All types of porcini mushrooms have good taste qualities, for which they are highly valued in cooking. Various dishes are prepared from them. It is important to be able to distinguish between edible whites and their similar counterparts, which have an unpleasant taste.

Description of the appearance of porcini mushrooms

The porcini mushroom belongs to the Boletaceae family and the boletus genus. Even novice mushroom pickers easily recognize it and enjoy collecting it.

Mushrooms should be processed (cooked) immediately after they are collected. This is due to the fact that they quickly lose their useful characteristics. After 10-12 hours, porcini mushrooms contain less than half of the mineral elements.

Porcini mushrooms are rich in:

• carotene;
• vitamin C, D;
• riboflavin;
• polysaccharides;
• vitamin B.

Boletuses are unique mushrooms. Their flesh does not darken during drying and during heat treatment.

Main types of porcini mushrooms

Most often, only a few types are used in cooking.

This species differs in the size of the cap. Its diameter ranges from 8 to 25 cm. Top part has a brown or slightly reddish tint with a slight purple tint. The edging of the cap is a little lighter. The pulp is dense, soft pink in color.

The stem of the pine mushroom grows up to 16 cm long and is quite thick. It is lighter than the cap and covered with a cream-colored mesh. The tubular layer is about 2 cm in size and has a yellowish color.

The very first specimens grow at the end of spring. They differ in light color (both the leg and the cap).

This species prefers to grow near pine trees on sandy soils. The collection of boletus mushrooms occurs from the beginning of summer until the end of September.

Since it appears during the ripening period of the ears, it is also called the spikelet. The birch boletus is distinguished by its light yellow cap. It grows from 5 to 15 cm in diameter. At fracture sites, the flesh does not darken, but it also does not have a strong odor like other species. The leg is similar in shape to a barrel, white with a light brown tint. The yellow tubular layer occupies 2.5 cm.

This boletus forms mycorrhiza mainly with birch trees.

It grows both in groups and singly on the side of highways or in forest clearings. This variety of mushroom is harvested from early summer until October.

The dark bronze boletus is not inferior in popularity. People sometimes call it hornbeam or copper mushroom. The cap is rather convex, dense, fleshy, growing from 7 to 17 cm. Its skin is often smooth, sometimes with small cracks. Often has a rich brown or almost black tint. The pulp is pleasant to the taste, snow-white, slightly darker when broken. The leg is cylindrical in shape, pinkish-brown in color. The tubular layer is yellowish in color. Its thickness reaches 2 cm. If you press on it, it will become olive in color. This mushroom likes to grow in warm climatic zones in deciduous forest belts.

This is the most common type. Its cap is the color of chestnut or just brown, most often convex. It grows from 7 to 30 cm in diameter. The peel is velvety and separates very poorly. The leg of the spruce boletus is thicker at the bottom and grows up to 12 cm in height. It is painted in a light brown shade. This variety of mushroom has a pleasant taste, a delicate aroma that intensifies during culinary processing or when drying. Under the cap there is a tubular layer up to 4 cm yellowish in color. It is easy to separate from the pulp. When cut, the inside does not darken.

This species grows both in coniferous (spruce, fir) forests of Eurasia and on other continents. It is not found only in Iceland and Australia. It forms mycorrhiza not only with coniferous trees, but also with deciduous trees.

Spruce boletus grows in rings or singly.

The mushroom likes to grow in old forests covered with lichens and moss. Appears at the same time as chanterelles. Favorable conditions for the active growth of spruce porcini mushrooms are short thunderstorms, warm nights and abundant fog. Boletus grows well on loam or sandy soils. Collected from June to early October.

Spruce mushroom prefers open areas, which are well warmed up by the sun.

The spruce species has excellent taste, so it is often used as food even without cooking. Minerals it contains no more than other mushrooms, but it activates the digestive processes. Porcini mushroom proteins are difficult to digest due to the fact that they include chitin. But if boletus mushrooms are dried, their digestibility increases significantly and amounts to 80%. Porcini mushrooms have also found use in medicine, where they are valued for their ability to boost immunity and fight cancer.

Description of the royal and oak boletus

The oak mushroom is easily recognized by its brown-gray cap, which is darker than that of the boletus mushrooms that live near birch trees. The pulp is not as dense as other varieties. Found in the Primorsky Territory, in the Caucasus region. It grows in large “families”, which is not very typical for porcini mushrooms. The oak species is collected from June to mid-autumn.

The porcini mushroom is easily confused with the similar gall mushroom, which is inedible and has a pronounced bitter taste. In the gall fungus, the leg is covered with a darker “web”, and the tubular layer turns pink when broken.

Royal boletuses have a pink or almost red cap. The leg is a rich yellow shade, covered with a thin mesh closer to the cap. It grows up to 15 cm. The top is covered with a smooth peel that cracks.

When broken, the dense pulp changes color to bluish. Royal mushroom is delicious and incredibly aromatic. Its leg is quite thick, from 5 to 15 cm.

This type of boletus likes to live under deciduous trees on soils with a lot of sand or limestone. It is collected at Far East, as well as in the Caucasus. Royal mushroom is perfect for canning and drying. It is also consumed raw. Boletus mushrooms are collected from mid-summer until September.

Boletus reticulum and semi-white

The reticulated type of porcini mushrooms is distinguished by a lighter shade of the cap. It grows up to 30 cm in diameter. The flesh of the cap is fleshy and quite white. The leg is not long, club-shaped. It is distinguished by a rich brown hue and a pronounced retina.

When cut, this type of boletus exudes a pleasant aroma. Old reticulated mushrooms are distinguished by the presence of small cracks on the cap. This boletus prefers to grow on dry alkaline soils.

The semi-white or yellow boletus has a cap with smooth skin. It grows up to 15 cm in diameter. The pulp is quite dense, light yellow in color. It tastes sweetish with an odor reminiscent of carbolic acid.

The stem of the semi-white mushroom is thick, but not high. Its maximum length is about 15 cm. The tubular layer does not exceed 3 cm. Such mushrooms appear from May until mid-autumn.

To collect tasty and healthy varieties of boletus mushrooms, you need to clearly know how they differ. This will protect yourself from dangerous specimens that can harm the body.

Collecting porcini mushrooms - video

Porcini mushrooms are rightfully considered the masters of the forest - they are extremely popular, as they have a delicious taste and are suitable for all types of culinary processing.

There are not many types of porcini mushrooms, and all of them are exceptionally tasty, both fresh and dried. In forests middle zone In Russia, you can most often find white birch mushroom and white pine mushroom. As the name suggests, some of them are found in deciduous forests, while others are found in coniferous forests.

This article brings to your attention photos and descriptions of porcini mushrooms and their varieties, information about twin mushrooms and other interesting facts.

White mushroom cap ((Boletus edulis) (diameter 8-30 cm): matte, slightly convex. It has a reddish, brown, yellow, lemon or dark orange color.

Pay attention to the photo of the porcini mushroom: the edges of its cap are usually lighter than the dark center. The cap is smooth to the touch; in dry weather it often cracks, and after rain it becomes shiny and a little slimy. The skin does not separate from the pulp.

Leg (height 9-26 cm): usually lighter than the cap - light brown, sometimes with a reddish tint. Like almost all boletids, it tapers upward, has the shape of a cylinder, a club, or less often a low barrel. Almost all of it is covered with a network of light veins.

Tubular layer: white, may be yellowish or olive in older mushrooms. Easily separates from the cap. Small pores have a round shape.

As you can see in the photo of porcini mushrooms, they all have strong, juicy pulp of pure white color, which changes to yellowish over time. The skin underneath may be dark brown or reddish. Does not have a pronounced odor.

hat birch white mushroom(Boletus betulicolus)(diameter 6-16 cm) shiny, can be almost white, ocher or yellowish. Volumetric, but becomes flatter over time. Smooth to the touch.

Leg (height 6-12.5 cm): white or brownish, shaped like an elongated barrel, solid.

Tubular layer: the length of the tubes is up to 2 cm, the pores are small and round.

Pulp: white and tasteless.

Doubles of the birch porcini mushroom - all edible representatives of the family Boletaceae and gall mushroom (Tylopilus felleus), which has nets on the stem, the tubular layer turns pink with age, and the flesh has a bitter taste.

Other names: spikelet (this is what the white birch mushroom is called in Kuban, since it appears at the time when the rye ripens (spikes).

When it grows: from mid-July to early October in the Murmansk region, the Far Eastern region, Siberia, as well as in Western European countries.

Look at the photo of the birch porcini mushroom in nature - it grows under birch trees or next to them, on forest edges. Mushrooms of the Boletaceae family are unique in that they can form mycorrhiza (symbiotic fusion) with more than 50 species of trees.

Eating: has excellent taste. You can boil, fry, dry, salt.

Use in folk medicine: does not apply.

White pine mushroom (pine mushroom) and its photo

White pine mushroom(Boletus pinicola) has a cap with a diameter of 7-30 cm, matte, with small tubercles and a network of fine wrinkles. Usually brown, less often with a reddish or purple tint, darker in the center. In young mushrooms it has the shape of a hemisphere, then becomes almost flat or slightly convex. It feels dry to the touch, but becomes slippery and sticky in rainy weather.

Pay attention to the photo of the leg of the white pine mushroom - its height is 8-17 cm, it has a mesh pattern or small tubercles. The leg is thick and short, expanding from top to bottom. Lighter than the cap, often light brown, but can also be of other shades.

Taxonomy:

• Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
• Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
• Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
• Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
• Order: Boletales
• Family: Boletaceae
• Genus: Boletus (Boletus)
• View: Boletus edulis (Porcini mushroom)

Borovik

Description

(lat. Boletus edulis) - a mushroom from the genus Borovik.

Hat:
The color of the porcini mushroom cap, depending on the growing conditions, varies from whitish to dark brown, sometimes (especially in pine and spruce varieties) with a reddish tint. The shape of the cap is initially hemispherical, later cushion-shaped, convex, very fleshy, up to 25 cm in diameter. The surface of the cap is smooth, slightly velvety. The pulp is white, dense, thick, does not change color when broken, practically odorless, with a pleasant nutty taste.

Leg:
The porcini mushroom has a very massive stalk, up to 20 cm high, up to 5 cm thick, solid, cylindrical, widened at the base, white or light brown, with a light mesh pattern at the top. As a rule, a significant part of the leg is underground, in the litter.

Spore-bearing layer:
Initially white, then successively turns yellow and green. The pores are small and round in shape.

Spore powder:
Olive brown.

Spreading

Various varieties of porcini mushroom grow in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests from early summer to October (with breaks), forming mycorrhiza with various types trees. It bears fruit in so-called “waves” (in early June, mid-July, August, etc.). The first wave, as a rule, is not very abundant, while one of the subsequent waves is often incomparably more productive than the rest.

It is popularly believed that the porcini mushroom (or at least its mass release) accompanies. That is, if the fly agaric goes, so does the white one. Whether it is true or not, God knows.

Similar species:

When young, it looks like a porcini mushroom (later it becomes more similar to). The gall mushroom differs from the white one primarily in its bitterness, which makes this mushroom completely inedible, as well as in the pinkish color of the tubular layer, the pinkish flesh (unfortunately, sometimes too weakly) at the break, and the dark mesh pattern on the stem. It can also be noted that the pulp of the gall mushroom is always unusually clean and untouched by worms, while in the porcini mushroom, you know...

And - common oak mushrooms are also confused with porcini mushrooms. It should, however, be remembered that the flesh of the porcini mushroom never changes color, remaining white even in soup, which cannot be said about actively turning blue oak mushrooms.

Edibility

It is rightfully considered the best of mushrooms. Can be used in any form.

Growing porcini mushroom

Industrial cultivation of porcini mushroom is unprofitable, so it is bred only by amateur mushroom growers.

To grow, you must first create conditions for the formation of mycorrhiza. Use personal plots, on which deciduous and coniferous trees are planted, characteristic of the mushroom’s habitat, or natural areas of the forest are identified. It is best to use young groves and plantings (at the age of 5-10 years) of birch, oak, pine or spruce.

IN late XIX- early 20th century In Russia, this method was widespread: overripe mushrooms were kept in water for about a day and mixed, then filtered and thus a suspension of spores was obtained. It was used to water areas under trees. Currently, artificially grown mycelium can be used for sowing, but it is usually taken natural material. You can take a tubular layer of mature mushrooms (6-8 days old), which is slightly dried and sown in small pieces under the soil litter. After sowing the spores, the harvest can be obtained in the second or third year. Sometimes soil with mycelium taken from the forest is used as seedlings: around the found porcini mushroom, a square area of ​​20-30 cm in size and 10-15 cm deep is cut out with a sharp knife. For sowing with mycelium or soil with mycelium, pre-prepared compost from fallen oak leaves, clean horse manure and a small addition of rotten oak wood, watered with a 1% solution of ammonium nitrate during composting. Then, in a shaded area, remove the layer of soil and place humus in 2-3 layers, sprinkling the layers with earth. The mycelium is planted on the resulting bed to a depth of 5-7 centimeters, the bed is moistened and covered with a layer of leaves.

The yield of porcini mushroom reaches 64-260 kg/ha per season.

Notes

You can write a novel about the porcini mushroom. Write, but not write: the porcini mushroom still won’t fit into the framework of the novel. Beautiful mushrooms a lot, but where else can you find a mushroom that makes you want to sit down and die peacefully, because nothing will be better? With white it's easy. You just need to find...

- antipode. The toadstool exudes aesthetics, the toadstool is impeccable in every detail... but for some reason it doesn’t please. (Although, of course, it’s clear why.) Porcini mushroom is a completely different matter. Not always correct, not very elegant, simple.

Worms love porcini mushrooms. Sometimes it’s a fungus the size of a fist, but it’s already rot. It also happens differently: the mushroom is healthy, but almost clean, almost, but not quite: sometimes it seems that the worms have already eaten, hatched into flies and flew off to other mushrooms, but this one perked up, tightened the worm passages and began new life. Is this real? Who knows. However, what difference does it make: if there are no living worms, then it doesn’t matter who ate it before me.

Porcini - tubular mushroom from the bioletaceae family, genus of boletus. The mushroom is also called: ladybird, capercaillie, feather grass, babka, boletus, yellowtail, cowhorn, pan, bear and others. The white mushroom got its name back in ancient times. Then the mushrooms were very often dried, and after this process the pulp of the porcini mushroom remained perfectly white.

White mushroom - description and photo

hat porcini mushroom (Boletus edulis) can reach a diameter of 32 cm. Slightly convex, matte in color, usually yellow, brown, reddish or slightly lemon in color. The center is usually a little darker than the edges of the cap. The cap is shiny and smooth to the touch, sometimes slimy.

The stem of the mushroom reaches a height of 25-28 cm. The color is slightly lighter than the cap and can be reddish or pale brown. The shape is cylindrical, the mesh is white or brown.

The tubular layer of the mushroom is olive or yellowish in color. The layer can be separated from the cap without much effort, small round pores.

The pulp of the porcini mushroom has White color and sometimes changes to yellowish.

Where to find and when to grow: Most often, the porcini mushroom is found near very old trees, next to chanterelles, russula, greenfinches, under oaks, birches, and spruces. It appears in July and until the end of September. Most often it is found in wooded areas. It is used in the preparation of various dishes, as the mushroom has excellent taste.

• Read also -

White mushroom (pine) - information and photos

White pine mushroom (Boletus pinicola) often found with a cap with a diameter of 6-32 cm. It is matte, with small tubercles and a small mesh. The color is reddish, brown, sometimes purple. Young mushrooms have a shape similar to a hemisphere, in mature age it changes to convex or flat. During rains it is slightly slippery and sticky.

The stem of the mushroom is quite thick, white, short and has a reddish or brown tint. Its height is 7-16 cm, cylindrical in shape with small tubercles.

The tubular layer is olive or yellow, with regular round pores. The pulp of the pine boletus is fleshy and dense, the smell is very pleasant, and it is white when cut.

Where to find and when to grow: you can look for it near oaks or pines; it also grows in groups near beeches, spruces and chestnuts. You can find this mushroom in June and until mid-October.

White oak mushroom - photo and description

White oak mushroom (Boletus reticulatus) has a cap with a diameter of 7-31 cm; in young mushrooms it is spherical, then becomes flat or convex. Color most often: brown, coffee, brown, ocher.

The stem of the mushroom is 8-26 cm high, at first club-shaped, and then becomes cylindrical. There is a white mesh.

The pulp is fleshy, dense, white in color, and does not change when cut. The taste is slightly sweet and the smell is very pleasant.

Where to find and when to grow: grows in deciduous forests, under beeches, lindens, and oaks. You can meet the first mushrooms in the month of May.

Birch white mushroom - doubles, where to find

Birch white mushroom (Boletus betulicola) has a cap 6-18 cm in diameter, it can be yellowish, white, or ocher. In adulthood, it often becomes flat and smooth.

The stem of the mushroom is up to 13 cm high, brown, solid white. The tubular layer is up to 2 cm long, the pores are small and round. The pulp is tasteless, fleshy and white.

Doubles are considered to be the gall mushroom (Tylopilus felleus), which has a bitterish pulp and meshes on the stalk.

Where to find and when to grow: You can see it near birches, on forest edges. The first mushrooms appear in July and until the beginning of October.

How to distinguish a real porcini mushroom from a false one

The white mushroom is considered a double gall mushroom (Tylopilus felleus) or bitterlings. Because of him appearance, mushroom pickers often confuse it with oak mushroom.

The cap of the mushroom is brown or brown in color, convex, thickened, with a diameter of 5-15 cm. The stem is cylindrical, 4-14 cm high, and its finely porous tubular layer is colored gray-white or pinkish. The pulp of the gall mushroom is odorless, fibrous.

The main difference is that if you pick a gall mushroom, it will immediately begin to darken and acquire a brown tint. Also, bitterlings are quite rarely wormy.

Remember that this type of mushroom tastes bitter. Look carefully at the leg, it has a pattern in the form of a brown mesh, but on a real porcini mushroom there is no such mesh.

The gall mushroom grows next to coniferous trees, oaks or birch. Fruits until October, grows in small groups (4-12 mushrooms).

• This is interesting -

How to quickly find a white mushroom - video

Contrary to popular belief, it is indeed possible to confuse porcini mushrooms with their poisonous counterparts, despite the fact that boletus mushrooms differ significantly from other species. And although the white mushroom has only two doubles and they rarely lead to death, you still need to know how to distinguish the white mushroom from the false double.

In this article we will look at the characteristic features of real porcini mushrooms, and also consider its most common counterparts with external features and photos that will help to accurately determine edibility. Using our advice, you can avoid the danger of poisoning and do not put poisonous mushroom to the basket.

How to distinguish a porcini mushroom

The porcini mushroom is considered the most valuable find for any mushroom picker, because boletus mushrooms are good in any form. They retain their taste and unique aroma fried, boiled, pickled and dried.

There are several edible species. Each of them has its own characteristics, but all species share some common qualities that will help you quickly distinguish an edible specimen from a poisonous one. Firstly, the pulp of a good specimen has a pleasant characteristic odor, or is completely devoid of aroma. Secondly, boletus mushrooms do not change the color of the flesh when broken or cut (Figure 1).

Note: The only exception to the rule is Polish, which looks very similar to regular white, but when cut or pressed the flesh quickly turns blue.

In addition, all edible boletus mushrooms have a characteristic shade of the tubular layer (the inside of the cap). It should be white, yellowish or olive. Any other shades indicate that this is a poisonous specimen.

Picture 1. External features real boletus

Since white has only two counterparts - gall and satanic, we will look at the characteristics of these species in more detail, and their photos will help to accurately identify the mushroom even during collection. This way you will protect yourself and your loved ones from food poisoning.

Gall or false porcini mushroom: description and photo

The popular name of the species, bitterling, most accurately defines its main feature. The fact is that its pulp is so bitter that forest animals and even insects do not eat bitter. And a person is unlikely to be able to accidentally eat a gall mushroom, because after heat treatment its bitterness only intensifies.

Note: Some mushroom pickers claim that after a long soaking (about 12 hours), the unpleasant bitter taste goes away and it can be eaten. However, we do not recommend conducting such experiments, since according to recent data, even after soaking, toxins remain in the pulp that can cause serious liver damage.

Figure 2. External features of bitterling

It is this species that is most often confused with white, because in many characteristics the mustard is really similar to the boletus. The diameter of the cap inedible double can vary from 4 to 15 cm, and in young specimens it is spherical, and in adults it becomes round and prostrate. The color of the skin ranges from brown-yellow to light brown, but most often the cap is light, which misleads inexperienced mushroom pickers. Besides, inner side The caps of young specimens are white, while those of adults acquire a pinkish tint (Figure 2).

From the previous description we can conclude that bitterling is very similar to boletus. This is especially true for young specimens, on which it is difficult to see the characteristic features of a false twin. However, some external differences still exist. They will help to accurately identify the mushroom. Some mushroom pickers advise licking the flesh of a suspicious specimen to taste it. As a last resort, you can use this method, but it is much safer to determine the edibility of a specimen by its external features.

To the main distinctive features include:

1. If you doubt its edibility, cut the specimen you find lengthwise right in the forest. The pulp at the cut site will begin to turn pink almost immediately. True whites have white or creamy flesh.
2. All bitterlings have a characteristic brown mesh on their stems, which forms beautiful pattern. Not a single species of boletus has such a net.
3. The tubular layer, which is located on the inside of the cap, can only be white, cream or olive in edible specimens. If we talk about bitterling, then its inner side of the cap is painted pink or dirty pink.

In addition, the taste of the pulp of boletus mushrooms is valued by forest animals and insects, so their caps can often be damaged, and in the pulp of overripe specimens there are passages from worms and other insects. The pulp of the gall twin is too bitter, so animals and insects do not eat even the most large specimens(Figure 3).

Figure 3. External differences white (photos 1 and 2) and gall mushroom (photo 3)

Gallstone is considered inedible, and although it cannot be fatal, if consumed large quantity This type may cause serious liver problems or symptoms of poisoning. At the same time, bitterling is considered very valuable from the point of view traditional medicine, since it is used to prepare drugs with a choleretic effect.

Satanic mushroom and its differences from white mushroom

Another boletus double is considered to be the satanic mushroom. They really have a lot in common, because they belong to the same genus and family from the point of view of botanical classification.

At the same time, the poisonous twin has quite a lot of differences from the boletus, so if you are careful and carefully examine the picked specimen, you can easily distinguish the edible specimen from the poisonous twin (Figure 4).

The hat of the satanic species is velvety and quite large: in some specimens its diameter can reach 30 cm. As a rule, the skin is painted in light colors, from whitish and olive-gray to yellow-pink. The shade of the cap largely depends on the area where the mushroom grows and the intensity of light.

Figure 4. External features of the satanic mushroom

The stem of the satanic mushroom is wide and fleshy, but at the same time it has a very characteristic shade that is difficult to confuse with any other. It is red-yellow on top, red-orange in the center, and turns yellow-brown at the bottom. In combination with a light cap, the poisonous double looks really bright and immediately catches the eye, so it is quite difficult to confuse it with the inconspicuous boletus. However, if you still cut a satanic mushroom and doubt its edibility, you can simply smell it. Unlike boletus, which has a pleasant mushroom aroma, satanic smells extremely unpleasant. If this sign doesn’t convince you, just cut it in half. When cut, the flesh will quickly begin to turn red and then turn blue, which never happens with boletus mushrooms.

Signs of edible porcini mushrooms

There are several main types of porcini mushrooms: oak, pine and birch. All of them got their names due to their characteristic places of growth. At the same time, real boletus mushrooms are not too conspicuous, since they are painted in the colors characteristic of the forest. In addition, they have light flesh, which has a characteristic mushroom aroma.

However, despite some General characteristics, for each type edible boletus have their own characteristic features. They should be used to identify a particular instance. Next, we will look at the characteristic features of each species in more detail, so that you can be sure that you have put an edible specimen in your basket.

Oak

It got its name due to the fact that it prefers to grow in warm deciduous forests. Typically found under oak trees, but can sometimes be found under chestnut, linden and hornbeam trees. The main advantage of oak boletus over other species is that it has a pronounced aroma, which persists even after drying (Figure 5).

To find an oak boletus, you need to know its characteristic external features:

1. The cap of adult specimens can reach 30 cm in diameter. In this case, it is usually painted in coffee, light brown or ocher tones.
2. The skin on the cap is usually smooth and velvety, but if the weather is dry it can become cracked.
3. The tubular layer (the inner side of the cap) in young specimens is pure white, while in adults it can take on a slightly greenish or yellowish color.

Figure 5. White oak mushroom

In addition, the oak species has a white barrel-shaped leg, on the surface of which there is an inconspicuous white or slightly brownish net. If you are afraid of confusing this edible species with poisonous mustard, cut the fungus in half. In oak wood, the flesh does not change color, while in gall wood it begins to turn pink at the cut site.

Birch

Birch boletus, unlike oak boletus, is found mainly in cool climates, and prefers to grow on forest edges, along roads and paths. As a rule, it grows in families or small groups, but single specimens can also be found (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Diversity of birch boletuses

Compared to other types of boletus, the birch boletus is not very large: even in adult specimens, the cap rarely exceeds a diameter of 15 cm. Moreover, the birch boletus is extremely difficult to confuse with its poisonous counterparts. The fact is that its tubular layer has a pleasant white color in young specimens, and acquires a light yellow tint in adults. The leg is dense and fleshy, evenly colored light brown, but in its upper part there is a characteristic white mesh, which appears as it matures.

Pine

The pine boletus got its name due to the fact that its mycelium forms mycorrhiza (fungus root) only with coniferous species tree. That is why this species can be found mainly in pine forests or well-lit coniferous forests (Figure 7).

It is worth noting that the pine boletus has the brightest color among all edible species. The cap of young specimens is red-brown, and with age it acquires a wine-red hue. This feature may seem suspicious to novice mushroom pickers, but in fact, pine boletus is considered very valuable.

If you are confused by the shade of the cap, you can always identify it by others external signs. For example, the maximum diameter of its cap rarely exceeds 20 cm, and the tubular layer, unlike other types of boletus, is not light cream or yellow, but olive. Another one characteristic feature- the presence of a mesh on a fleshy barrel-shaped leg. The shade of the mesh is reddish. All these signs can lead a newcomer to “silent hunting” to confuse pine boletus with bitterling. To make sure a specimen is edible, simply smell it and cut it in half. Pine boletus has a pleasant smell, and the flesh does not change color when broken or cut. As a last resort, you can always lick a piece of raw pulp. It should be tasteless, whereas its gall counterpart has a pronounced bitter taste.

Figure 7. Pine boletus

Mushroom pickers often confuse pine boletus with satanic boletus. To avoid accidentally putting this poisonous twin in your basket, carefully inspect the leg. In the satanic one it is uniformly colored in red-brown tones, while in the pine one it is brown, and only in adult specimens is it covered with a characteristic mesh of a red hue.

When collecting any mushrooms, you must remember the basic rule of every lover of “silent hunting”: if you are not sure of the edibility of the specimen you find, it is better to consult with a more experienced mushroom picker or do not put such a mushroom in the basket at all. Although death is mainly caused by death cap, you should not risk your health and allow signs of food poisoning.

If you are just beginning to understand the basics of “silent hunting,” we recommend that you watch the video, which shows in detail the features of searching for and collecting edible porcini mushrooms. In addition, you can learn how to distinguish an edible specimen from a poisonous one using real examples from the author of the video. This information will help you collect only high-quality and delicious mushrooms.