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In the forest belt, you can often come across small fruiting bodies without a pronounced smell and bypass them. Plyutei white – an edible mushroom of the Pluteaceae family, also comes across among them.
What does a white whip look like
Plyutei is a small mushroom that is visible from afar due to its off-white color.
Cap Description
The hat of the white whip at the beginning of ripening has a bell-shaped shape, then it gradually straightens. The color also changes: from off-white to yellow-gray. In the center is a characteristic brownish tubercle covered with small dry scales. The surface of the cap is smooth, fibrous. The inner part is covered with radial, slightly pinkish plates. A thin layer of pulp has a slightly pronounced rare smell. Hat sizes – 4-8 cm.
Description of the leg
Dense legs reach a height of 9 cm. It has the shape of a cylinder, expanding at the base due to a tuberous thickening. On the surface of the legs there are grayish scales. Mushrooms do not always grow straight, sometimes they are bent. The pulp is white, without a special smell.
Where and how to grow
The mushroom is quite rare. It occurs from June to September in the beech forests of Western Europe, deciduous plantations of the East European, West Siberian Plains, and the Ural Mountains. It has been seen in northern Africa. Grows on half-decayed wood of beeches, oaks and poplars, decaying foliage of these trees. It can be seen even in dry years. The white whip is popularly called “bunchy”, since it appears not alone, but in small groups.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
White whip is considered edible. It retains its properties well when boiled, dried. Can be fried alone or together with other mushrooms.
Twins and their differences
Due to its white color, this species has practically no twins. But there are similar fruiting bodies:
- The light variety (albino) of the edible deer whip (Pluteus cervinus) is larger and has a shiny cap surface. It grows on both continents of America, in Europe, Africa. He loves the deciduous forests of Our Country, appearing on decaying wood, rotten foliage.
- Edible white-northern whip (Pluteus leucoborealis) differs from white only microscopically: it has larger spores. The places of its distribution are the northern latitudes of our country from St. Petersburg to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It comes across in North America, in Alaska, choosing decaying hardwood.
- The deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere are the favorite places of the noble spit (Pluteus petasatus), where it grows in small groups. It can reach up to 20 cm. The hat is smooth, even sticky in wet weather. Grayish, brown longitudinal veins stand out on the leg. The fruiting body is edible.
- Hongo’s whip (Pluteus hongoi) is another edible twin. Although it is darker in color, there are also light varieties of Hongo. On the territory of Our Country are rare.
Conclusion
Plyutey is white and all of the twins listed are edible species. Of the similar poisonous fruiting bodies, the white fly agaric is called, but it has distinctive features – a ring on the leg, large dark plates on the cap, and the smell of bleach. An experienced mushroom picker can quite easily distinguish them and take only one that is suitable for food and does not pose a danger to humans.
