Are there poisonous boletus mushrooms? How to distinguish a false boletus from its real brother? Where and when do boletus grow?

Good day, dear mushroom pickers. Today we will continue to analyze edible mushrooms. Let's talk about boletus, photos and descriptions of the species of which you will find in the article below. Relatives of this species are edible, but taste varies slightly. But you should be careful, obabok (the second name for boletus) also has inedible counterparts.

Read the article: what boletus mushrooms look like, where they grow, how to collect them and at what time. And at the end I will tell you what is prepared from the aromatic mushroom.

You can find more than 40 varieties of obabka in the forests, but most of them are not very different, so there is no need to panic.

The cap of the boletus reaches 18 cm. It is light at the beginning, then reaches dark brown. It looks like half a ball, but over time it sags and resembles a pillow. In sunny weather the cap is matte, but in damp weather it is slimy. The sponge at the bottom is olive in color.

The leg reaches 15 cm, the shape of a cylinder. It is covered with longitudinal gray scales. With age, the flesh in the stem becomes tough. In cross-section, boletus is white, but may turn pink.

Some types of boletus differ in appearance. Below you will find illustrations and descriptions of the most popular types.

Ordinary

The common boletus is found most often in Russia. His hat is brown, sometimes has a red tint. The leg is dense, widening towards the bottom.

Obabok vulgaris is confused with gall fungus. When cut, the double is painted red.

Bolotny

The swamp birch tree has a thin, neat stem. His hat is light gray or brown. The pulp is loose, but with a pleasant aroma. More often the fungus is found on waterlogged soil.

The gall mushroom is often mistaken for swamp mushroom. The remaining twins grow in other areas.

Harsh

Gray or Brown color, often with purple tint. The leg resembles a barrel, darkens towards the base. The pulp is sweet, aromatic, turns dark when pressed.

This species has no counterparts.

Multicolored

Like other species, the color of the mushroom varies from gray to brown, but it has yellow, orange, pinkish, brick-like inclusions on its cap. The leg is white with splashes. The smell is sour.

There are no false colorful boletuses.

Pinkish

Pink boletus is found closer to the north and in autumn. The cap of the mushroom is brick or reddish, heterogeneous. The stem is curved as the mushroom turns towards the light. There are no false mushrooms.

The mushroom is small, as it grows in the tundra under dwarf birch trees, light in color.

The name speaks for itself. The cap of the black boletus is dark, almost black. The leg is dense, covered with dark gray patches. The black variety is rarely seen in the basket, but is a welcome guest due to its taste.

The hat can vary greatly in color (whitish, ashy, ocher, brown). Most often, hornbeam is found in deciduous (hornbeam) forests in the Caucasus.

Video - four types of boletus

Where and when to collect boletus mushrooms

The name boletus was not given by chance, because most often they all grow under the birch tree, at the roots. That’s why it’s worth looking in deciduous forests. They are found from late May to mid-autumn.

Obabok is not picky and grows even in the tundra, under dwarf trees. The mushroom loves light; it is best to look for it on the edges. It grows in groups or alone. If you wish, you can grow boletus mushrooms yourself.

To collect boletus mushrooms, use willow baskets or enamel dishes. If you see a mushroom in an uncharacteristic place, it is better to refuse it.

How boletus mushrooms are prepared

Obabok is actively used in cooking. It responds well to any processing method. The mushroom is marinated, fried, stewed, frozen. But before you cook, you need to know how to peel and cook.

Mushrooms should not gather dust in the basket for a long time; they should be cleaned immediately after going to the forest. First, do an initial cleaning, remove needles, wormy mushrooms and other debris. This can be done with a dry cloth or toothbrush.

If you are planning to dry boletus mushrooms, this is worth stopping at. If you want to boil or pickle, soak in slightly salted water for an hour. Then peel the stem like a carrot, look through the body of the mushroom for worms, and remove the sponge if desired.

After cleaning, add water to the mushrooms and boil for 40 minutes. During cooking, constantly skim off the foam.

Sponge mushrooms are considered the most delicious; It is they who most often turn out to be the main target of a quiet hunt. Among the especially valuable representatives of the third kingdom, the common boletus mushroom stands out. In terms of its nutritional qualities, it is equal to white and has a pleasant “mushroom” taste and aroma. Every mushroom picker should know exactly what boletus looks like, so as not to confuse it with its inedible double.

Let's take a closer look at the description of the common boletus, which belongs to the sponge mushrooms.

Common boletus (Leccinum scabrum) belongs to the class Agaricomycetes, family Boletaceae. Other common names: birch grass, blackhead, obabok, common obabok.

• The cap is always convex (initially hemispherical, then cushion-shaped), medium in size (from 6 to 15 cm in diameter), from gray-brown to brown, even in color. The skin is smooth, silky, slightly overhanging the edge of the cap.
• Hymenophore. The tubes are light, then turn gray and are easily separated from the cap.
• The stem is white to gray in color, club-shaped in young specimens, then cylindrical with a thickening at the base. Elongated (from 10 to 20 cm in height), not massive (diameter from 1 to 3 cm), with a clear pattern on the entire surface (gray, brown, sometimes black scales).
• The pulp is whitish and does not change color when cut; in the cap it is looser, in the stem it is dense and fibrous. Has a pleasant smell.

All representatives of the boletus group are edible.

Species diversity and description

Boletus is a collective name for a number of mushrooms of the genus Leccinum. Excellent growing conditions have led to the fact that boletus species have minor external differences. It is important to know what a particular boletus mushroom looks like in order to be able to distinguish it from other mushrooms.

Swamp (Leccinum holopus)

The marsh boletus, or white boletus, got its name from its place of growth. This mushroom is noticeably different from other boletus mushrooms. The cap is on average from 3 to 10 cm in diameter, but can reach 16 cm. The convex cushion-shaped shape is characteristic only of young mushrooms; with age it becomes flat. The surface is smooth, sometimes wrinkled. The cap is painted in a color uncharacteristic for this group: whitish-cream or grayish with a bluish or greenish tint.

The leg is thin (1-3 cm), elongated (from 5 to 15 cm), whitish or grayish in color, covered with scales of the same color. The scales turn brown only after the mushroom ages and dries out; It is better not to collect such specimens.

The tubular layer is first white, then dirty grayish in color. The pulp is watery, white with a slight greenish tint; the stalk is denser, at the base its color becomes bluish-greenish. Does not change color upon contact with air.

Harsh (Leccinum duriusculum)

The cap is rarely more than 15 cm. The shape is hemispherical, later - cushion-shaped, convex. Young mushrooms have a silky, even pubescent skin, which later becomes smooth; becomes slimy in rainy weather. Depending on the conditions, the color can vary from light gray-brown, sometimes with a purple tint, to brownish-red or ocher-brown.

The tubes are light, creamy, then yellowish or grayish. When pressed, olive-brown marks remain.

The leg is cylindrical, rarely pointed at the base; covered with brownish scales that form a mesh pattern. Unevenly colored: creamy above, brownish below. The flesh in the cap is dense, white, and turns red where it is cut. In the leg it is denser, somewhat harsh; yellowish-green at the base, lighter above. The smell is weak.

Gray (hornbeam) (Leccinum carpini)

This mushroom is most similar to the common boletus. The cap is hemispherical, eventually cushion-shaped, up to 8 cm in diameter, rarely up to 14 cm; in young specimens the edge is bent, straightening out with age. The surface is dry, velvety, slightly grainy; painted in brownish-gray tones. In rainy weather the color darkens to olive-brown.

The leg is cylindrical, quite thin (up to 4 cm), long (from 5 to 13 cm); in the lower part it has a club-shaped thickening. The color is uneven: brownish at first, grayish closer to the cap. Its entire surface is covered with whitish scales, which turn yellow over time, then acquire a dark brown tint.

The tubular layer is watery, freely separated from the pulp, whitish or sandy-gray in color; a notch is visible in the area of ​​contact with the leg. The pulp is white: soft in the cap and fibrous in the stem; in old mushrooms it becomes harsh. In air it changes color first to pinkish-violet, then darkens almost to black.

Black (Leccinum scabrum)

The black boletus has a small (5-9 cm) dark brown or almost black cap. The skin cracks with age, partially exposing the flesh. The leg is proportional, cylindrical, white, covered with small dark scales. The tubes are brownish-gray. The pulp is white, darkens at the break.

Pinkish (Leccinum roseofractum)

The pink boletus has a convex, cushion-shaped cap of medium size (up to 15 cm) with age. The skin is gray-brown, pinkish-brown, maybe darker, even dark brown; dry.

The leg is thin, long, cylindrical, with a thickening at the base in young specimens; sometimes curves, white with brownish scales, which become almost black with age. The tubular layer is light, becoming dirty gray with age. The pulp is dense. This boletus turns pink when cut.

Spreading

The boletus mushroom is widespread. It can be found in Europe, Asia, and America; This representative of the third kingdom successfully mastered even the climate of the tundra. Prefers light mixed or deciduous forests with the obligatory presence of birch trees. It forms mycorrhiza with birches, and selects young trees. It grows especially well in mixed coniferous forests with young birch forests.

Fruiting begins in July and lasts until late autumn. If the summer is not too dry, single specimens can be found as early as the end of June.

A characteristic feature of boletus mushrooms is their massive, industrial output. The fruiting bodies germinate together, filling large areas; the intensity of germination does not decrease after harvesting the first crops. In this case, the mushroom may completely disappear for a long time

and for no apparent reason, and after a “break” return with the same industrial volume.

Where to look and how to collect

If you set out to find boletus trees, examine young birch forests or areas interspersed with birch trees. You can ignore dark, overgrown places - boletus mushrooms are demanding of light. Despite this, only single specimens are found on the edges. The boletus grows en masse only in well-lit clearings deep in the forest.

Young fruiting bodies can hide under a layer of litter, forming the “tubercle” known to all mushroom pickers. The search is greatly facilitated by a straight, long stick, with the help of which the litter is moved apart in “suspicious” places. The mushroom can be cut or twisted. There is no clear opinion, but experienced mushroom pickers advise carefully cutting off the stem so as not to damage the mycelium. In boletus mushrooms, at a certain age, the tubular layer darkens and becomes loose; The pulp remains dense for some time. If you find such a mushroom, separate the hymenophore and leave it in the forest: the spores that ripen in it will give rise to new myceliums.

Mushroom look-alikes

• The common boletus has several lookalikes. The most dangerous of them is gall fungus. It is an inedible mushroom and can cause food poisoning. You can distinguish false boletus by the following characteristics:
• the leg is colored in clearly defined pinkish or reddish tones;
• on the leg there is a mesh pattern reminiscent of a vascular network;
• hymenophore gray-pinkish;
• the flesh at the cut site turns pink;
• all mushrooms, even old ones, show no signs of damage by insects;
• the mushroom grows in a ditch, near a stump, and in other shaded places.

Another mushroom similar to boletus is boletus. This mushroom belongs to the same genus, is edible, processed and prepared using similar technology. Boletus can form mycorrhiza with various coniferous and deciduous trees, including birch, and therefore can be found in birch forests, like boletus.

The cap is brown, but while the boletus has grayish shades mixed into the main color, the boletus has reddish, orange-yellow shades. But this sign is quite conditional. Thus, the marsh boletus (Leccinum holopus) and the white boletus (Leccinum percandidum) are painted the same white-cream colors. They are similar, but they are strikingly different from other representatives of their groups. The stem of boletuses is thicker, and a characteristic bluish color appears on the cut. The flesh of boletus is denser, so they are valued even more. At heat treatment it doesn't fall apart, it becomes crispy. Most mushroom pickers, however, do not strive for an exact definition: sponge mushrooms are mostly edible and have high nutritional qualities, so they take “everything.”

Primary processing and preparation

After collecting boletus mushrooms, you need to start processing as quickly as possible (no longer than 12 hours). If unpeeled, these mushrooms quickly deteriorate. If they grew in a moss-covered area, it is enough to wash and clean the cap and base of the stem from foreign particles. If the mushrooms were collected on sandy soils, they are washed several times; It is better to scrape the surface with a knife.

Then the fruiting body is cut, the places of the cuts are carefully examined for passages left by the worms. If any, damaged areas are cut off. It is better to throw away mushrooms that are too damaged. The tubular layer of old mushrooms is removed.

After cleaning, the mushrooms are boiled in two waters. In the first - to get rid of debris that could not be reached during cleaning. When the water boils, the mushrooms will release quite a lot of foam; you should have a slotted spoon at hand. Remove the foam and drain the contents of the pan into a colander. Transfer the mushrooms into a clean saucepan and pour clean water, add salt and boil for 20 minutes. The boiled mushrooms are placed in a colander and cooled. In this form, they can be left for a short time (no more than 2 days) in the refrigerator. If you need to preserve boiled mushrooms longer, they are placed in freezer. Raw boletus mushrooms cannot be frozen - the process of protein destruction does not stop at subzero temperatures.

Further preparation of boletus mushrooms depends on taste preferences. They can be pickled, salted, used to make soups, or fried.

Nutritional quality. Benefits and harms

Boletus mushrooms belong to the second category of nutritional value. This is delicious dietary product. Every 100 grams of pulp contains only 31 kcal. Moreover, the composition contains significant amounts of vitamins (B, PP, E, C) and minerals; proteins, including leucine, tyrosine and glutamine. The fibrous pulp acts as a “brush” to cleanse the intestines of toxins.

If you are trying boletus for the first time, start with small portions. In rare cases, it can cause idiosyncrasy. Like any mushroom, it is a heavy product - a single serving should be moderate. There have been no recorded cases of poisoning by this mushroom.

Boletus is a pleasant-tasting mushroom that is easily recognized by its typical appearance. Its tendency to produce mass fruit has made it a favorite of all mushroom pickers. Despite the fact that it does not appear every year, boletus is awaited for fear of missing the peak of the harvest. When collecting, you need to carefully look at each specimen so as not to confuse it with an inedible gall fungus.

Before you go into the forest for fresh aromatic mushrooms, you need to study the characteristics of edible specimens. False boletus is especially well camouflaged, poisoning with which can cause unpleasant consequences for good health. It is important to remember the symptoms of the disease and take the necessary measures at the first signs.

Differences between edible boletus and false boletus

Edible boletus looks inconspicuous in appearance. It has a small mucous cap of a grayish-whitish hue. As the mushroom matures, the cap becomes ocher in color. The leg is strongly thickened towards the base. Its color vaguely resembles birch bark. The mushroom spores are pink or pinkish-brown in color. Cut the mushroom in half and observe it. After some time, the cut should not change its color.

False boletus, gall mushroom or bitterling has a more striking appearance. Its cap is brown with a yellowish or chestnut tint. The skin is smooth and quite dry. Its diameter reaches 15 cm. The stem of the false mushroom is short, drop-shaped, and a mesh pattern is clearly visible on the surface. This mushroom can often be found on loamy soil in coniferous plantings or on the edges.

Among the main differences between these two types of mushrooms are the following:

Before picking mushrooms and preparing them for food, carefully examine each specimen. Consumption of a poisonous product leads to negative consequences.

What are the dangers of eating false boletus?

Poisoning with boletus mushrooms does not have a strong toxic effect on the body. Nothing bad will happen if you eat a few mushrooms. But if you eat them regularly, then negative health consequences cannot be avoided. Resinous substances contained in the mushroom have a toxic effect. When they get on the walls of the stomach, they irritate the mucous membrane.

Long-term feeding of gall fungus leads to damage to the liver and other internal organs. In especially severe cases, cirrhosis develops. If a person’s immunity is weakened or has an intolerance to such a product, then its use leads to the following consequences:

• disruption of the functioning of the biliary tract;
• liver damage;
• dizziness (see);
• weakness.

It is almost impossible to eat a lot of gall mushrooms, as they have an unpleasant bitter taste. It is impossible to improve a dish with any spices. The presence of even one false mushroom will spoil the taste of food.

The first signs of poisoning

Many people wonder whether it is possible to get poisoned by false boletus. In fact, this happens extremely rarely. This happens more often if the mushrooms have been pickled. Vinegar takes away the unpleasant taste of bitters, so you can eat a lot of them if you are careless. In this case, the following characteristic symptoms are observed:

• attack of nausea and vomiting;
• pain in the abdomen (see);
• disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system.

Signs appear several hours after eating false boletus. If vomiting does not stop, dehydration develops. With timely diagnosis of the problem, treatment proceeds quickly and without negative consequences.

Advice! If you are poisoned by boletus and symptoms appear, seek help from a doctor. After eating false mushrooms, it is recommended to undergo an ultrasound of the liver to exclude the possibility of liver damage.

What to do if you notice symptoms?

The answer to the question whether one can be poisoned by boletus mushrooms is ambiguous. Therefore, if alarming symptoms are detected, it is better to take first aid measures. It is necessary to clear the stomach of mushroom residues (see). If there is no vomiting, then it will have to be induced. To do this, drink at least 3 glasses of lightly salted water. After this, use your fingers to press on the root of the tongue. Repeat until all food comes out of the stomach.

After gastric lavage, take sorbents (Activated carbon, Polysorb, Smecta, Polyphepan). Strictly follow the instructions that come with each package of the drug. After all procedures, you need to drink plenty of fluids. If you have a chill, it is recommended to lie down and cover yourself with a warm blanket.

In exceptional cases, false boletus poisoning provokes symptoms of respiratory distress or confusion. This occurs due to the rapid spread of toxins through the bloodstream. They have a negative impact on the central nervous system. In such a situation, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Treatment after poisoning

If toxic liver damage occurs after poisoning, the treatment program is selected by the doctor. You will have to undergo a series of examinations and pass the necessary tests. Will need an appointment medicines, restoring liver function.

More often than not, there is no need to take special measures after poisoning. It will be enough to follow a proper diet. First of all, the disturbed water-salt balance is restored. To do this, drink as much mineral water as possible.

Do not load the affected gastrointestinal tract immediately after poisoning. Over the next few days you will have to stick to dietary nutrition. Avoid fried, fatty, smoked foods. Give preference to chicken or fish. Suitable as a side dish vegetable stew. For dessert, eat fruit. You can’t eat citrus fruits, as they contain a lot of acids that irritate the walls of the stomach. It is better to have porridge cooked in water for breakfast. You can add honey or some fruit to it.

False boletus is considered a conditionally poisonous mushroom. It is extremely difficult to get poisoned by it. If this does happen, take action immediately. Remember that it is better to throw away questionable mushrooms than to be treated for poisoning later. Watch the video to see how to distinguish a real boletus from a false one.

The mushroom kingdom is one of the most extensive on the planet, and its representatives are found literally everywhere. Many types of mushrooms have long been used by humans in the food and economic spheres, as well as in medicine. A lot of people, keen on “silent hunting,” go for mushrooms in the fall. But we must remember that poisonous mushrooms are often disguised as good ones. When going to the forest, you need to know what boletus and its other edible cousins ​​look like.

Biological features

Boletus belongs to the spongy cap mushrooms of the genus Leccinum, the distinctive feature of which is the porous hymenophore. Other names for this mushroom are birch or obabok. The first boletuses grow in early summer, and they can be collected until late autumn.

The basis of the body of birch mushrooms, like all other mushrooms, is mycelium (otherwise - mycelium) - a system of thin branched threads that fit tightly together in the body of the mushroom.

The main part of the mycelium is located in fallen and rotted leaves, rotten wood or other organic substrate. Usually the mycelium grows quite widely, since it is through it that nutrients enter the fungus. The boletus mycelium is perennial; it is quite well adapted to changes in the environment and can tolerate both frost and drought. Under favorable conditions, the mycelium forms fruiting bodies, which are called mushrooms. The fruiting body of the birch tree has the following structure:

1. The cap is large and matte, its color varies from white or light brown to gray or almost black (depending on the variety and growing conditions). It is smooth or velvety felt to the touch. The cap of young mushrooms is dome-shaped, while that of old mushrooms is spread out.
2. The leg has a cylindrical shape, in some species it thickens downward. Usually covered with scales, but sometimes fibrous. In a number of varieties, the stem can bend as it grows, turning the mushroom towards the sun.
3. The hymenophore contains tubes of different diameters, the color of which can be white, gray or yellow. With age, the tubes darken.
4. The pulp is white; in some mushrooms it is strong, in others it is loose. When cut, it may take on a dark blue, pink or red tint. It turns black when cooked.
5. The spores are found in a spore powder that is yellow, yellow-brown or dark brown in color.

Unlike the common boletus, its counterpart has a very pronounced bitter taste; for this reason, even worms do not eat the false boletus. If the found adult mushroom does not have wormholes or signs of damage by slugs, it is worth taking a closer look at it. First you need to consider the leg. In the true boletus it is covered with scales, while in the false boletus it has a pattern resembling a net.

Then comes the turn of the cap - in the gall mushroom it can have rather aggressive intense brown or brick shades. If the color of the cap contains green color, you can’t take such a mushroom, since a true boletus simply does not have a cap of this color. When doubts arise about a mushroom found in the forest, it is better not to take it into the basket at all.

From about mid-summer until late autumn, armies of mushroom pickers head into the forests to satisfy the instinct of gathering. Many people find a lot of useful things in this activity: fresh air, leisurely walks, enjoying nature and the amazing beauty of the forest - these are just a small part of the reasons why people leave comfortable sofas, go out of town or to the village, and there... Big amazing world, which also has its own dangers. These include poisonous mushrooms, more or less successfully masquerading as completely harmless ones. We are talking about boletus mushrooms. Solid mushrooms that taste good are eaten fried, boiled, or canned. Unless they... are poisonous!

Definition

Real boletus- not a flashy brownish or grayish mushroom in appearance. It can be of different shades, but usually its cap is white to dark gray. It has a thickened leg at the bottom, white with longitudinal scales of white or dark color (the pattern slightly resembles the color of birch). When cut, the flesh is also white and does not change at the break.

The first boletus trees appear in the first half of summer and grow until late autumn; they usually grow next to birch trees, forming a mutually beneficial symbiosis with them. But you can find this mushroom not only in birch groves, but also in tundras and forest-tundras. It is especially common in the forests of Eurasia, South and North America. It is eaten fried, boiled or pickled, and can also be dried for the winter.

False boletus- it is also sometimes called gall fungus. Appearance very similar to its true brother - everything in it successfully imitates a real mushroom. The leg is gray and speckled, the cap has a characteristic color and shape. His distinctive feature is an incredibly bitter taste, which is what gives it the name “bilious”. One such mushroom is enough to completely ruin an entire pan of food.

Comparison

A distinctive feature that is found in many false mushrooms is that they are not eaten by worms. If your mushroom is very clean, take a closer look at it and make sure it is not false.

First, you should take a closer look at the leg. If it does not have a speckled pattern similar to the coloring of a birch tree, then it is better to avoid such a mushroom. On the false boletus, you will most likely see a pattern of veins that looks like blood vessels.

If the leg does not cause suspicion, we examine the cap. Its bottom should not be pinkish; a real mushroom will never have such a shade.

What does the hat say?

On top, the cap of the gall fungus has a poisonous brown, brick or greenish-brown color, that is, it almost always has a greenish admixture. This is not the case in real mushrooms.

If the color is not enough for you, then feel the hat. If you feel velvety to the touch, this is a sign of false boletus - you should not pick it. A real mushroom has a smooth cap.

You can break off the cap and look at the break - for a false mushroom it will also be pinkish, and for a real one it will be white.

Real boletus
Gall mushroom (false boletus)

Conclusions website

1. A real mushroom has a normal taste, but a false one is incredibly bitter.
2. On the leg of a true boletus there is a pattern similar to that of a birch, and on the false one there is a network of blood vessels.
3. The bottom of the cap of a real mushroom is light or grayish, while that of a false one is pinkish.
4. The top of the cap of the true boletus is evenly gray, brownish or dark, while that of the false boletus has a greenish tint or is dirty.
5. At the break, the real mushroom is white, and the false one is pinkish.
6. The cap of a real mushroom is smooth to the touch, while the cap of a false mushroom is velvety.
7. According to information from readers: You can lick the flesh. False boletus has a bitter taste.