Honey mushrooms with a brown cap. Edible and false honey mushrooms: how to avoid falling into a dangerous trap

At the beginning of autumn, when there are no frosts yet and the weather is pleasant with warm sunny days, a rush begins in the forest: people stock up on mushrooms.

Particularly in demand are places with stumps and fallen trees, where you can find a lot of fragrant mushrooms, the main thing is not to run into false honey mushrooms. Some of them cannot be eaten, as they can be poisonous, so it is better to study what they look like so that the poison does not end up in your basket and on the table.

False honey mushrooms: photo and description

There are several types of false mushrooms. They are similar to real honey mushrooms in that they prefer the same habitat: they grow on stumps, dead wood, and tree trunks. It happens that on one stump two types of honey mushrooms coexist at once: false and genuine. And they also grow up in friendly families, which also misleads inexperienced mushroom pickers. Let's find out what false mushrooms look like and what they are like.

Sulfur-yellow honey fungus

Sulfur-yellow honey fungus — Hypholoma fasciculare

A poisonous mushroom that grows on rotting branches and trunks of deciduous and coniferous trees, stumps and the ground around them. It bears fruit from June to October, growing in large families.

The cap of a young mushroom resembles a bell, while that of an adult mushroom resembles an open umbrella. The diameter of the cap is 2-7 cm, the color is yellowish, yellow-gray or yellow-brown, with a darkened center.

Sulfur-yellow false honey fungus photo

Sulfur-yellow honey fungus - Hypholoma fasciculare

The pulp of the sulfur-yellow honey mushroom is very bitter, possessing unpleasant smell, pale yellow or whitish.

The plates of the fungus that have grown to the stem are first painted sulfur-yellow, later acquiring a greenish and dark olive tint.

The smooth spores of the fungus contain chocolate-brown spore powder.

The fibrous, smooth stem is empty inside and colored light yellow. The thickness of the leg is no more than 5 mm, the height is about 10 cm.

This mushroom is very poisonous - just one specimen can ruin a whole pan of genuine honey mushrooms! And if you eat sulfur-yellow honey fungus, after a few hours severe vomiting will occur, the person will begin to sweat heavily and even lose consciousness.

Candoll's honey fungus

Candoll's honey fungus—Psathyrella candolleana

It grows on the stumps and roots of deciduous (less often coniferous) trees in large families. Fruits from May to September.

The cap of a young mushroom has the shape of a bell, while a more mature one has the shape of an open umbrella with a rounded tubercle in the middle. The diameter of the cap, painted in colors from white to yellow-brown, is 3-7 cm. The edges of the cap are decorated with white fringe left over from the bedspread.

What false honey mushrooms of Candoll look like photo

Candoll's honey fungus - Psathyrella candolleana

Grayish plates, turning brown over time, are attached to the stem.

Candolle's honey fungus has a pleasantly mushroom-smelling whitish-brown flesh and a creamy-white empty cylindrical stalk, slightly pubescent at the bottom. The thickness of the stem is 4-8 mm, the height is about 10 cm. It differs from real honey mushrooms in that there is no pronounced ring on the stem.

Is Candolle's honey fungus poisonous? No, after cooking it is quite edible, as it is considered a conditionally edible mushroom.

Poppy honey fungus (sulphurous)

Poppy honey fungus (gray-plated) -Hypholoma capnoides

False honey fungus grows on pine stumps and dead wood, and occasionally on the litter of fallen trunks and rotting roots. Fruits from August to October.

The mushroom cap, 3-7 cm in diameter, first grows in the form of a hemisphere, later acquiring a convex, prostrate appearance. Parts of the bedspreads remain along the edges of the hats. If the environment is wet, the cap turns light brown; if it is dry, it turns light yellow. The middle of the hat is brighter.

False honey fungus poppy photo

The whitish pulp of the poppy mushroom smells a little damp.

The plates of the mushroom attached to the stem are initially pale yellow, later the color of poppy seeds.

The leg is yellow at the top, red-red at the bottom, the shape is straight or curved, with a quickly disappearing ring. The thickness of the leg is 3-8 mm, length - 5-10 cm.

Poppy honey fungus after processing can be eaten in the same way as ordinary honey mushrooms. The main thing is not to pick old mushrooms: they become tasteless.

False honey fungus brick-red

Honey fungus brick-red -Hypholoma sublateritium

This false honey fungus grows on stumps and fallen trees - coniferous and deciduous. Fruits from August to October.

The diameter of the cap is 4-8 cm. The young cap has a convex, round shape, while the mature one has a semi-prostrate shape. It is painted brick-red or red-brown, with white remains of the bedspread often preserved at the edges. The pale yellow flesh of the mushroom has a bitter taste.

False honey mushrooms brick-red photos

Brick red honey fungus - Hypholoma sublateritium

Light yellow plates, which later become brownish-yellow, grow to the stem.

The leg of the brick-red honey fungus has a trace of a ring (there is no ring itself), reaches a thickness of up to 1.5 cm and a height of 10 cm. The leg is painted pale yellow on top and brown on the bottom.

Such honey mushrooms should not be eaten as food, since the toxins contained in them affect the nervous system, cause vomiting, rapid heartbeat and dizziness, weaken, lead to increased blood pressure, headaches and nosebleeds. If the poisoning is severe, you can fall into a coma and die.

Now you know what false honey mushrooms are and what they are like. Take honey mushroom collection seriously, carefully examining the mushroom families. Do not put all the mushrooms in a row in a basket, and you will protect yourself and your loved ones from mushroom poisoning.

“Well, who doesn’t know what honey mushrooms look like?” - you say. Really! Sometimes even scientists who study mushrooms find it difficult to determine their species. And honey mushrooms, by the way, are very different, different from each other, and also deadly poisonous.

Such different experiences...

Honey mushrooms are one of the most common mushrooms in the world. From a scientific point of view, the Honey fungus group of mushrooms is the most “variegated”. For non-biologists, these are mushrooms that grow on stumps or trees (hence the name), but for scientists this group is much broader. It includes mushrooms from the forest floor and those growing in the grass.

But these mushrooms have another more exciting ability - they belong to bioluminescent organisms. This means that honey mushrooms glow in the dark. But these greenish reflections are so weak that under normal conditions, even on a moonless night in the middle of a forest, it is practically unnoticeable.

Different types of honey mushrooms can have different shapes and color. Their smooth caps range from red-brown to yellow-brown. The shape is small round, bell-shaped or flat. And the mushrooms themselves can appear either singly or in families, which sometimes consist of several dozen mushrooms.

There are different opinions about edibility again. Some consider them unfit for consumption, although mycologists say there are some that are good and some that are inedible. True, people of science, having analyzed nutritional value, classified them as category 3-4 products. However, for many mushroom pickers they remain the best for pickling. And it’s the honey mushroom lovers who “ quiet hunt» open the season as these mushrooms appear in early spring, long before boletus, boletus, boletus, porcini mushrooms or saffron milk caps.

Beginning mushroom pickers have probably heard about false mushrooms, which, although they resemble real ones, are poisonous. However, not everything is so simple: even researchers find it difficult to determine which category to classify a particular specimen into. These are such diverse and unique organisms that some do not resemble honey mushrooms at all. But the most interesting thing is that some representatives of the species are able to change their appearance, depending on weather conditions or the characteristics of the wood on which they feed. Experienced mushroom pickers and mycologists are ready for such transformations of mushrooms, but for beginners it is difficult to determine edible and inedible ones only by typical external characteristics.

Inedible and conditionally edible honey mushrooms are considered to be “false.”

But the danger is that even conditionally edible ones have poisonous counterparts. If “false” mushrooms are lost among the collected mushrooms, then after thorough soaking and proper preparation they will not cause poisoning. Doppelgängers are just as dangerous as pale toadstools. But the dangers do not end there. You can also be poisoned by real mushrooms, especially older representatives of the “family”. Poorly washed or undercooked ones cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting. For some, poisoning is accompanied by an increase blood pressure, tachycardia, nosebleeds, and in severe cases, hemorrhages in brain tissue.

Poisoning by poisonous gifts of the forest manifests itself differently. The first signs are a sharp decrease in blood pressure, a subsidence of the pulse, and loss of consciousness. Up to 6 hours after eating a poisonous mushroom, vomiting, diarrhea, and intestinal colic appear, which cannot be eliminated with medication. Most cases of poisoning by false mushrooms are fatal. As a rule, up to 10 days after eating.

To ensure that the “silent hunt” does not end in disaster, you will first have to learn as much as possible about mushrooms. But we hasten to reassure you: this does not mean that novice mushroom pickers will have to become a mycologist. There is no need to study the characteristics of all known to science mushrooms and their doubles, just focus on those that are found in local forests. And which ones are “found” - this will already be suggested by more experienced “mushroom hunters”. But the truest rule is best advice: If you doubt it, don’t take it! So, the most common and most recognizable honey mushrooms are winter, summer and autumn. Let's talk about them in detail.

Winter honey fungus, or Flammulina velutipes

Fruiting of this species begins at the end of September, and if weather allowed, it will produce a harvest during the winter. You can find this mushroom on the remains of deciduous trees. We recognize it thanks to its smooth honey-brown cap (hemispherical for young mushrooms and flat for old ones). When air humidity is high, the cap becomes slippery. The plates underneath are creamy, as is the flesh when cut. But there should be no scales or rings on the leg - this is a sign of poisonous doubles.

Scientists classify this mushroom as conditionally edible, and mushroom pickers classify it as the most delicious representatives of honey mushrooms. Some people grow them on summer cottages or on the balcony. They say they are homemade winter mushrooms even tastier than forest ones. Moreover, they are definitely safe.

Spring honey fungus, or Collybia dryophila

Appears in forests in spring or early summer. These mushrooms love rotten wood and forest floor. The spring honey fungus is recognized by its two-color cap (dark in the center and light at the edges); there is no ring or scales on the stem. And even in scientific literature it is called conditionally edible; mushroom pickers welcome it and love it for its bright aroma and “meatiness.”

White slimy honey fungus, or Oudemansiella mucida

These are also spring and summer mushrooms. White slimy honey mushrooms “settle” on fallen trees, living beech and maple trees, the trunks of which they can “stick” to the very branches. They are creamy-gray, sticky in any weather, and have a ringed leg but no scales. Mushroom pickers and mycologists agree that this is a safe, tasty and aromatic mushroom.

Summer honey fungus, or Kuehneromyces mutabilis

It grows on birch stumps, and in mountainous regions - on the remains of coniferous trees, in August-October. Easily recognizable in rainy weather, when its 8-centimeter sticky cap absorbs moisture and becomes bicolored (light brown in the center, dark brown or brown at the edges). In sunny weather, the mushrooms are monochromatic, honey-yellow. The young ones have a convex cap, while the old ones have a flat-convex cap. Distinctive features: leg with small scales and a ring, brown-cream plates under the cap.

Autumn honey fungus, or Armillaria mellea

Garlic

This is the so-called atypical representative of honey mushrooms, characteristic feature which has a pronounced odor. It never grows on wood, and it does not have the characteristic ring on the stalk of the honey mushroom. Garlic grows on dry forest floors in late summer and fall. This is a small mushroom, its cap is no more than 5 cm in diameter (in older representatives it is spread out or even slightly inverted), and its stem is no thicker than half a centimeter. Garlics range in color from brownish to white, and have stiff legs that are brownish-black. Garlic mushrooms are used in fresh, they are good for pickling, as well as for making seasoning from dried mushrooms.

Honey fungus

Also an atypical honey fungus, growing among the grass in meadows, clearings, pastures, in gardens, near roads. Usually meadow mushrooms appear in the first days of summer and bear fruit until October. But they grow in a very specific way - forming rows or circles in the grass, which are popularly called witches' rings. This type of mushroom is recognized by the absence of a ring on the stem, a small (up to 5 cm) cap, light at the edges and brown in the center, as well as a pleasant taste and smell. It is thanks to these gastronomic characteristics that the small meadow honey fungus is very popular among mushroom pickers.

IN summer period inexperienced mushroom pickers sometimes confuse edible mushrooms with false mushrooms - gray-plastic and sulfur-yellow. The first ones resemble summer ones in many characteristics. They will find out poisonous mushroom by the absence of a ring and scales, as well as by gray plates under a rusty-brown cap. Appears exclusively in coniferous forests in the middle of July. Despite the fact that “false” appears in the name, sulphurous honey mushrooms after careful heat treatment can be consumed, although older ones have a rotten taste.

Sulfur-yellow honey mushrooms appear in spring on rotting stumps of deciduous trees. Their round yellow-olive caps and yellow-green or violet-brown plates are a clear sign toxicity. The taste and smell of the pulp is bitter.

Due to inexperience, Candolle's false honey mushroom can also be confused with summer honey mushrooms. Groups of these organisms “inhabit” stumps and living deciduous trees (mainly in the shade, from May to September). They are recognized by almost white color, absence of a ring on the stem and grayish or dark brown plates. After prolonged soaking and several hours of cooking, they are quite acceptable as food.

Extremely dangerous double summer mushrooms - bordered gallery. This mushroom is slightly smaller than summer honey fungus(cap up to 4 cm), the leg is not scaly, but fibrous, but otherwise very much resembles edible mushroom. Appears in different forests from June to October, most of all loves rotten coniferous stumps and ignores birch ones. By content toxic substances equivalent to pale grebe.

The honey fungus resembles an autumn mushroom, and some mushroom pickers consider both specimens to be varieties of the same species. The main signs of false autumn mushrooms: they “live” on the litter, bear fruit constantly, and not in waves, the lower part of their stem is thicker. But even if such a mushroom ends up in the basket, there is no need to worry - it is edible. But it is recommended to use only the caps for food, since the legs are very hard.

Yellow-red honey fungus appears at the end of August on coniferous wood. It differs from its autumn edible “brother” in its excessively bright color, smaller size (caps up to 7 cm), lack of a ring and bitter taste of the pulp.

Brick-red honey fungus, appearing in the midst of autumn mushroom season, called poisonous. Identified by its red velvety cap, absence of scales and ring on the stem. More common in deciduous forests where there is a lot of sun and fresh air, less often - in forests.

No less dangerous twin of garlic and meadow honey fungus– whitish talker (deadly dangerous mushroom). Her main feature– grayish-white color of the cap, which, unlike meadow mushrooms, is flat.

The benefits and harms of mushrooms

Honey mushrooms are a low-calorie product: 100 grams contain no more than 22 kcal. But at the same time, mushrooms remain a good source, as well as, and. Like other representatives of the mushroom family, honey mushrooms are rich in... Interestingly, the concentration of calcium and phosphorus in these small mushrooms is close to that in fish. Honey mushrooms also contain a lot of iron, which makes them an indispensable product for people with low hemoglobin.

Researchers have proven the antimicrobial and anticancer abilities of these mushrooms. They are useful for getting rid of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and also as a healing food for thyroid dysfunction. Honey mushrooms rich in phosphorus are good for strong bones, healthy teeth and adequate work of the central nervous system. Copper and zinc make the product important for the peripheral nervous system, as well as for maintaining spinal health. Some members of the mushroom family contain a lot of , which makes them useful for visual acuity, skin elasticity and strong hair. Thanks to vitamins E and C, these mushrooms have a beneficial effect on the immune and hormonal systems.

But for people with diseases of the digestive system, it is better to avoid this product. Another point that is important to know: honey mushrooms are not the best source. The digestibility of proteins from honey mushrooms is several times lower than from porcini mushrooms. Even healthy body Poorly absorbs honey mushrooms in combination with dough. And when frying, the mushroom pulp absorbs fat very quickly and in large portions. Pickled or salted mushrooms, beloved by many, can cause swelling, and large portions of autumn mushrooms can cause diarrhea. Boiled mushrooms are considered the most useful.

This is perhaps the only mushroom that can be grown not only on garden plot, but also on the balcony or windowsill.

The first way is to place the mycelium in a jar, which is placed on the windowsill. Another method involves preparing a substrate from 3 parts sawdust and 1 part bran (as an option: mix sawdust and vegetable additives in the form of husks, sunflower husks, etc. one to one). Pour this substrate for 24 hours, squeeze it out and transfer it to 3-liter jars (fill halfway). Then sterilize the containers with the substrate for 2 hours. The next day, repeat the procedure. When the contents of the jars have cooled to 25 degrees, close with nylon lids, in which holes are made (about 2 cm in diameter). Pour mycelium through them (approximately 7% of the substrate weight). Place the “seeded” jar in a warm (not lower than 20-24 degrees), but dark place for 30 days. When the first “sprouts” appear, transfer to the northern window sill and then to the balcony (keep the temperature at least 10 degrees). When the honey mushrooms reach the lid, open the jar and wrap a wide strip of cardboard around the neck. On the 10th day after the emergence of “shoots”, you can harvest. Cut off the mushrooms, remove the stems from the substrate and return the closed jar to a dark and warm place. The next harvest will appear in 2 weeks. One jar can “give birth” to 1-2 kg of tasty, healthy and, most importantly, safe winter mushrooms.

Despite the fact that Europeans do not really like these mushrooms, they remain tasty and healthy. The main thing is to know which ones are edible and which ones you should stay away from. And every housewife knows what to cook from fragrant mushrooms.

False honey mushrooms include several types of mushrooms that are very similar to edible honey mushrooms. In addition, they are easy to confuse, because false honey mushrooms like to grow in the same places as edible ones - they grow in families on stumps, fallen trees, on trunks and protruding parts of tree roots. Some types of false mushrooms are inedible, others are conditionally edible, and others are poisonous. However, a mushroom picker, especially a beginner, should not experiment and should never forget the main rule: “If you’re not sure, don’t take it!” Collect only real honey mushrooms when you are absolutely sure that it is they! If you have the slightest doubt, it is better to abandon the idea of ​​​​putting the mushroom in the basket.

Most main feature, by which you can distinguish a real honey mushroom from a false one - this is a membranous ring (skirt) on a leg. This ring is a remnant of the blanket that protects the fruiting body of the mushroom in at a young age. False mushrooms do not have such a ring.

U edible honey mushrooms(left) the ring on the stem is clearly visible.
False mushrooms (right) have no rings on their legs.

They even came up with a poem for children to better remember this main difference between edible mushrooms:

Edible honey mushrooms (autumn):
A, B - young, C - old

There are other differences too.

1. The smell of edible honey mushrooms is pleasant mushroom; false honey mushrooms emit an unpleasant earthy smell.

2. The caps of inedible honey mushrooms are more brightly and loudly colored than those of edible ones. The tone can vary from sulfur yellow to brick red (depending on the species). Edible honey mushrooms have a modest, dull light brown color.

A - sulfur-yellow, B - sulphur-plate, C - brick-red

3. Edible honey mushrooms have a cap covered with small scales; false honey mushrooms have no scales on the cap - it is usually smooth. But you need to remember that edible honey mushrooms at age also no longer have scales on their caps (see photo of old honey mushrooms above).

4. There are differences in the color of the records (on back side mushroom caps). The plates of false mushrooms are yellow, those of old ones are greenish or olive-black, while those of edible mushrooms are cream or yellowish-white.

Honey mushroom records:
A - edible (autumn), B - sulfur-plated, C - sulfur-yellow

5. They note the bitter taste of false honey mushrooms, which edible honey mushrooms do not have, but there is no point in assessing the taste - and without it there are enough signs by which you can distinguish an edible honey mushroom from a false one.

For an experienced mushroom picker, these signs immediately catch the eye, but beginners need to apply this knowledge with caution, since the signs listed above are largely subjective, that is, each person evaluates characteristics such as smell or color differently. Only experience can correct this. In the meantime, focus on the first, most important sign - look for a skirt with mushroom legs.

Honey mushrooms- this is predominantly autumn mushrooms. They usually grow in heaps, groups and, as is customary, on old stumps of deciduous trees, on fallen trunks or next to them. The best honey mushrooms are small ones; they are best suited for frying, pickling, and pickling. Honey mushrooms that are overgrown are not very attractive and are best suited for mushroom caviar, but usually no one collects them.

Edible honey mushrooms

These are several varieties of mushrooms that at first glance are most similar to honey mushrooms. They are very similar both in appearance and in the places in which they grow. False honey mushrooms also grow in groups, flocks on stumps, old trees and near them.

What is the main difference between a real honey mushroom and a false one? The main difference is that real honey mushrooms have a skirt on the leg at the level of the lower edge of the cap. In a very young honey mushroom, the area under the cap is covered with a film, which subsequently breaks off and forms a skirt. Important! Not a single type of false honey mushroom has such a ring.

There is a popular rhyme: “The edible honey mushroom has a ring made of film on its leg. And all the false honey mushrooms have bare legs to the toes.”

Remember! Edible honey mushrooms have a ring on the stem under the cap that remains after the protective film. The color is brownish-gray, the smell is pleasant, the cap is covered with brownish scales. The plates under the cap are light.

Edible honey mushrooms

Varieties of false mushrooms photo

Honey mushrooms are one of the most common mushrooms in our forests. They are actively consumed as food: among the dishes with them you can remember soups, main courses, salads, home canned food and much more. But despite such a wide distribution of these mushrooms, inexperienced mushroom pickers often have difficulties with what honey mushrooms look like and how to distinguish them from their poisonous counterparts.

Characteristic features of honey mushrooms

In fact, honey mushrooms are not just one type of mushroom, but the name of an entire group that is united by its area of ​​growth and some species characteristics. So, they prefer to grow, as a rule, on old stumps and fallen trees, but sometimes they can be found in other places: in meadows, forest edges, next to bushes, etc. globally you can meet them everywhere: from northern latitudes to the subtropics. It is impossible to find them only in permafrost areas.

Although honey mushrooms represent a whole group of different mushrooms, their descriptions are all very similar. They have lamellar caps, often rounded downwards, growing on long thin stalks, sometimes reaching 12-15 cm.

The color can vary greatly: from light yellowish or creamy shades to reddish-brown. In young mushrooms, the cap is, as a rule, hemispherical, and even covered with small scales, while in old ones it is smooth and changes its shape to an umbrella-shaped one.

Common types

Many varieties of honey mushrooms include both conditionally edible mushrooms, non-inedible ones, and even poisonous ones. Of course, it is impossible to remember absolutely all types of these mushrooms, but it is important to know about the most widespread:

• Summer honey fungus, or Kuehneromyces mutabilis. One of the most famous edible species, preferring to grow on deciduous wood. This is a small (with a stem length of up to 7 cm and a cap diameter of up to 6 cm) light brown mushroom, darkening towards the edges of the cap. The plates are frequent, of a delicate cream color, but with age they can darken to dark brown. The leg is light, with dark scales at the base. The “skirt” is clearly visible, but may disappear in older mushrooms.
• Autumn honey fungus, or Armillaria mellea. Another edible mushroom that can be found on almost any wood, and sometimes it even loves shrubs or herbaceous plants. This large mushroom, which in old age can reach a diameter of 10−15 cm. The cap is usually gray-yellow or yellow-brown, dim. Both the cap and the stem are covered with small scales, which may disappear with age. The “skirt” or ring on the leg is clearly visible. The plates of a young mushroom are white-yellowish, but with age they darken and become creamy-brown.
• Winter honey fungus, or Flammulina velutipes. A unique edible mushroom that begins to bear fruit abundantly in late autumn. The cap reaches 10 cm in diameter, it is colored in various shades of yellow, brown or orange, usually lighter at the edges than in the middle. The records are rare, different lengths, color ranges from white and cream shades to ocher. The leg is long, up to 7 cm, brown in color. The "skirt" is missing.
• Sulfur-yellow honey fungus, or Hypholoma fasciculare. A mildly poisonous mushroom that can easily be confused with summer honey mushroom, since they are very similar. Found on both deciduous and coniferous trees. The cap can grow up to 7 cm in diameter and is usually colored in different shades of yellow-olive. The leg is long, fibrous, without a pronounced ring. The plates are sulfur-yellow, but with age they become dark, black-olive. The smell and taste are unpleasant, heavy and bitter.
• Candoll's honey fungus, or Psathyrella candolleana. False honey, which has long been classified as poisonous, but is now considered conditionally edible. This mushroom grows from late spring to autumn; it can be found both on stumps and on living deciduous trees. The diameter of the caps can reach 7 cm, the color ranges from whitish to yellow-brown. A characteristic feature is a white fringe on the edges of the cap. The leg is thin and long (up to 10 cm), whitish-cream. The plates are frequent, grayish in color, but in old mushrooms they darken, reaching dark brown.
• Galerina marginata, or Galerina marginata. A dangerous poisonous mushroom, very similar to the summer honey fungus. It prefers to settle on coniferous wood and appears in summer or autumn. This is a small mushroom, the diameter of the cap does not exceed 4 cm, and the length of the stem is 5 cm. The cap is convex and smooth, brown-ocher in color. The leg is covered with a powdery coating, sometimes a “skirt” remains on it. The plates are narrow, adherent to the stem, yellowish-brown in color. The smell is mealy and inexpressive, but it’s difficult to call it unpleasant.
• Brick-red honey fungus, or Hypholoma sublateritium. The characteristics of this mushroom range from simply inedible to poisonous, so it is best to avoid picking it. It usually grows in light deciduous forests, but can sometimes be found on coniferous wood. The diameter of the cap can vary from 4 to 8 cm; the color, contrary to the name, is not only brick-red, but also red-brown, or even yellow-brown. Frequently fringed at the edges. The leg is long, fibrous, without a ring. The plates are pale yellow, but with age they acquire a brown tint.

What does an edible boletus mushroom look like?

Differences from false twins

Every mushroom picker engaged in “silent hunting” for these mushrooms should be able to determine whether the honey mushroom in front of him is normal or a poisonous double. To do this, it is important to know what false mushrooms look like, and numerous signs will help in solving this problem:

Of course, for an inexperienced mushroom picker it will be difficult at first to distinguish between mushrooms even if you know the basic distinctive features, so you should never forget the main rule of “silent hunting”: if you have doubts about the edibility of the mushroom you find, it is better not to take it with you. It is better to throw away a potentially good honey fungus than to take a poisonous one by mistake and put yourself in danger.

Benefits and harm to the body

Looking at all the possible difficulties associated with distinguishing honey mushrooms from false honey mushrooms, someone may decide that they are not worth the effort. And in vain, since these mushrooms can boast not only a pleasant taste, but also considerable benefits. In addition, they have learned to grow them in artificial conditions, so if there are concerns about forest mushrooms, then you can buy completely safe honey mushrooms in stores.