(t-shirt)

or May row, May calocybe

- edible mushroom

✎ Affiliation and generic characteristics

May mushroom (T-shirt, St. George's mushroom)(lat. Calocybe gambosa) or May row, in science - Kalocybe May is a good edible mushroom from the genus Calocybe, the family Lyophyllaceae and the order Agaricales, which was named for its ability to bear fruit in the spring (usually in May), immediately after the snow cover melts.
May mushrooms are particularly unpretentious and do not require any specific conditions for their growth and do not give preference to any particular forests and soils, so you can find them everywhere and collect them everywhere, but you just have to remember that with the arrival of summer they completely disappear. Therefore, among mushroom pickers, the May mushroom is not particularly popular, because not many are ready to wander through the forest in the spring in search of only it. But still, there are those who happily go into the forest in the spring and fill their baskets with the first mushrooms.

✎ Similar species, nutritional and medicinal value

Similar twins May mushroom It is unlikely to be found in nature. And first of all, this is due to the season of its growth, when the bulk of the mushrooms are not even going to appear, and secondly, with its external characteristics and color. But still, when collecting May mushrooms, you should exercise some caution: they may look a little like poisonous entomoles, which can also grow in early spring, but differing from May mushrooms in a darker color and a very thin stalk.
In color, the May mushroom may only be similar to the semi-edible cherry tree, but in size it is much inferior to it, and it does not grow in the forest, but mainly in gardens, parks and squares, and, as a rule, significantly Later.
According to its consumer and taste qualities May mushroom, like other edible rows, is classified as edible mushrooms of the fourth category, but in its beneficial qualities it is not inferior beef liver! And, of course, its invaluable quality is the ability to begin to bear fruit much earlier than all other edible mushrooms - in mid-spring and early summer.
May mushrooms (May rows) are unique mushrooms that combine an optimal balance of animals and vegetable proteins, which is not at all typical for all (without exception) other mushrooms. They contain simply a huge complex of vitamins, amino acids and minerals. For example, vitamin PP, contained in May mushrooms, strengthens the walls of blood vessels and helps blood formation. In general, oh beneficial properties May mushrooms were well known in ancient times (in the Roman Empire, Ancient China and Japan). They have always been actively used in the preparation of various tinctures, extracts, medicines, and the microelements that are part of the May mushrooms support the harmonious functioning of the body, strengthen the immune system and prevent the development cancerous tumors, they have a beneficial effect on all vital systems of the body, strengthening bone tissue and improving brain function.
The strongest natural antioxidant, melanin, was found in May mushrooms, so they have always been used to treat migraines or chronic fatigue, as well as many cardiovascular diseases, and digestive problems.
In addition to all this, the mushroom chitin of May mushrooms perfectly absorbs all toxins and salts of heavy metals and removes them from the body naturally.

✎ Distribution in nature and seasonality

May mushroom is very often found in forest clearings with humus soils or on open area in small forests (in many places where there are thickets of rare shrubs), in meadows where wild forest animals visit, and in wild pastures (in places where livestock are pastured), often forming rows or rings, the so-called “witch circles”.
The May mushroom very often grows in the same places where, before it, a little earlier, morels and then strings lived, and it grows in large colonies in sparse deciduous forests, choosing grassy litter.
May mushroom is well distributed throughout temperate zone middle latitudes and is found both in Europe and in the European part of Russia in forests, meadows and pastures, as well as in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.
Active ripening of the fruits of the May mushroom begins at the end of April, with maximum intensity in May; already in June it gradually declines and by July it stops completely.

✎ Brief description and application

The May mushroom belongs to the section of lamellar mushrooms and its blades contain spores for reproduction. The plates are narrow, frequent, thin, at first they are whitish in color, then they become creamy and light ocher, and are usually fused at the stem. The cap is at first flat-convex or hump-shaped, dry to the touch, matte white or pale cream in color, then becomes semi-prostrate, slightly flaky-fibrous, white(but in very old mushrooms the cap takes on an ocher tint). The leg is cylindrical, narrowed downward or, on the contrary, widened, also matte white or pale cream in color, but slightly yellowing and closer to the base, often ocher or rusty ocher. The pulp is thick, dense, white, does not change color as it ripens, with the taste of soaked flour and a strong specific odor.

For this reason, the May mushroom is not suitable for eating in its “raw” form, but is completely suitable for all other types of preparations or culinary treatments. It can be boiled or used in broths and sauces, frozen, dried, pickled and salted. But it would be best to fry it immediately upon returning from the forest to enjoy the taste of the first spring mushrooms.

May mushroom or Kalocybe May, May row, St. George's mushroom is an edible mushroom of category 4, belonging to the genus Kalocybe, of the Lyophyllaceae family. This is enough major representative Agarikovs are in order. The cap of the May mushroom can reach 10 cm in diameter. Young mushrooms usually have a spherical cap. However, as the May mushroom grows, it opens up, becoming flatter.

Often, close proximity during the intensive growth of the May mushroom also leaves an imprint on the shape of the cap - the edges of the caps can take on different shapes, and in dry weather it can become covered with cracks. The surface of the cap is usually painted white or shades of yellow.  The stem of the May mushroom is thick and relatively short. Reaches 7 cm in height. The surface of the leg is smooth.

Color varies from white to cream. The pulp in the leg is dense and white. The plates are narrow and often located, adherent to the stem, the same color as on the cap. The fruiting period of the May mushroom lasts from mid-May to the end of July. It usually grows on forest edges, pastures, and meadows in the European part of Russia.

A similar species: white row, which has a more unpleasant odor.

May mushroom (Calocybe gambosa)

Calocybe gambosa

Fruiting body

to each other, attached to the leg with a tooth. Spore powder is white. The leg is whitish, strong, short. The pulp is white, with a floury smell.

Season and place

Grows in May-June in floodplain forests, forest edges and pastures.

Similarities

records; it doesn't have a floury smell.

Grade

Edible mushroom; When cooked, it retains a mealy taste.

May mushroom. T-shirt. St. George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa)

May mushroom. T-shirt. St. George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa) photo

Grows in sparse deciduous forests, on grassy areas, as well as on pastures, pastures, near populated areas in May-June. The cap is up to 12 cm in diameter, fleshy, at first convex, then spread, with a wavy, often cracking edge, flat or with a tubercle, creamy, yellowish, off-white. The pulp is thick, white, soft, smells like flour.

The plates are whitish, frequent, notched or fused with teeth. Spore powder is creamy. The leg is up to 10 cm long, 3 cm thick, club-shaped, whitish, brownish-cream or yellowish, fibrous. Mushroom edible, fourth category.

Use fresh without prior boiling. Young St. George's mushroom looks like for poisonous entoloma. The shape of the cap and color are almost the same. They can be distinguished by their plates: in the entoloma they are scarlet, in the May mushroom they are white.

Written by Nikolay Budnik and Elena Mekk.

May mushroom, Mike, St. George's mushroom, May row - these are the names of one mushroom. We know of only three myceliums of the May mushroom, and one of them bears fruit annually, and the other two only occasionally.

May row is a delicious edible mushroom. It is especially valuable because it appears in late May - early June, when there are very few other mushrooms.

1. May row - a delicious edible mushroom.

1a. This mushroom appears on Uloma Zheleznaya after the twentieth of May.

2. We had never seen the May row before this time.

3. The mushroom grows until the end of June.

4. May mushroom smells like fresh flour.

5. Those who collect greenfinches and gray rows are well acquainted with this smell, which cannot be confused with anything else. The smell goes away when cooked.

7. Mushrooms sometimes hide under the forest floor. There is only one mushroom visible in this photo.

8. It turns out that two other mushrooms are hiding under the needles.

9. Young May mushrooms are very cute.

10. They are not yet affected by insect larvae, but with age they become wormy.

12. And here Veronica flowers along with mushrooms make us happy.

13. May rows live up to their name. They grow in rows...

14. ...in groups and families.

16. They grow on the edges, lawns, clearings,...

17. ...on the sides of forest roads.

18. The size of the mushroom is not very large.

19. Color May row light, almost white.

20. The top of the cap may have a slightly yellowish color.

21. Young May mushrooms have more yellowness than older ones.

22. In damp weather, the caps seem to be soaked in water.

23. Hats become loose.

23a. Young May rows have round caps with smooth edges.

23b. The old ones have wavy edges.

24. Pay attention to the records.

25. They are white or slightly yellowish in color.

26. The shape of the plates is the same as that of the rows, although scientists attribute this mushroom not to the rows, but to Kalocybe.

27. The records are very frequent.

28. This photo clearly shows the fit of the plates to the leg.

28a. Look again at the fit of the plates.

29. The legs of the T-shirts are the same color as the hat.

30. They are usually even along their entire length.

31. In youth, the legs are plump and strong.

32. They are elastic inside and quite edible.

33. With age, the legs become thin,...

34. ...fibrous and slightly hollow inside.

34a. Here you can see the leg's contact with the ground.

35. The flesh of T-shirts is dense and light.

36. Unfortunately, already in their youth many mushrooms are wormy.

The May row is popularly called the May mushroom, T-shirt. But it has another name - St. George's mushroom, because active fruiting of this row usually occurs in the first half of May, when Christians celebrate St. George (May 6). Scientific name - Calocybe gambosa, or May calocybe.

This mushroom appears in the third ten days of April, bears fruit throughout May and leaves in early June until next year. Grows well in deciduous and mixed forests and plantings, in particular, in the Kumzhenskaya Grove, in the Shchepkinsky Nature Reserve. Mike can be found in parks, in gardens, and on lawns and flower beds within the city; it grows both on completely bare soil and in dense thickets of grass. Unpretentious mushroom.

And incredibly productive. From one mycelium, the "witch's circle", I once collected more than a hundred fruiting bodies. And it was a very modest mycelium. And the T-shirt grows in a good mycelium very closely, cap to cap. Its mycelium penetrates any obstacles, the T-shirt often gets into the very jungle, in the windfall.

I met her many years ago on one rainy day at the end of April. I went to the Kumzhenskaya grove, and I saw people collecting some porcini mushrooms, which they came across almost at every step. No one could really say what kind of mushrooms they were. “We’ve been collecting for a long time.” Well, I collected it. And the next day the whole family ate an unusually delicious mushroom stew in sour cream.

This mushroom has some features that make it difficult to confuse it with other mushrooms. Firstly, there is a strong, distinct “floury” smell. Not everyone likes this smell. And in my opinion, this is the most mushroom smell. Very nice.

The mushroom itself is dense, strong, white or beige, relatively short-legged, of medium size: the caps are rarely more than 10 cm in diameter. The plates are frequent, also white or beige, sometimes with a yellowish tint.

Another feature: the hats on T-shirts are rarely even. But all sorts of “squiggles” and “ruffles” are in the order of things.

And another interesting thing. There are mushrooms with yellowish caps, often uneven in color (yellower towards the center). What this is connected with is unknown. There was even an opinion that mushrooms with yellowish caps were a different species altogether. But I often saw May rows with both white and yellowing caps, and the mushrooms clearly grew from the same mycelium. So yellowness is simply a sign of variation of one species, nothing more.

The mushroom does not lose its density even when culinary processing. Therefore, it is universal: it’s good in a frying pan, great as a stew, and looks beautiful in a jar, among other things! Of course, during dry periods, even the friendly and unpretentious T-shirt grows sluggishly, reluctantly, and even grows small, very dense, with cracked caps.

And during periods of excess moisture, especially in thick grass, the May mushroom is often large but flimsy.

However, these are extreme cases. In their normal state, these are very pleasant mushrooms in all respects. Don't miss the opportunity to meet them!

P.S. May row is often confused with garden entoloma, which grows at the same time. It’s not a big deal to get confused: Entoloma is an edible mushroom. It differs from the May row: it grows under rosaceae (thorns, hawthorns, fruit trees, very often under poles, which is why it is popularly called “porcelain”), the caps usually have a tubercle in the center, never turn yellow, the color is off-white or ivory bones, to grayish, plates are wide and rather sparse, turning slightly pink over time. The smell of entoloma does not have the intensity of a T-shirt. If you wet the cap of an entoloma, it becomes slippery, as if soaped. This effect is not observed in the May row.

Taxonomy:

• Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
• Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
• Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
• Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
• Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
• Family: Lyophyllaceae (Lyophyllaceae)
• Genus: Calocybe
• View: Calocybe gambosa (St. George's mushroom)

Other names for the mushroom:

Synonyms:

• Kalotsibe May

• Kalotsibe May

• St. George's mushroom

St. George's mushroom(English) Calocybe gambosa) is an edible mushroom of the genus Ryadovka (lat. Calocybe) of the Ryadovka family.

Biological description
Hat:
With a diameter of 4-10 cm, in young mushrooms it is hemispherical or cushion-shaped, with a relatively regular round shape, as it grows it opens up, often losing symmetry - the edges can bend upward, take on a wavy shape, etc.; in dry weather, the cap of the May row may become covered with deep radial cracks. Crowded growth also leaves its mark: as they ripen, the caps become considerably deformed. Color - from yellowish to white, in the central part rather yellow, on the periphery more or less close to white, the surface is smooth, dry. The cap flesh is white, dense, very thick, with a strong mealy odor and taste.

Records:
Frequent, narrow, attached to the teeth, almost white in young mushrooms, light cream in adults.

Spore powder:
Cream.

Leg:
Thick and relatively short (2-7 cm in height, 1-3 cm in thickness), smooth, cap-colored or slightly lighter, whole. The flesh of the leg is white, dense, fibrous.

Spreading:
St. George's mushroom begins to bear fruit in the middle or end of May on lawns, forest edges and clearings, in parks and squares, on lawns; grows in circles or rows, forming clearly visible “paths” in the grass cover. Completely disappears by mid-June.

Similar species:
St. George's mushroom Calocybe gambosa - a very noticeable mushroom due to its strong powdery odor and fruiting time; in May-June this massive, numerous row can be confused with.

Edibility:
St. George's mushroom is considered very good edible mushroom; One could argue with this (after all, it’s a smell!), but this requires at least practical experience.

Video about the mushroom St. George's mushroom:

Notes:
May mushroom, St. George's mushroom, St. George's mushroom, May kalocybe - how many names for one, even a very good, mushroom! It’s interesting with what tenacity and fearlessness the mushroom dedicated to St. George plows furrows in the capital’s lawns; the city allows him more than any other representative of the mushroom kingdom. After all, having your own people at the very top is a matter of utmost importance even for a mushroom.