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Every autumn, lovers of “quiet hunting” go to the forest to combine “useful with pleasant”. Along with walks in the fresh air and admiring the bright autumn colors, it is always possible to collect a good harvest of fruiting bodies. It is with the onset of leaf fall that autumn mushrooms appear, which are very much appreciated for their attractive taste and versatility in cooking. Many housewives always stock up on delicious preservation of these mushrooms for the winter, and also prepare various dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The well-known autumn mushroom mushrooms are not one, but a combination of species, of which there are more than 40 in the world. About 10 species of these fruiting bodies can be noted on the territory of the Federation, but such information will be of interest only to scientists, which cannot be said about mushroom pickers. The latter are only concerned about how to distinguish an edible honey agaric from a false one. And only the most advanced mushroom pickers can notice that the edible types of autumn mushrooms have differences among themselves. Sometimes these differences are so insignificant that specialists have to check the spores of two different species again for interbreeding …
Our article presents photos and descriptions of edible autumn mushrooms. After reviewing the above information, you will be able to have an idea about the appearance of these fruiting bodies, their places of growth, as well as the fruiting season. We have chosen the types of the most common autumn mushrooms in Our Country, which are most popular among mushroom pickers.
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Autumn honey agaric (real or hemp)
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The autumn or real honey agaric is the most famous among all representatives of its kind. This is a very tasty edible mushroom that lends itself perfectly to various processing processes: pickling, salting, freezing, drying, frying, etc.
Latin name: Armillaria mellea.
Family: Физалакриевые (Physalacriaceae).
Synonyms: real honey agaric, autumn.
Hat: reaches a diameter of 4-12 cm (sometimes up to 15 and even 17 cm), initially convex, and then opens and becomes flat, forming wavy edges. Sometimes a tubercle, specks or small brown scales can be observed in the center of the cap. Skin color ranges from beige to honey brown and grey-brown. The photo below shows an autumn mushroom mushroom:
Note that at a young age, the surface of the cap of the fruiting body is covered with sparse white scales, which disappear with age.
Leg: thin, fibrous, up to 10 cm high and 1-2 cm thick, slightly widened at the base. The surface is light or yellow-brown in color, and a darker shade is observed in the lower part. Like the cap, the leg is covered with small light scales. Often, autumn mushrooms grow together with their legs at the base.
Pulp: in young specimens it is dense, white, pleasant in taste and smell. With age, it becomes thin, acquiring a rough texture.
Records: sparse, adhering to the stem or weakly descending. Young mushrooms have plates of white or cream color, which darken with age and become covered with brown spots. In addition, the plates are covered with a film, which in old fruiting bodies comes off the cap, hanging on the stem like a ring.
Application: widely used in cooking and medicine. The mushroom is perfectly marinated, salted, dried and frozen. It makes delicious first and second courses, which are not inferior in taste even to porcini mushrooms and mushrooms. In addition, all varieties of autumn mushrooms have pronounced medicinal properties.
Edibility: edible mushroom category 3.
Similarities and differences: autumn can be confused with fleecy scaly. However, the latter differs from the real honey agaric by an increased number of scales on the surface of the fruiting body, as well as a pungent smell reminiscent of a radish. And although the flake also belongs to edible mushrooms (only after heat treatment), it is still not as tasty as autumn.
Spread: from the subtropics to the North, does not grow only in the permafrost zone. They are found in damp deciduous forests: on stumps, fallen trees and branches. Most often it is a parasite, affecting more than 200 species of trees and shrubs, less often they act as saprophytes, settling on already dead wood. Do not bypass the cutting down of coniferous forests.
Interestingly, autumn mushrooms are also called hemp. This is logical, because basically they prefer to grow on stumps. It should be noted that the color of the fruiting body will depend on the type of wood on which it has settled. So, poplar, acacia or mulberry give honey-yellow tint to honey agaric, oak – brown tint, elderberry – dark gray, and coniferous trees – brown-red tint.
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What northern autumn mushrooms look like: photos and descriptions of legs and hats
The following photo and description belongs to northern autumn mushrooms – popular edible mushrooms of the genus Honey agaric.
Latin name: Armillaria borealis.
Family: Physalacrye.
Hat: convex, 5-10 cm in diameter, yellow-brown or orange-brown, olive tint can often be observed. The center of the hat is lighter than the edges. The surface is covered with small scales, which are 1-2 tones darker than the main color. The largest accumulation of scales is observed in the center of the cap. The edges are slightly ribbed and rough, dirty dark yellow.
Leg: cylindrical, thin, sometimes expanding at the base, up to 10 cm in height and up to 1,5 cm in thickness. The surface is dry, brownish in color with yellow-white pubescence. There is a ring-skirt, characteristic of all edible species, which becomes membranous with age, and felt scales are observed along the edges.
The photo shows how edible autumn mushrooms of this type look like:
Pulp: dense, white or beige, vaguely reminiscent of compressed cotton wool. It has a pronounced pleasant “mushroom” taste and smell.
Records: white in young specimens, becoming ocher-cream with age.
Edibility: edible mushroom.
Application: suitable for all types of cooking – boiling, frying, stewing, marinating, salting, drying and freezing. The leg of the autumn mushroom is hard, so it is not used for cooking. It is widely used in medicine to restore high blood pressure. In addition, the mushroom has a calming effect on the body, helps with radiation and the treatment of cancer.
Spread: grows throughout Our Country, with the exception of the Far North. Settles on deadwood, as well as stumps of coniferous and deciduous species. Fruiting is plentiful, because the mushroom grows in large families. Most often it can be found on birch, alder and oak, sometimes it affects shrubs. The harvest season starts in August and ends in September-October, depending on the weather.
We offer you to see a few more photos of edible autumn mushrooms:
Edible thick-legged mushrooms
Among the edible autumn mushrooms, thick-legged mushrooms are also common – one of the most popular mushrooms, which is successfully harvested not only in the forest, but also grown on an industrial scale.
Honey agaric thick-legged
Latin name: Armillary lute
Family: Physalacrye.
Synonyms: Armillaria Bulbosa, Inflata.
Hat: diameter from 2,5 to 10 cm. At a young age, the fungus has a wide-conical cap with tucked edges, then it thickens and the edges drop, and a tubercle appears in the center. It is dark brown at first, turning yellow with age. On the surface there are numerous hairy yellowish-green or gray scales that persist even in adults.
Leg: cylindrical with a club-shaped thickening towards the base, covered with gray-yellow scales. The surface of the stem itself is brown at the bottom and yellow (sometimes white) at the top. The “skirt” is membranous, white, which is then torn.
Edible autumn mushrooms mushrooms are shown in the photo:
Pulp: dense, white, with a pleasant, sometimes cheesy smell.
Records: frequent, slightly descending, yellowish, turning brown with age.
Edibility: edible mushroom.
Similarities and differences: autumn thick-legged honey agaric can be confused with fleecy scaly, which is distinguished by a high content of scales on the surface of the cap. In addition, sometimes inexperienced mushroom pickers can confuse edible honey agaric with poisonous sulfur-yellow false honey agaric, as well as conditionally edible brick red false honey agaric. However, the species mentioned do not have a skirt ring on the stem, which is characteristic of all edible fruiting bodies.
Spread: is a saprophyte and grows on rotten grass, rotting stumps and tree trunks. It also prefers burnt wood and hardwood deadwood. Grows one copy, less often – in small groups. In addition, this species of mushrooms can grow on a bed of spruce needles.
We also suggest watching a video about autumn mushrooms:
How and in what forests do autumn mushrooms grow?
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The time of autumn mushrooms depends on the climatic conditions of a particular area, as well as on the settled weather, which includes air temperature and humidity. Favorable weather conditions for the abundant fruiting of mushrooms are considered to be a stable average daily air temperature of at least + 10 °. The very mention of the type of fruiting bodies suggests when exactly autumn mushrooms appear. So, the growth of mushrooms begins at the end of August and ends in mid-October. In some individual regions, autumn mushrooms continue to bear fruit until the end of November, if warm weather persists. The peak of the collection of fruiting bodies occurs mainly in September. Another abundant wave of fruiting starts with the onset of the so-called “Indian summer”. In addition, autumn mushroom species actively grows during heavy rains and loves September fogs. As you know, autumn mushrooms grow very quickly, just a few days after a warm torrential rain are enough, and you can go for the next mushroom harvest.
Almost all types of autumn mushrooms grow in large groups on stumps, fallen trees, forest clearings, etc. In this regard, it is very convenient to collect them in the forest. For the most part, autumn mushrooms are parasites, settling on living trees and destroying them. However, there are also saprophytes that have chosen dead rotten wood. Sometimes they can be found under the bark of the affected plant.
In what forests do autumn mushrooms grow in Our Country? Many experienced mushroom pickers note that these fruiting bodies prefer damp deciduous forests. In addition, their abundant fruiting is observed in forest clearings. Most often, autumn mushrooms grow in mixed deciduous forests, preferring birch, alder, oak, aspen and poplar. Since the territory of Our Country has a huge area with forests, you can meet mushrooms in any of them.
Where else do autumn mushrooms grow?
And where else do autumn mushrooms grow, on what trees? Often these fruiting bodies can be found on conifers. However, it should be remembered that the color of the caps and even the taste of the mushroom may vary depending on the wood. So, growing on a pine or spruce, honey agaric acquires a darker color and becomes slightly bitter in taste.
Interesting fact: at night, you can notice a faint glow of the stump on which mushrooms grow. Often this feature can be observed before a thunderstorm. It is not the fruiting bodies themselves that emit the glow, but the mycelium. Those who found themselves near such a phenomenon at night agree that this is an incredibly beautiful sight!