiber is a conditionally edible mushroom. All parts of young specimens and caps of adult mushrooms are suitable for food. The legs during processing become very hard and tasteless, and therefore are not used in cooking.
Despite the fact that the mucous flakes do not have a strong mushroom aroma, they are suitable for cooking second courses and pickling. Gourmets refer a variety of flakes to delicacies. Before the main stages of cooking, mushrooms must be boiled for a quarter of an hour. Drain the water. So get rid of the inherent bitterness.
The healing properties of the mucous flake
Currently, species of flake fungi are not fully understood. Scientific studies conducted in laboratory conditions on white mice have shown that there are substances in the mucosal fiber that can stop the growth of tumor cells.
Where and how to grow
The localization and method of growth of mushrooms of this species is similar to mushrooms, which are widely known to avid mushroom pickers. Slimy flake grows on rotten half-decayed wood. It settles in families, prefers coniferous and mixed forests with a temperate climate.
In Our Country, it is widely distributed in Karelia, in the Far East, in the forests of the Urals and Siberia. Fruiting begins in late August and continues until the first frost.
Twins and their differences
Due to the fact that the flake is little known among mushroom pickers, it is often confused with other species:
- Again. In contrast to fiber, honey mushrooms have a denser stem ring and cap plates. Excellent color as well. Honey mushrooms are considered conditionally edible, widely used in cooking;
- Blue-barreled cobwebs (staining) – an inedible type of mushroom that grows on mosses in swampy areas. The cobwebs have a different color from flamulls: ocher with bluish
shade or violet-blue color.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the mucous flake is little known, and few mushroom hunters pay due attention to it, the mushroom has some advantages. With proper culinary processing, delicious dishes and preparations are obtained from it. Medicinal properties suggest that eating and as a medicinal raw material can benefit the body.
