Fungi that envelop the roots of the host plant require soluble carbohydrates as a carbon source, and in this respect they differ from most of their free-living, i.e., non-symbiotic relatives that break down cellulose. Mycorrhizal fungi At least part of their carbon needs are met at the expense of their owners. The mycelium absorbs mineral nutrients from the soil, and at present there is no doubt that it actively supplies the host plant with them. Studies using radioactive tracers have found that phosphorus, nitrogen and calcium can travel through fungal hyphae to the roots and then to the shoots. It is surprising that mycorrhiza, apparently, acts no less effectively even without hyphae extending from the mycelium “shell” enveloping the root. Consequently, this “shell” itself must have well-developed abilities to absorb nutrients and transfer them to the plant.[...]
Mycorrhizal cohabitation (symbiosis) is mutually beneficial to both symbionts: the fungus extracts additional, inaccessible nutrients and water from the soil for the tree, and the tree supplies the fungus with the products of its photosynthesis - carbohydrates.[...]
Mushrooms that enter into symbiosis with forest trees most often belong to the group of basidiomycetes - cap mushrooms, combining both edible and inedible species. The mushrooms that we so enthusiastically collect in the forest are nothing more than the fruiting bodies of fungi associated with the roots various trees. It is curious that some mycorrhizal fungi prefer one type of tree, others prefer several, and their list may include both conifers and deciduous trees.[ ...]
Mycorrhizal symbiosis "fungi - plant roots" is another important adaptation mechanism that has developed as a result of low bioavailability of phosphorus. The fungal component of the symbiosis increases the absorbing surface, but is not able to stimulate sorption through chemical or physical effects. The phosphorus of fungal hyphae is exchanged for carbon fixed by the symbiotic plant.[...]
Who do mycorrhizal fungi need soluble carbohydrates.[...]
Boletus fungi can form mycorrhizae with one, several or even many tree species, systematically sometimes very distant from each other (for example, with conifers and deciduous trees). But it is often observed that a fungus of one species or another is confined to trees of only one species or one genus: larch, birch, etc. Within the same genus - to individual species - they usually turn out to be “insensitive”. However, in the case of the genus of pine (Rtiv), there is a greater association not with the entire genus as a whole, but with its two subgenera: two-coniferous pines (for example, Scots pine) and five-coniferous pines (for example, Siberian cedar). It should also be noted that some mycorrhizal fungi, isolated from tree roots, can apparently develop as saprophytes, content with litter (fallen needles, leaves, rotten wood) of those tree species with which they usually form yikoriza. For example, White mushroom was found on top of a huge boulder in a pine forest, boletin asiatica (a companion of larch) - on a high rotten stump of a birch tree that grew in a larch forest.[...]
M. plants and mycorrhizal fungi. These relationships with fungi are characteristic of most species of vascular plants (flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, horsetails, mosses). Mycorrhizal fungi can entwine the root of a plant and penetrate the root tissue without causing significant damage to it. Fungi incapable of photosynthesis obtain organic substances from plant roots, and in plants, due to branched fungal threads, the absorption surface of the roots increases hundreds of times. In addition, some mycorrhizal fungi not only passively absorb nutrients from the soil solution, but also simultaneously act as decomposers and break down complex substances into simpler ones. Through mycorrhiza, organic substances can be transferred from one plant to another (of the same or different species).[...]
There are also mycorrhizal fungi that cohabit with the roots of higher plants. The mycelium of these fungi envelops the roots of plants and helps obtain nutrients from the soil. Mycorrhiza is observed mainly in woody plants having short sucking roots (oak, pine, larch, spruce).[...]
These are mushrooms of the genera Elaphomyces and truffle (Tuber). The latter genera also form mycorrhizae with woody plants - beech, oak, etc.[...]
In the case of endotrophic mycorrhizae, the relationship between the fungus and higher plants is even more complex. Due to the small contact of the hyphae of the mycorrhizal fungus with the soil, a relatively small amount of water, as well as mineral and nitrogenous substances, enters the root in this way. In this case, biologically active substances such as vitamins produced by the fungus probably become important for higher plants. In part, the fungus supplies the higher plant with nitrogenous substances, since part of the fungal hyphae located in the root cells is digested by them. The mushroom receives carbohydrates. And in the case of orchid mycorrhiza, the fungus itself gives carbohydrates (in particular, sugar) to the higher plant.[...]
Under normal conditions, almost all tree species coexist with mycorrhizal fungi. The mycelium of the fungus envelops the thin roots of the tree like a sheath, penetrating into the intercellular space. A mass of the finest mushroom threads, extending a considerable distance from this cover, successfully performs the function of root hairs, sucking up a nutrient soil solution. [...]
One of the most common species of this genus and the entire family is the porcini mushroom (B. edulis, table 34). It is the most nutritionally valuable of all edible mushrooms in general. It has about two dozen forms, differing mainly in the color of the fruiting body and mycorrhizal association with a particular tree species. The cap is whitish, yellow, brownish, yellow-brown, red-brown or even almost black. The spongy layer in young specimens is pure white, later yellowish and yellowish-olive. The leg has a light mesh pattern. The pulp is white and does not change when broken. Grows with many tree species - coniferous and deciduous, in middle lane in the European part of the USSR - more often with birch, oak, pine, spruce, but has never been recorded in the USSR with such a common species as larch. In the Arctic and mountain tundras it occasionally grows with dwarf birch. The species is Holarctic, but in cultures of the corresponding tree species it is also known outside the Holarctic (for example, Australia, South America). In some places it grows in abundance. In the USSR, the porcini mushroom lives mainly in the European part, in Western Siberia, in the Caucasus. It is very rare in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.[...]
The roots of the grasshoppers are thick and fleshy, and in many species they are retractable. The cells of the root cortex usually contain a mycorrhizal fungus, which belongs to the phycomycetes. These mycorrhizal roots lack root hairs.[...]
The role of mycorrhiza is very important in tropical rain forests, where the absorption of nitrogen and other inorganic substances occurs with the participation of a mycorrhizal fungus, which feeds saprotrophically on fallen leaves, stems, fruits, seeds, etc. The main source of minerals here is not the soil itself, but soil fungi . Minerals enter the mushroom directly from the hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi. In this way, more extensive use of minerals and their more complete circulation are ensured. This explains that most of the root system of rain forest plants is in the surface layer of soil at a depth of about 0.3 m. [...]
It should also be noted that in artificially created forest plantations of one or another tree species, the especially characteristic species of mycorrhizal fungi accompanying them are sometimes found very far from the boundaries of their natural range. In addition to tree species, for the growth of boletus mushrooms great importance have the type of forest, type of soil, its humidity, acidity, etc. [...]
The true milk mushroom is found in birch and pine-birch forests with quite a linden undergrowth. in large groups(“flocks”), from July to September. An obligatory mycorrhizal mushroom with birch.[...]
Mutualism is a widespread form of mutually beneficial relationships between species. Lichens are a classic example of mutualism. Symbionts in a lichen - a fungus and an alga - physiologically complement each other. The hyphae of the fungus, entwining the cells and filaments of the algae, form special suction processes, haustoria, through which the fungus receives substances assimilated by the algae. Algae obtains its minerals from water. Many grasses and trees normally exist only in cohabitation with soil fungi that settle on their roots. Mycorrhizal fungi promote the penetration of water, minerals and organic substances from the soil into plant roots, as well as the absorption of a number of substances. In turn, they receive carbohydrates and other organic substances necessary for their existence from the roots of plants.[...]
One of the measures against acidification of forest soils is their liming in the amount of 3 t/ha every 5 years. It may be promising to protect forests from acid rain using certain types of mycorrhizal fungi. The symbiotic community of fungal mycelium with the root of a higher plant, expressed in the formation of mycorrhiza, can protect trees from the harmful effects of acidic soil solutions and even significant concentrations of certain heavy metals, such as copper and zinc. Many mycorrhiza-forming fungi have the active ability to protect trees from the effects of drought, which are especially harmful to trees growing in conditions of anthropogenic pollution. [...]
Gray russula (R. decolorans) has a cap that is first spherical, spherical, then spread out, flat-convex and until depressed, yellow-brown, reddish-orange or yellowish-orange, more or less reddish along the edge, lilac or pinkish, unequally fading, with scattered red spots, 5-10 cm in diameter with a thin, slightly striped edge. The plates are adherent, white, then yellow. These mushrooms are found mainly in pine forests of the green-moss type. Obligatory as mycorrhizal fungi with pine. The taste is sweet, then spicy.[...]
Most of the mineral nutrition elements enter the forest organisms and the entire biota of the ecosystem exclusively through plant roots. The roots extend into the soil, branching into thinner and thinner ends, and thus cover a sufficiently large volume of soil, which provides a large surface area for the absorption of nutrients. The surface area of the roots of the community was not measured, but it can be assumed that it exceeds the surface area of the leaves. In any case, nutrients predominantly enter the community not through the surface of the roots themselves (and not through root hairs for most plants), but through the significantly larger surface area of fungal hyphae. The surface of the predominant part of the roots is mycorrhizal (that is, covered with fungal mycelium, which is in symbiosis with the root), and the hyphae of these fungi extend from the roots into the soil; For most terrestrial plants, fungi are intermediaries in the absorption of nutrients.[...]
The function of ecosystems includes a set of distinctive features of metabolism - the transfer, transformation, use and accumulation of inorganic and organic substances. Some aspects of this metabolism can be studied using radioactive isotopes, such as radioactive phosphorus: observations are being made of their movements in aquatic environment(aquarium, lake). Radioactive phosphorus circulates very quickly between water and plankton, and penetrates more slowly into coastal plants and animals and gradually accumulates in bottom sediments. When phosphate fertilizers are applied to a lake, there is a temporary increase in its productivity, after which the concentration of phosphates in the water returns to the level that was before the fertilizer was introduced. Nutrient transport brings all parts of an ecosystem together, and the amount of nutrients in water is determined not only by its supply, but by the overall function of the ecosystem at steady state. In a forest ecosystem, nutrients from the soil enter plants through mycorrhizal fungi and roots and are distributed to various plant tissues. Most of the nutrients go to the leaves and other short-lived tissues, which ensures that the nutrients return to the soil after a short time, thereby completing the cycle. Nutrients also enter and into the soil as a result of being washed off from plant leaves. Organic substances are also washed off the surface of the leaves into the soil, and some of them have an inhibitory effect on other plants. Chemical inhibition of some plants by others is only one of the manifestations of allelochemical influence, chemical influences one species to another. The most common type of such effects is the use of chemical compounds by organisms to protect against their enemies. Broad groups of substances take part in the metabolism of communities: inorganic nutrients, food (for heterotrophs) and allelochemical compounds.[...]
Modern ferns, the geological history of which dates back to the Carboniferous (Permian-Carboniferous genus Psaronius - Rzagopshe - etc.). Perennial plants ranging from small forms to very large. The stems are dorsiventral corpuscles or thick tuberous trunks. The stems are fleshy. In the stems, as in other vegetative organs, there are large lysigenic mucus passages, which are one of the features of marattioisids. In large forms, a dictyostele of a very complex structure is formed (the most complex in the genus Angiopteris). Tracheids scalenes. The genus Angiopteris exhibits very weak development of secondary xylem. The roots bear peculiar multicellular root hairs. The first roots to form usually contain a mycorrhizal phycomycete fungus in their bark. Young leaves are always spirally twisted. Very characteristic is the presence at the base of the leaves of two thick stipule-like formations, connected together by a special transverse bridge.[...]
The ability of green plants to carry out photosynthesis is due to the presence of pigments. Maximum light absorption is achieved by chlorophyll. Other pigments absorb the remainder, converting it into various types of energy. In angiosperm flowers, due to pigmentation, the solar spectrum with a certain wavelength is selectively captured. The idea of two plasmas in the organic world predetermined the symbiotrophic beginning of plants. Isolated from all parts of plants, symbiotic endophytes of the Fungi imperfect class synthesize pigments of all colors, hormones, enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, lipids and supply them to the plant in exchange for the carbohydrates obtained. Hereditary transmission of endophytes guarantees the integrity of the system. Some plant species have two types of ecto-endophytic mycorrhizal fungi or fungi and bacteria, the combination of which provides flower color, plant growth and development (Gelzer, 1990).
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21.03.2018
Every year the human population on Earth is increasing. If the growth dynamics do not undergo any changes, then the milestone of 8 billion inhabitants of the planet will be overcome in 2024, and scientists from the UN claim that by 2100 the planet's population will already be 11 billion (!) people. Therefore, the problem of food security is already extremely acute for humanity today.
Technologies used in agriculture today mainly emphasize the use of high-performance varieties and the use of produced chemically fertilizers and growth stimulants. However, soon, as most scientists predict, the maximum limit of their effectiveness will be reached, so farmers around the world today are faced with the search for new and non-standard solutions Problems.
One of these solutions is based on the direct use of the capabilities of the earth's ecosystem, including living microorganisms, organic substances and minerals. Microscopic organisms and fungi are literally right under our feet, and they have enormous potential to bring real benefits and economic benefits to agriculture.
The fact is that all higher plants and fungi are closely interconnected, being elements of one natural system, thus creating a kind of symbiosis that plays a significant role in the life of most cultures.
What is mycorrhiza?
Mycorrhiza or fungal root is a symbiotic association of fungal mycelium with the roots of higher plants. This term was first introduced by Albert Bernhard Frank back in 1885.
As it turned out, about 90% of all plant varieties existing on earth contain mycorrhiza on their roots, which plays a significant role for their full growth and development.
Currently, agronomists are putting forward a scientifically based theory about the content of a special substance glomalin in the soil, which is a type of plant protein. As it turned out, this substance accumulates in the soil precisely due to mycorrhizal fungi. Moreover, without this substance the existence of plants is generally impossible.
Thanks to mycorrhizae, the absorbing surface of the roots of most plants increases up to 1000 (!) times. At the same time, these mushrooms contribute to a significant improvement of the soil, increase the porosity of the fertile soil layer and improve the process of its aeration.
The fact is that root system plants release glucose, which attracts symbionts or mycorrhiza-forming fungi. Sensitively detecting sugar secretions, the fungi begin to entangle plant roots with their hyphae, creating a mycelium, and even have the ability to penetrate deeply into the crop. The point of this penetration is to be able to transfer nutrients to each other.
By multiplying on the roots of plants, fungi create a mass of thin absorbent threads that have the ability to penetrate into the smallest pores of minerals in the ground, thereby increasing the absorption of nutrients and moisture. Surprisingly, one cubic centimeter can contain mycorrhiza with a total length of threads of up to 40 meters (!).
These threads, destroying minerals, extract from the soil the most valuable macro and microelements (for example, phosphorus), which are then supplied to plants.
At the same time, crops infected with the fungus better resist various pathogenic infections, since mycorrhizae stimulate their protective functions.
Varieties of mycorrhiza
There are several varieties of mycorrhiza, but there are two main types:
· Internal (endomycorrhiza). With internal mycorrhiza, fungi are formed directly in the root system of plants, therefore the use of endomycorrhiza is more effective and is already used in agriculture.
Most often, this type of mycorrhiza is found on cultivated garden fruit trees (apple trees, pears, etc.); it can also be found on berries and grain crops, on some types of legumes and vegetables (in particular, tomatoes and eggplants). Endomycorrhiza is also characteristic of most ornamental crops and flowers.
· External or external (ectomycorrhiza). With external mycorrhiza, the fungus entwines the root from the outside, without penetrating inside it, but forming around the roots some formations like a sheath (hyphal mantle).
This type of symbiosis is less effective for use in agriculture, since the exchange nutrients is mainly one-sided in nature, in which the fungus consumes sugars (glucose) synthesized by the plant. Thanks to the influence of special hormones secreted by the fungus, young plant roots begin to branch profusely and thicken.
However, external ectomycorrhiza also provides plants with tangible benefits, helping them to safely survive harsh conditions. winter time, because along with sugars, the fungus also takes excess moisture from the plant.
Most often, external ectomycorrhiza can be found in forests (in oak forests, birch groves, willows, poplars, maples, etc., but it is especially characteristic of coniferous species plants), where fungi create dense mycelium around the root system of trees.
Stages of endomycorrhiza germination
First, fungal spores form special attachments to the root system of plants in the form of growths (suckers), which are called appressoria. Gradually, from these formations, a hypha (a special process coming from the mycelium) begins to penetrate into the root. The hyphae is able to pierce the outer epidermis, thus entering the internal tissues of the root system, where it begins to branch, forming fungal mycelium. Next, the hyphae penetrate into plant cells, where they create arbuscules in the form of complex branches, in which intensive exchange of nutrients occurs.
Arbuscules can exist for several days, and then dissolve, and new arbuscules begin to form instead of old hyphae. This process is programmed, controlled by a special set of genes, and represents a hereditary system model responsible for the reconstruction of mycorrhizae.
Mycorrhizae in the service of humans
Due to the fact that mycorrhizae have a positive effect on plants, promoting their rapid growth and development, these mushrooms are increasingly used in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
Alas, scientists have not yet learned to control the process of mycorrhiza behavior, so they are not yet amenable to change and are poorly controlled. However, even today mycorrhizae are actively used by some farms to support the growth and development of plants (especially young ones).
Mycorrhizal fungi are also used on highly depleted soils and in regions experiencing regular problems with irrigation water. In addition, they are effectively used in regions where man-made disasters have occurred, since mushrooms successfully resist various pollution, including extremely toxic ones (for example, mycorrhizae perfectly level out negative impact heavy metals).
Among other things, this type of mushroom perfectly fixes nitrogen and solubilizes phosphorus, transforming it into a more accessible form that is easily absorbed by plants. Of course, this fact affects crop yields, and without the use of expensive fertilizers.
It has been noticed that plants treated with mycorrhiza produce more vigorous shoots, their root system develops better, and the consumer qualities and size of the fruits improve. Moreover, all products are exclusively environmentally friendly and natural.
In addition, plants treated with mycorrhiza demonstrate resistance to pathogenic organisms.
Currently, there are a lot of drugs that are used to treat plant seeds that demonstrate a positive effect.
Endomycorrhizal fungi are excellent for improving the nutrition of vegetables, ornamental plants And fruit trees.
The experience of gardeners from the United States, who chose land completely devoid of fertility for planting fruit trees, is especially valuable. The use of mycorrhizal drugs allowed scientists, even with such unfavorable conditions After a while, create a blooming garden in this place.
Useful properties of mycorrhiza
Saves moisture (up to 50%)
· Accumulates useful macro and microelements, thereby improving the growth and development of plants
· Increases the resistance of plants to unfavorable climatic and weather conditions, and also resists salts and heavy metals, leveling out severe soil contamination with toxins
Increases productivity, improves the presentation and taste of fruits
· Helps resist various pathogens and harmful organisms (for example, the mushroom is effective against nematodes). Some varieties of mushrooms can suppress up to 60 varieties of pathogens that cause rot, scab, late blight, fusarium and other diseases
· Increases plant immunity
Helps speed up the flowering process
Accelerates the process of crop survival and has a positive effect on the growth of green mass
In fact, mycorrhizae have existed in nature for 450 million years and are still working effectively to help diversify modern views crops
Mycorrhiza works on the principle of a pump, absorbing water from the soil and extracting useful substances from the soil, and in return, receiving vital carbohydrates. Its spores can spread tens of meters, covering a much larger area than conventional crops can afford. Therefore, thanks to such close cooperation, plants bear fruit better, show resistance to various diseases, and tolerate unfavorable conditions well. weather and poor soils.
Is mycorrhiza the future? Time will show.
All types of fungi described in this article are mycorrhizal. In other words, they form mycorrhizae (or fungal roots) with certain tree species and live with them for years in a strong symbiosis.
Mushrooms receive organic matter from the tree: carbohydrates in the form of tree sap with sugars, amino acids, some vitamins, growth and other substances they need. With the help of mycorrhiza, the tree extracts nitrogenous products, minerals, phosphorus and potassium, and water.
Mushrooms become attached to certain forest species and cannot live without them. But at the same time, they are very picky: they love well-warmed soil, rich in forest humus.
The development of mushrooms is influenced by many factors: air humidity and temperature, lighting conditions, soil moisture, and so on.
Without their favorite tree species, mycorrhizal fungi do not bear fruit at all. In turn, trees often become weaker and sicker without their mushroom brothers. Thus, larch and pine seedlings that do not have mycorrhiza simply die on nutrient-poor soil. And vice versa, in close collaboration with mushrooms they successfully develop in these same places.
The host tree stimulates the growth of mycelium (mycelium) only if it lacks minerals obtained from the soil. Therefore, porcini mushrooms are more likely to appear on poor sandy soil than on fertile soil. The question arises, how to make wild mushrooms grow in the garden?
There is only one way - to artificially inoculate mycelium with their green partners. Growing mycorrhizal fungi is possible only outdoors and under mycorrhizal trees.
The main thing is to preserve the inseparable pair of mushrooms and trees, without which the full development of a mushroom culture is impossible. This means it is necessary to create favorable conditions, close to those in which these fungi exist in the wild. To do this, at a minimum, you need the presence of appropriate tree species in your garden - birch, aspen, pine, spruce, larch, and so on.
In addition to cultivating valuable and popular mycorrhizal mushrooms, mushroom growers have repeatedly tried to grow yellow chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius), white milk mushrooms (Russula delica) and true milk mushrooms (Lactarius resimus) in the garden under birch trees, and funnel mushrooms (Craterellus cornucopioides) under several deciduous trees; Polish sucker and chestnut mushrooms; Russula under a variety of tree species and black milk mushrooms under spruce and birch.
PORCINI
The most important trumpet mushroom of the Russian forest is the porcini mushroom (Boletus edulis), otherwise it is called boletus or cow.
It grows from the beginning of June to the end of October in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, in parks and gardens, along paths and abandoned roads, on the edges, along the slopes of ditches, in old dugouts and trenches, sometimes in thickets of bushes, after a drought in moss along swamps and drained swamps, but not in the dampest places (under birch, pine, spruce and oak trees); alone and in groups, often, annually.
The cap of the porcini mushroom reaches a diameter of 10 and even 30 cm. In youth it is round, hemispherical, in maturity it is cushion-shaped, in old age it can straighten to prostrate-convex, prostrate and depressed.
The cap is smooth, sometimes wrinkled in dry weather, often matte, shiny, slightly slimy in rain. The edge of the cap is leathery, often acute-angled.
The color of the cap depends on the time of year, humidity and temperature, as well as on the tree species next to which the mycorrhiza mushroom grows and forms: gray-ocher, gray-brown, ocher-brown, brown, chestnut, chestnut-brown, brown-brown and dark brown, lighter towards the edges.
The coloring is often uneven, the cap can be covered with multi-colored or blurry white spots, and in late autumn it can fade to a whitish, gray marbled and greenish color. Young mushrooms grown under fallen leaves or under a birch tree may be uncolored and have a completely white cap.
The tubular layer is finely porous, consisting of free, deeply notched or adherent tubes up to 4 cm long.
In youth it is white, in maturity it is yellow or yellow-greenish, in old age it is yellow-green or olive-yellow, turning brown.
The leg of the porcini mushroom grows in length up to 10 and even 20 cm, in thickness up to 5 and even 10 cm. In youth it is thick, tuberous, and in maturity it lengthens, becoming club-shaped or expanded towards the base.
It is solid, smooth, sometimes wrinkled, white, ocher, brownish or brownish, with a light mesh pattern, which is especially noticeable in the upper part of the leg.
The pulp is fleshy, dense, white, with a pleasant mushroom smell or almost odorless and with a nutty taste. The color does not change when broken.
BOROVIK
Boletus, or white pine mushroom (Boletus pinicola), grows on sandy soils, in green and white moss, in grass in pine forests and in forests mixed with pine from mid-May in warm and humid spring to early November in warm autumn. As the latest Carpathian experience shows, it can also grow under other tree species, such as spruce and beech.
The cap of the boletus reaches a diameter of 20 cm. It is very fleshy, hemispherical in youth, convex in maturity, sometimes with a tuberculate surface, and cushion-shaped in old age.
The skin is smooth or velvety, and looks slightly sticky in the rain. The edge is often lighter than the middle, sometimes pinkish.
The color of the cap is burgundy, olive-brown, chestnut-brown, chocolate and dark red-brown, sometimes with a bluish and even purple tint.
Young mushrooms grown under moss may be uncolored and have a whitish or pink cap with a beautiful marbled pattern.
The tubular layer is white in youth, darkens with age to a yellowish, and then yellowish-olive color.
The tubes are up to 4 cm long, but noticeably shorten where they grow to the stem.
The leg of the boletus grows up to 12 cm in length. It is thick, very dense, club-shaped, and has a strong thickening at the base; white, white-pinkish, yellow-pinkish, yellow-brownish or reddish-brown and covered with a noticeable reddish or yellow-brown reticulate pattern.
The pulp is dense, white, reddish under the skin of the cap and stem, does not change color when broken, has a pleasant taste and pungent smell of raw potatoes. ON A NOTE
Porcini mushroom and boletus are considered one of the highest quality, tasty and nutritious mushrooms. They make excellent soups with a light, clear broth, fry, dry (very fragrant), freeze, salt and pickle. When properly dried, the pulp remains light in color, unlike moss mushrooms and boletuses.
You can fry it without preliminary boiling, or just to be on the safe side, boil it for about 10 minutes. In some Western European countries, porcini mushrooms are added raw to salads, but I would save my stomach from such shocks.
COMMON BORTOWER
One of the most common, most unpretentious, but highly respected trumpet mushrooms is the common boletus (Leccinum scabrum).
The people gave him many names: obabok, grandma, spiker, birch, podgreb and gray mushroom.
Boletus grows in birch forests and forests mixed with birch, under single birch trees in the forest, in bushes and woodlands, including tundra, along roads and ditches, in gardens and on grassy city lawns from mid-May to the first ten days of November, singly and in groups, annually.
The cap of the boletus reaches a diameter of 10 and even 20 cm. In youth it is hemispherical, in maturity it becomes convex or cushion-shaped; usually it is smooth, dry, matte, and slightly sticky in the rain.
The cap is yellow-brown, brownish, gray-brown, brown-brown, chestnut-brown, dark brown and black-brown, sometimes almost white with a pinkish tint and gray, often spotted.
The skin of the cap is not removed during cooking.
The tubes are up to 3 cm long, with a notch at the stem or almost free. The tubular layer in youth is finely porous, whitish and grayish, darkening in maturity to dirty gray or gray-brown, often with whitish spots, convex, spongy, easily separated from the pulp.
The boletus stem grows up to 12 and even 20 cm long, and up to 4 cm thick. It is cylindrical, slightly thinner towards the cap and sometimes noticeably thickens towards the base, hard, solid, whitish with longitudinal whitish fibrous scales, which darken to dark with age. gray, brown, black-brown and even black.
The pulp is watery, dense and tender in youth, rather quickly becomes loose, flabby, and in the stem it turns into hard fibrous. It is white or grayish-white, at the base of the leg it can be yellowish or greenish, does not change color at the break; with a faint pleasant mushroom smell and taste.
Porcini mushrooms and boletus mushrooms compete with each other, so it is better to sow their spores under birch trees in different parts of the garden. Boletus mushrooms have undeniable advantage in front of noble mushrooms and boletuses - when proper care its harvests will be more frequent and higher.
With regular watering, boletus mushrooms will appear under birch trees on their own.
When bearing fruit, boletus removes a lot of potassium from the soil. If the garden is not located in potassium-rich lowlands, then at the beginning of each season it is necessary to replenish potassium and other minerals.
To do this, water the soil around the tree with two buckets of solution (at the rate of 10 g of potassium chloride and 15 g of superphosphate per 1 bucket).
When preparing “seed material” from old caps, boletus spores mostly remain mixed with the pulp and do not precipitate well, so you need to use a suspension of their spores along with the pulp.
NOTE
There are more than ten types of boletus, including the more famous ones, such as blackhead, swamp, smoky and pinkish.
Of these, you can most often find in gardens the not very tasty swamp boletus (Leccinum holopus), which is best collected in at a young age and preferably just hats.
Many people would like to grow mushrooms on their plot, near their home. However, this is far from easy to do. On the one hand, mushrooms themselves appear where they are not needed, for example, dung beetles or puffballs suddenly grow on lawns and flower beds, and tinder fungi appear on tree trunks, causing rot. On the other hand, in other years the weather is mushroomy - warm and humid, but your favorite mushrooms (porcini, boletus, boletus) are still missing.
The mysterious world of mushrooms
In order to understand mysterious world mushrooms, you need at least general outline get acquainted with their biological and environmental features.
Fungi are spore-bearing organisms; the unit of their reproduction and dispersal is the smallest cells - spores. Finding themselves in favorable conditions, they germinate, forming hyphae - the finest thread-like structures. In different types of fungi, the development of hyphae requires a specific substrate: soil, forest litter, wood, etc. In the substrate, the hyphae grow quickly and, intertwining with each other, form mycelium - the basis of the fungal organism. IN certain conditions On the surface of the substrate permeated with mycelium, fruiting bodies are formed, which serve for the formation and dispersal of spores.
The most valuable types of edible mushrooms are distinguished by great diversity in their feeding methods and in relation to the substrate on which they grow. Based on this feature, all the mushrooms that interest us can be divided into three large groups:
The environment for the development of the mycelium of fungi belonging to this group is the soil, or more precisely, its upper humus horizon, consisting of the remains of dead plants, excrement of herbivores or humus decomposed to a monotonous organic mass. Under such conditions, saprophytic fungi appear on their own, spreading naturally.
This category includes the most popular mushroom culture in the world, the bisporus champignon ( Agaricus bisporus), as well as other representatives of the Champignon genus ( Agaricus): w. ordinary (A. campester), w. field ( A. arvensis), w. forest ( A. silvaticus). There are also a number of mushrooms of this group - smoky talker ( Clitocybe nebularis); some species of the umbrella family ( Macrolepiota): h. motley ( M. procera), h. shaggy (M. rhacodes); white dung beetle ( Coprinus comatus) and etc.
Mushrooms - wood destroyers
In Russia, the cultivation of a wood-destroying fungus, Flammulina velvetypodia, or winter honey agaric, is widely practiced ( Flammulina velutipes). Winter honey fungus grows naturally on the trunks of living but weakened or damaged trees hardwood, especially willows and poplars. It tolerates frosts well, so it forms fruiting bodies mainly in the autumn-winter period or in early spring. This mushroom is grown artificially only indoors, since its cultivation in open ground poses a threat to gardens, parks and forests.
In the last 30–40 years, oyster mushroom has gained great popularity ( Pleurotus ostreatus). To grow it, cheap cellulose-containing substrates are used: straw, corn cobs, sunflower husks, sawdust, bran and other similar materials.
Fruiting body of the mushroom colloquially called simply “mushroom”) is the reproductive part of the fungus, which is formed from intertwined hyphae of the mycelium and serves to form spores.
Mycorrhizae are non-lignified structures made from plant roots and fungal tissue.
Porcini 
Chanterelles 
Ryzhik
Mycorrhizal fungi
Mushrooms of the third group - mycorrhiza-formers, which are associated, according to nutritional conditions, with the roots of higher plants - are much less amenable to artificial cultivation. It is to this group that most of the most valuable edible mushrooms in terms of nutritional and taste properties belong.
As already mentioned, their development requires the roots of woody plants - forest-forming plants. Mycorrhizal symbiosis allows trees to expand their ecological range and grow in less than optimal conditions.
A good example is the different types of larches, with early age on their root endings mycorrhiza with larch oiler is formed ( Suillus grevillei), and after 10–15 years, yellow-orange fruiting bodies appear under the trees. Practice shows that if you plant even one larch tree on a plot, mushrooms of this type will definitely grow under it after some time.
A similar picture is observed with Scots pine. This tree species enters into mycorrhizal symbiosis with many species of fungi, however, the obligate (obligatory) mycorrhiza formers are late, yellow, or true ( S. lutens), and a grainy oiler ( Suillus granulatus). Symbiosis with these types of fungi allows pine to grow in poor sandy soils, where other tree species cannot take root. Having created decorative biogroups of Scots pine on your site, you can fully count on the appearance of these species of boletus.
The situation is much more complicated with white boletus, boletus, boletus, saffron milk caps, chanterelles and even russula. The reason is that they are not obligatory mycorrhiza-formers and enter into symbiosis with trees only under conditions when the latter require their help. Notice where the most mushroom places are in nature? At the edge of the forest, clearing, in forest plantings. In conditions favorable for tree species, mycorrhizal symbiosis does not form.
Nevertheless, in practice there are cases of successful cultivation of these types of mushrooms. Most often this happens as a result of transplanting large trees with a clod of earth. There have even been recorded cases of mass appearance of russula fruiting bodies after the creation of alley plantings of silver birch along the streets in Moscow. Therefore, when decorating your site with trees, from the very beginning you need to take care of creating favorable conditions for the development of mycorrhizal fungi. First, you need to know with which tree species a particular type of fungus can form mycorrhiza. Secondly, if possible, create close to optimal conditions environment for the development of mycorrhiza and the appearance of fruiting bodies.
In addition to the presence of tree roots, a certain temperature is required for the development of fungi. Few people know that at temperatures above +28 o C the mycelium stops growing, and at +32 o C it dies. Therefore, the soil surface should be shaded by the crowns of trees and shrubs. For the development of fungi, fairly high soil and air humidity is also needed. This can be achieved by regular watering. Moreover, under no circumstances should you flood the soil with water until it becomes oversaturated, otherwise the mycelium will become wet. The development of mycorrhizal fungi can be hindered by the creation of a lawn under trees or other disturbances of the upper soil horizons. You should not rake fallen leaves and needles under trees.
The appearance of certain types of mycorrhizal fungi can be stimulated by sowing their spores, for which the ripe and already beginning to decompose caps of the fruiting bodies need to be crumbled into warm, preferably rainwater, left for several hours, mixed thoroughly and watered with this solution on the soil under the trees.
Honey mushrooms 
Boletus 
Champignon
Mushrooms and trees
Let us now consider the most interesting views edible mushrooms from the point of view of their association with certain tree species.
Porcini (Boletus edulis) White birch mushroom ( B. edulis f. betulicola) forms mycorrhiza with silver birch, b. oak town ( B. edulis f. guercicola) – with pedunculate oak, b. Sosnovy ( B. edulis f. pinocola) – with Scots pine, b. spruce town ( B. edulis f. edulis) – with common spruce.
boletus, or common obabok ( Leccinum scabrum). This name is often used not only for the common boletus, but also for all species of the genus Leccinum with a brown cap: black boletus, swamp boletus, and pink boletus. All of them form mycorrhizae with our birch species. Common and black boletus are often associated with silver birch, and swamp and pink boletus are associated with downy birch.
Boletus. This name includes species of the genus Leccinum with an orange cap, which differ from each other not only external signs(for example, by the color of the scales on the stalk), but also by mycorrhizal partners. The most typical species is the red boletus ( L. aurantiacum) with an intensely colored orange cap and white stem, which forms mycorrhizae with aspen and other poplar species. Boletus, or boletus of various skins ( L. versipele), with black scales on the stem, forms mycorrhiza with birch in damp places. Boletus, or Fr. oak (L. guercinum), distinguished by red-brown scales on the stalk, forms mycorrhiza with pedunculate oak.
Common chanterelle, or real ( Cantharellus cabarus), capable of forming mycorrhiza with different tree species. Most often with pine and spruce, less often with deciduous trees, in particular oak.
Russula (Russula). About 30 species of russula grow in our forests. Some of them, in particular s. green ( R. aeruginea) and s. pink ( R. rosea), form mycorrhiza with birch, others are able to enter into symbiosis with the roots of different types of trees (s. blue-yellow - R. cyanoxantha, With. food – R.vesca, With. brittle – R. fragilis).
Saffron milk caps (Lactarius). Real camelina, or pine ( L.deliciosus), is a mycorrhiza-former with Scots pine. Spruce mushroom ( L.sanguifluus) – with common spruce.
Black breast, or blackberry(Lactarius necator), forms mycorrhiza with birch and spruce.
They occupy a special place in the biology of higher or vascular plants. Mycorrhiza (translated from Greek as mushroom root) arises as a result of the symbiotic coexistence of a fungus with the root of a higher plant. Mycorrhiza is found among forest trees, herbaceous vegetation and agricultural plants (wheat, etc.). It was found in plants in Paleozoic, Devonian and Carboniferous deposits.
The importance of mycorrhizae for living plants was explained for the first time in Russia in the first half. 19th century Russian scientist F.M. Kamensky, who studied the symbiotic relationship of the fungus with the herbaceous plant podelnik. Thanks to the symbiosis of fungi with roots, the nutrition of plants is improved, which are called mycotrophic due to their ability to use fungi. Based on the relationship between the roots of a higher plant and the mycelium of the fungus, three main types of mycorrhizae are distinguished: endotrophic (internal), ectotrophic (external), transitional (ectoendotrophic).
Majority herbaceous plants have endotrophic mycorrhizae. The mycelium of the fungus is located mainly in the upper part of the root; the fungus does not penetrate into the root growth cone. The mycelium of the fungus can penetrate into the cells of root hairs, forming hyphal balls, tree-like branches or bubble-like swellings there. The root cells of the plants in which the fungus has settled remain alive and gradually digest the mycelium that has penetrated them, thus obtaining nitrogen, which is not always present in an accessible form in the soil. Herbaceous plants, especially orchids, enter into a mycorrhizal relationship with microscopic fungi that do not form fruiting bodies. The seeds of most orchids are not able to germinate without the participation of a fungus; this alone explains the failures when trying to artificially propagate orchids. Blooming orchids were obtained in tropical countries, sometimes at great risk to life, and brought to Europe, where they were and still are very expensive. Therefore, the desire of plant growers to grow orchids from seeds to obtain hybrid forms is understandable. When studying the inconspicuous nesting plant, a mycorrhizal orchid plant that does not have chlorophyll, it was noticed that the hyphae of the fungus affect the germination of the seeds of this plant. The nest depends on the fungus for its entire life. Some orchids take 10 or more years to form rhizomes, and only then do they bloom. The green leaf orchid does not have such a vital dependence on mycorrhizae. As a result of the interaction of the plant with the fungus, it produces biologically active substances that enhance plant growth.
The beneficial role of mycorrhiza-forming fungi lies mainly in supplying woody plants with mineral nutrition elements and vitamins. However, in herbaceous plants, other fungi - the so-called imperfect ones - are more often involved in the formation of mycorrhiza. Ectotrophic mycorrhiza is most often found in woody plants and very rarely in herbaceous plants. In this case, an outer sheath of fungal hyphae develops on the roots of woody plants. There are no root hairs at the root; their role is played by fungal hyphae.
In woody plants, mycorrhiza of a transitional type - ectoendotrophy - is also found. The hyphae of the fungus abundantly cover the outside of the root and give off branches that penetrate into the root. The outer hyphae of the fungus draw water, mineral salts, as well as soluble nitrogen and other organic substances from the soil. These substances coming from the soil are partially used by the plant, and some of them go towards the growth of the mycelium and the formation of the fruiting bodies of the fungus. There are no mycorrhizal fungi in the vital growing parts of the root (cylinder): if they get there, they are immediately digested by the plant cells. Mycorrhizal symbionts cannot exist without each other. If mycorrhizal fungi do not encounter tree roots, they will not form fruiting bodies. Therefore, it is very difficult to create the opportunity to grow, for example, porcini mushrooms under artificial conditions.
In the numerous species kingdom of fungi, mycorrhizal fungi are only a small part of it. For example, among 900 genera of basidiomycetes, only representatives of 91 genera are capable of producing mycorrhizal formations. Currently, there are about 200 thousand higher plants that come into contact with mycorrhizal fungi. The most favorable conditions for the development of mycorrhizae are in soils depleted of soluble nitrogen and phosphorus. In soils where there is enough phosphorus and nitrogen, mycorrhiza almost never occurs.
Boletus fungi form mycorrhizae with many higher plants, sometimes systematically distant from each other, for example, with conifers and deciduous plants. Sometimes, in different habitats, mycorrhiza-formers have mycotrophic relationships with different tree species, for example, the common oiler in Leningrad region- with types of pine trees, and on Sakhalin - with other trees. The mycorrhizal mushroom red fly agaric is associated with 26 species of trees - fir, larch, spruce, pine, birch, poplar, oak, etc.
Almost all soils of the Soviet Union are suitable for mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza formation is sometimes observed in places far from the forest, and where the forest has not grown for a long time. The process of mycorrhiza formation in our northern podzolic soils is particularly intense.
Mycorrhizal fungi are of great importance when planting forest shelterbelts. Artificial forest plantations create favorable conditions for preserving moisture in the steppe part of the country, and this affects the increase in agricultural yields. Clarification of the role of mycorrhizae in the survival and development of tree species in various climatic conditions of our country is still one of the most important tasks of mycology. For example, it is known that in the southern regions the formation of mycorrhizae is weaker than in the northern ones, and artificial infection of forest plantations is recommended there. The protection of fungi that form mycorrhizae is necessary for successful forestry. There are many such mushrooms in the Leningrad region.
It should be noted that there is one more natural phenomenon that affects the development of mycorrhizae in the soil. Currently, the growth of many tree species has slowed down compared to the 1930s and 1950s due to so-called acid rain, which contains products released into the atmosphere by industrial enterprises. Acidic compounds kill mycorrhizal fungi on tree roots, and after the fungus dies, the trees themselves die. The negative effects of acid rain have been noted here in the USA, Japan and other countries.
Many types of mycorrhizal fungi are edible. They are not only tasty and aromatic, but also nutritious. Mushrooms do not contain plant starch, but they do contain glycogen and sugars, which give them a sweetish taste. There is especially a lot of sugar in white, boletus, and boletus. There is more sugar in the stems of mushrooms than in the caps. The amount of protein compounds in mushrooms is greater than in meat, eggs, peas, and rye. They are concentrated mainly in the mushroom cap. Fat content ranges from 1 to 6%. Almost all edible mushrooms, as already noted, contain vitamins A, B, B 1 B 2, C, D and PP. They contain as much vitamin PP as there is in yeast and liver, and vitamin D is no less than in butter.
Based on nutritional value and taste, mushrooms are conventionally divided into four categories. The first category includes, for example, porcini, saffron milk caps - valuable and tasty mushrooms; to the second - boletus, boletus, milk mushrooms - inferior in quality to mushrooms of the first category; to the third - blue russula, autumn honey fungus, moss fly; The fourth category includes mushrooms that are collected only by amateurs - these are oyster mushrooms (common, autumn), goat mushroom, green russula, marsh buttercup. All mushrooms of these categories are available in our region.
Leningrad mycologist B.P. Vasilkov believes that in the regions of the North-West, Volga region, Urals and Center, the annual reserves of edible mushrooms amount to more than 150 thousand tons. More than 200 species of edible mushrooms are found in Russian forests. Science cannot yet predict exactly where and when the mushroom harvest will be. The mushroom harvest depends on the weather of the current season, habitat and type of mushroom. According to available information, the yield of porcini mushroom under favorable growing conditions reaches about 500 kg, and butterdish - even 1 thousand kg per 1 hectare. In lean years, you can get only a few kilograms from 1 hectare or none at all.
Nothing. In some years, mushrooms are destroyed by pests from the insect world (larvae of flies, mosquitoes, etc.).
The range of edible mushrooms collected in each region is different. In the UK and USA, wild mushrooms are not used at all. The peoples of the Far North also almost never eat mushrooms. The peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the Bashkirs and Tatars, are indifferent to mushrooms. Russians, on the contrary, are big fans of mushrooms. In good years they collect valuable mushrooms, and in lean years they collect all edible species.
The most interesting group is boletaceae, which includes all types of porcini mushrooms and inedible ones - satanic mushroom and gall mushroom. This also includes birch trees (obabka), aspen trees, boletus and goats. The sizes of the fruiting bodies of these mushrooms can vary depending on where they grow - from 1-2 cm in diameter (birch grass in the Arctic) to half a meter in central Russia, and in weight - from several grams to 4 kg. The most common sizes are medium - up to 20 cm in diameter. The stems of fruiting bodies of the same species may differ depending on the place of growth (as well as the color of the cap). In low damp places, among mosses and herbaceous plants, the legs stretch out. and in dry places they are usually short and thickened. Cohabiting with one tree species or many tree species, sometimes systematically distant from each other, mycorrhizal fungi in some cases can apparently develop as saprotrophs (isolated from tree roots). For example, a white mushroom was found on top of a huge boulder in a pine forest.
In the Leningrad region, boletus mushrooms are less diverse than in central Russia, and in the Arctic tundra only 3-4 species are known. Mass formation of fruiting bodies in boletus fungi is most often observed in August - September. Many types of boletus fungi are mycorrhiza-formers, so it is not possible to artificially obtain fruiting bodies from them, with the exception of two types of moss mushrooms. Among the boletus mushrooms in the Leningrad region, there are very few inedible ones; about 3-4 species are known. The satanic mushroom (boletus satanas) is especially often mentioned in literature as poisonous, but, according to French and Czechoslovak literature, it is a completely edible, and even tasty (boiled and fried) mushroom.
In the Leningrad region, many people are afraid of bright porcini mushrooms that turn blue at the break. However, it is quite possible to use them after preliminary boiling.
Some types of boletus mushrooms contain antibiotic substances in their fruiting bodies (spruce porcini mushroom). These substances have a negative effect on E. coli and tuberculosis microbes. Substances isolated from the white mushroom (boletus edulis) and satanic mushroom suppressed malignant tumors in mice. In the past, in Rus', mushrooms were called lips, and only in the 15th-16th centuries did they begin to call all edible boletus mushrooms. Nowadays mushrooms have many folk names(boletus, obabok, oiler, moss fly, etc.), but some species do not have such names, and in popular literature they are designated by their Latin name.
There are 750 known species of the genus Bolethus. The fruiting body of these mushrooms is usually large and fleshy. The stalk is tuberous, thickened, especially in young ones, with a characteristic relief mesh pattern. The porcini mushroom, the most nutritionally valuable of the mushrooms in the Leningrad region, has several forms, differing in the color of the fruiting body and mycorrhizal association. The cap is whitish, yellow, brownish, yellow-brown, red-brown or even almost black. The spongy layer in young specimens is pure white, later yellowish and yellowish-olive. The leg has a light mesh pattern. The flesh is white at the break, does not change. It grows under many tree species in the Leningrad region: under oak, birch, pine, spruce, but is never found under larch. The mushroom is called porcini because its flesh does not darken when cooked and prepared.
Olive-brown oakweed (Boletus luridus) is found in the Leningrad region. Its cap is olive-brown, the spongy layer is orange-red and turns sharply blue when pressed. There is a mesh pattern on the leg. Grows mainly with oak. There are practically no inedible satanic mushrooms similar to this oak mushroom in the Leningrad region. Speckled oakweed is also very rare among us. It resembles olive-brown, but does not have a reticulate pattern on the stem, instead there are only small carmine-red scales.
The boletus mushroom grows in deciduous and mixed forests. It occurs very often from June - July to September. The cap is up to 10 cm in diameter, at first convex, later cushion-shaped, white, yellow, gray, brown, brown, sometimes almost black. The pulp is white, unchanged when cut. The leg is up to 20 cm long, 2-3 cm thick, covered with dark scales. Edible, second category. The common boletus is best known in the Leningrad region. This species always settles next to birch trees of various types in forests and swamps. The pink boletus differs from the common boletus in the marbled color of its cap. Its brown areas alternate with lighter or even white ones. At the break the flesh turns pink. The fruiting bodies of this mushroom are formed only in autumn. The boletus boletus grows in damp birch forests in the first half of September; the cap is dirty white, with weak, watery pulp. The mushroom belongs to the third category. The inedible gall mushroom is very similar to the boletus mushroom, which differs from it in its dirty pink tubular layer, a mesh pattern on the stalk and bitter pulp.
The Polish mushroom (xerocomus badius) is often found in the Leningrad region. The stalk can be either tuberous or cylindrical; the cap is chestnut-brown, dry in dry weather, and sticky in damp weather; the tubular layer is first whitish (as a result of this it is often mistaken for a porcini mushroom), then pale greenish-yellowish; The flesh is whitish, turns blue at the break. Grows in coniferous, less often in deciduous forests. This is an edible mushroom and belongs to the second category.
The butterdish (suillus) is found in coniferous forests, and it is in vain to look for it in an aspen or birch forest. The fruiting bodies are small or medium-sized, the cap is usually mucous, sticky, the stem is solid. The yellow oiler (Suillus luteus) is found more often than other species in the Leningrad region. It has a brown or yellow sticky cap and a stem with a sticky ring on the outside. It grows in sparse coniferous forests, on forest edges, roadsides, etc. The favorite places of the yellowish oiler (suillus flavidus) are swamps and damp areas of the forest. It should not be confused with the inedible species - pepper mushroom (suillus pipyratus), its flesh is loose, sulfur-yellow, slightly reddening, with a pungent peppery taste; grows singly in coniferous and deciduous forests. The cap is small, up to 8 cm in diameter, round-convex, fleshy, yellow-brown, copper-red, sticky in wet weather, shiny in dry weather.
In cultivated larch plantations in the Leningrad region, boletin boletin (boletin raluster) is found; it is very similar to butterdish, but differs from it in its dry, non-sticky cap and denser pulp.
Known among herds and pigs. These are saprotrophs that develop on soil or wood. On or near pine stumps grows a thick pigwort with a rusty-brown cap and dryish light flesh. From below, the caps of the plates are descending, yellow, connecting at the base. Low-quality mushroom (fourth category).
Not all edible and poisonous mushrooms are mycorrhiza-formers. Such, for example, is the autumn honey fungus (Armillariella melea). Many honey mushrooms appear in mixed coniferous-deciduous forests. Autumn honey fungus is an edible mushroom; it surpasses all edible cap mushrooms in terms of the number of fruiting bodies. Like other edible cap mushrooms, it contains many substances valuable for the human body, such as zinc and copper. The cap of this mushroom has a small tubercle, pale brown, brownish, covered with numerous brown scales. On the. the leg has a white ring that persists. The pulp is whitish, with a pleasant smell and sourish-astringent taste. A common species is the summer honey fungus (Marasmius ariadis), which is also found in the Leningrad region. It grows singly or in large groups in forest clearings, forest edges, pastures, in ravines and ditches, among grass. Often forms “witch circles”. The radial growth of the mycelium dries out the soil in the center of the circle, and therefore on both sides of the ring of fruiting bodies there are circles of more luxuriantly developed and succulent vegetation, and in the center there is dried grass. The cap of this mushroom is 2 - 3 cm in diameter, prostrate, with a blunt tubercle, ocher-brown. The plates are rare, fawn. The leg is thin, fawn. The pulp is pale yellow.
The poisonous mushroom, sulfur-yellow false honey fungus, is very similar to the edible honey fungus. This dangerous mushroom can grow on the same stumps as edible honey mushrooms. The cap of the false foam is first convex, then half-spread, often with a bump in the center, yellowish, darker in the middle with a reddish or orange tint. The pulp is light yellow. The taste of the mushroom is bitter. It grows on stumps and occasionally on trees in large groups, often with legs fused together. It appears at the same time, from June to September, as edible honey mushrooms, sometimes on the same stumps. Therefore, you need to be especially careful and carefully examine all mushrooms.
There are also various types of russula (russula), saffron milk caps (lactarius), and bittersweet in our forests. These mushrooms are mycorrhiza-formers. Most of them are edible (categories three and four). In wet years, russula are especially numerous in the Leningrad region. They belong to the Russula family, which also includes laticifers, which secrete milky sap of various colors. For example, in camelina this juice is orange-yellow, in black milk mushroom and bitter mushroom it is white. Russulas do not have milky juice. These mushrooms have colored fruiting bodies. Some of them are also poisonous.
Russulas make up 45% of the mass of all mushrooms found in our forests. The best mushrooms are those that have less red, but more green, blue and yellow. Blue russula has white, odorless flesh. The leg is first solid, later hollow. Russula has yellow flesh with a sweet smell. False russula has white, spongy, very brittle flesh with a pungent taste. The marsh russula has a red cap, brownish in the middle. Prefers damp pine forests, edges of swamps, forms mycorrhiza with soybean. Among the milkweeds we have the camelina (Lactarius diliciosis), its cap is rounded-convex and has concentric zones. The flesh is orange, then turns green. The milky juice is orange-yellow, sweet, and turns green in the air. Camelina is an edible mushroom of the first category. Black milk mushroom (Lactarius necator) grows in birch and mixed forests. It has brittle, whitish flesh that darkens when broken.
The most famous edible mushroom is the chanterelle. Chanterelle belongs to the agaric mushrooms; About 10 species are found in the country. Chanterelles contain vitamin B[ (no less than yeast) and PP; in addition, they have trace elements - zinc and copper. In the Leningrad region, yellow chanterelle (Cantarellus cibarius) and gray chanterelle are known.
The Amanitaceae family consists of both deadly poisonous (pale toadstool, stinking fly agaric) and edible mushrooms, including the pink fly agaric and various varieties of floaters.
About 30 representatives of the Amish genus are found in the country. All fungi of this genus form mycorrhizae with various tree species. The pale grebe (Amanita phalloides) has a cap of different shades of green. The edge of the cap is smooth, its shape is bell-shaped, then prostrate, with a diameter of 5-10 cm. The stem is white, expanded at the base in the form of a tuber, the ring on the outside is slightly striped, white, slightly colored on the inside. The toadstool-like fly agaric, which looks like a pale toadstool, almost always has traces of a common blanket on its cap in the form of white flakes. Old, dried toadstool mushrooms have an unpleasant, sweetish odor. The habitats of the pale grebe are damp areas under oak, birch, and maple trees, i.e., in deciduous forests. In the Leningrad region, the pale grebe is found in groups and alone. This mushroom usually appears en masse in mid-August and grows until October. Pale toadstool is the most poisonous mushroom. Poisoning appears 10-12, and sometimes 30 hours after eating it, when it is almost impossible to save a person. The deadly toxin of this mushroom is phalloidin.
The stinking fly agaric, or white toadstool (amanita viroza), is widespread in the Leningrad region. This is a large mushroom with a white, slightly yellowish cap at the top. The cap is without scales, bell-shaped, up to 12 cm in diameter. The leg is quite large, white, with a ring just under the cap; The scales make it feel rough. The smell is unpleasant. This species grows in coniferous and mixed forests, easily tolerates humidity and dry conditions, and as a result is more common in our country than the toadstool. Cap flesh in large quantities contains the toxins amanite and virosine, the leg contains less of these deadly toxins.
The red fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is widespread in the Leningrad region. The mushroom cap is red or orange-red, at first sticky, then shiny. On the cap there are remnants of a white blanket in the form of white flakes. The leg is white, the ring is smooth, white, sometimes slightly yellowish. The base of the leg is swollen, covered with fragments of white vagina in the form of concentric rings. About 15 days pass from the appearance of the fruiting body to its drying. The red fly agaric contains alkaloids (muscarine, choline) and other toxic substances that are highly stimulating. nervous system. They determine the hallucinogenic properties of the red fly agaric. A person who eats a piece of red fly agaric goes into a state of ecstasy and hallucinates.
So, all edible mushrooms are a high-calorie protein product that can compete with meat and dairy products. However, the cell wall of fungi contains the carbohydrate polymer chitin, which is difficult to digest in the human stomach. In addition, the chitinous membrane of fungal cells impedes the flow of enzymes. Therefore, the more the mushrooms are crushed, the more beneficial substances are extracted from them.
Is it possible to artificially breed mushrooms? personal plot? Mycologist F.V. Fedorov talks about successful attempts to grow the most nutritious mushrooms - white mushrooms. This is what he recommends: “On an area shaded by trees, a pit is dug, 30 cm deep and 2 m wide. It is filled with a nutrient mixture of a special composition. The mixture is prepared a month before laying. It consists of fallen oak leaves collected in the spring, rotten oak wood (5% by weight of leaves) and clean horse manure without litter (5% by weight of leaves). The leaves are placed in a heap in layers of 20 cm, each layer is sprinkled with wood dust and horse manure and watered with a 1% solution of ammonium nitrate. After 7-10 days, when the mixture warms up to 35-40°, it is shoveled until a homogeneous mass is obtained. The prepared nutrient mixture is placed in a pit in layers of 10 - 12 cm, sprinkling each layer with an eight-centimeter layer of garden soil. The total thickness of the poured soil is increased to 50 cm. In the middle, the bed is made slightly higher so that water does not linger on it. Planting is carried out with pieces of mycelium taken from the forest. The planting holes are placed in a checkerboard pattern, at a distance of 30 cm from each other. The mycelium is harvested in the oak forest, in places where porcini mushrooms grow (oak form). Around the found mushroom, layers of soil 20-30 cm in size and 10-15 cm thick are cut out with a shovel. These layers are cut into 5-10 parts and planted to such a depth that there is a layer of soil 5-7 cm thick above the piece of wood. Beds with mycelium plantings lightly moistened, covered with leaves and shields to maintain constant moisture." Mushrooms appear next year."