This mushroom can be called beautiful thanks to the delicate and beautiful shade of the cap. Gossamer blue - enough rare view, which in Russia grows in only one subject of the country. Where is it found and what does it look like?

Blue cobweb (Cortinarius caerulescens) is a large species of the Cobweb family, belonging to the genus Cobweb. This conditionally edible mushroom belongs to the lamellar group. It also has other names:

• blue-gray webweed;
• bluish cobweb;
• Blue web spider.

The species also has Latin synonyms: Phlegmacium caerulescens, Cortinarius cumatilis and Cortinarius cyanus.

• hemispherical hat in young people fruiting bodies, then prostrate or slightly convex, fleshy and large, 4-10 cm in diameter. The color of the surface is variable - in young mushrooms it has a blue or purple tint with a brownish center and shading closer to the edge, then the cap becomes light brown with a blue border. The skin is shiny, fibrous to the touch;
• The stem relative to the cap is high (from 3 to 10 cm long) and thin (from 6 to 25 mm thick), in the lower part it thickens and becomes tuberous, with a diameter of about 4 cm. The threads of the private bedspread have a purple hue. The leg is first bluish-violet, and then dirty brown, often completely colored to match the cap. The tuberous base has a yellowish-whitish tint;
• the flesh is grayish-blue or fawn, has bad smell and a bland or slightly sweet taste;
• the plates are wide, quite frequent, notched and adherent to the stem, at first they are colored cream with a purple tint, and over time they darken to brown;
• The spores are warty, almond-shaped, rusty-brown in color.

Places of distribution and fruiting period

The bluish cobweb is found in forests North America, Europe, in Russia it grows in the Primorsky Territory. They grow in coniferous and deciduous forest belts. The species prefers calcareous soils. The fungus is a mycorrhiza-former with oak, beech and other representatives of the deciduous group.

The hero of the article usually grows in small groups, but can also be found in a single copy. It can be found in the summer starting in August and in the fall throughout September.

Similar species and how to distinguish them from them

The dove-blue cobweb has a striking resemblance in appearance to a certain group of mushrooms. For example, it has a lot in common with the conditionally edible watery blue (Cortinarius cumatilis) - for a long time these two species were even combined into one. But the latter is distinguished by a cap that is uniformly colored in gray-blue color, and also does not have a private cover and thickening in the lower part of the stem.

Cortinarius mairei, which has white plates, is also similar to Cortinarius caerulescens. And you can distinguish the hero of the article from the Terpsichore web spider (Cortinarius terpsichores) by the more uniform coloring of the cap. Cortinarius cyaneus and Cortinarius volvatus have a certain resemblance to blue. The first is distinguished by the remnants of a blanket on a darker cap and radially arranged fibers on it. And the second has more modest sizes and a dark blue color. Sometimes the blue one can be confused with the white-violet web spider (Cortinarius alboviolaceus), whose cap is white-violet in color and its surface is smooth and silky.

There is no data regarding the edibility of most similar species, but it is worth remembering that most spider webs are poisonous and also inedible representatives of the fungal kingdom. Therefore, blue ones must be collected with extreme caution.

Primary processing and preparation

The hero of the article is a little-known mushroom, which is considered conditionally edible and is classified in category IV. You can serve the blue-gray spider web by frying it. But remember that before doing this, the mushroom must be boiled for 25 minutes. It is also dried or pickled, in which case it turns black.

This mushroom is quite rare, and not every mushroom picker will be lucky enough to find it. But, nevertheless, if you find a blue web, you can safely put it in the basket. Just make sure it's really him first. If there is even a slight doubt about whether a mushroom belongs to a certain species, it is better to leave it to continue growing in the forest.

Violet cobweb (Latin name – Cortinarius Violaceus) is an edible mushroom of extraordinary beauty. Quite often it can be found in deciduous and coniferous forests. This plant is listed in the Red Book Russian Federation, since this is a very rare type of mushroom.

The cobweb belongs to the Lepista genus, to the Buttercup family. Next characteristic will present all the features of this plant.

Edibility: conditionally edible.

Description

Purple webweed, or sometimes called violet webweed, is a decoration of any forest. Despite the fact that it is conditionally edible, it is not recommended to collect it due to its uniqueness. During the mushroom season it can be found only once. Every year its number decreases.

The mushroom cap can reach 15 cm in diameter. It can be hemispherical or flat. There is a bump in the center. The young mushroom has a purple cap. In rare cases, its color may be red. It may fade over time. There are wide plates in the lower part.

The flesh at the break has a blue tint, and the smell of the mushroom is almost not noticeable. The pulp is quite fragile and easy to break in your hands.

The stem of the mushroom is long and pleasant to the touch. The same can be said about armor. A thickening can be seen towards the base. During maturation, the stem may become tubular. The outer layer of the mushroom is purple in color.

Where do they grow?

Often purple web spider can be found in damp birch forests. It can appear under spruce and pine trees. Single specimens are the most popular, but groups of cobwebs are also rare.

Types of webweed

There are many varieties of spider webs. The following are the most common of them:

White and purple spider web. This cap mushroom belongs to the group of lamellar mushrooms. Its cap can reach 12 cm in diameter, and its edges are connected to the stem using a cobwebby blanket. The pulp of the mushroom can be brown or light brown. It has a pleasant taste and smell.

Scaly cobweb. Its cap can be about 10 cm in diameter, it is convex or flat. In wet weather it is slimy and shiny.

Yellow cobweb. The most common representative of cobwebs, it is sometimes called yellow or triumphal marshweed.

Beneficial features

Cobweb contains many vitamins. It contains B1 and B2, zinc, copper, manganese. This mushroom is characterized by stearic acid and ergosterol.
The medicinal properties of this plant are noted by many pharmacists. This conditionally edible mushroom is used in the manufacture of fungal remedies and antibiotics. It can lower glucose levels. It can also be used to create drugs that control hypoglycemia.
Cobweb has anti-inflammatory properties, it perfectly supports the activity of the immune system. Due to large quantity vitamins, it helps to normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, it also protects the body from infections and prevents overwork and fatigue.

Contraindications

If you take into account how many benefits this mushroom carries, you can understand that the contraindications here are insignificant. Some edible mushrooms may be confused with inedible. The threat is posed by cobwebs that were collected near the road. They managed to absorb all the toxic substances. Such mushrooms are contraindicated for people with gastrointestinal diseases.

How to make pickling from purple spider webs?

To pickle such a mushroom, it must be thoroughly washed and cleaned of contaminated areas. Then they are boiled in salted water. The water needs to be drained and then you can proceed to pickling the mushrooms.

You need to marinate them with vinegar, sunflower oil, salt and pepper. The mushrooms need to be immersed in a saucepan, add the listed ingredients and put on low heat. Spider mushrooms will release a liquid in which salting will occur. Then they can be placed in jars and stored for no more than 12 months in a cool place.

Video

We offer a description and photo of the spider web various types and varieties - this information will help diversify quiet forest hunting and make it more productive.

Look at the poisonous and edible spider web mushroom in the photo and try to find it in the forest during your next outing:

Spider web mushroom in the photo

Spider web mushroom in the photo

The mushroom is edible. Description of the spider web mushroom: white-violet: caps 3-10 cm, initially spherical, pale purple, then silvery or lavender, hemispherical with a tubercle, and finally open. The plates remain for a long time under a powerful cobwebby blanket connecting the edge of the cap to the stem. The plates are sparse, adherent to the teeth, initially gray-blue, rusty-ochre after the veil opens. The leg is 5-12 cm long, 1-2 cm long, white-violet or covered with white-violet cotton wool, widened at the bottom. The flesh is pale lilac, has no unpleasant odor.

Spider web mushrooms in the photo and description are presented in various versions, this will allow you to recognize them in the forest:

It grows very abundantly in lingonberries and blueberries, among mosses in meadows and on the edge of pine forests. Sometimes it appears in dry deciduous forest belts, where it is thicker and has a smoother surface.

Its counterpart, the inedible goat's web spider (Cortinarius traganus), differs from it in the presence of the smell of acetylene.

The white-purple cobweb is edible after preliminary boiling.

Let's consider other edible spider web mushrooms that grow in forests middle zone Russia. All edible spider web mushrooms with photos and descriptions must be distinguished from poisonous specimens, since they pose a mortal danger.

Bracelet web plant
The web spider is excellent

Bracelet web spider (Cortinarius armillatus)

Bracelet web grows in deciduous and coniferous forests

Cobweb bracelet in the photo

The mushroom is edible. The cap is up to 5-12 cm, at first red-brick hemispherical, covered with cobwebs, then rusty-brown, open in the form of a lampshade, and finally open, fibrous with a thin edge. The leg is cylindrical or club-shaped, light brown, 6-4 cm long, 1-2 cm thick, decorated with brick-red bracelets. The pulp is ocher and has no unpleasant odor. The spore powder is rusty brown.

Grows in deciduous and mixed forests under the birch and in pine forests among the mosses.

Fruits from August to October.

It differs from inedible spider webs by the presence of orange stripes on the stem and the absence of an unpleasant odor.

The mushroom is edible, but tasteless. Suitable as a filler for dishes and preparations made from other mushrooms.

Excellent webweed (Cortinarius praestans)

The mushroom is edible. The caps are up to 3-12 cm, at first spherical, closed with a cobweb, then hemispherical, finally open, in wet weather they are very slimy and sticky, when dry they are smooth, brown or the color of “burnt sugar”. The plates are thick whitish with a purple tint or yellowish. Leg 5-15 cm, whitish, widened below. The pulp is white, dense with a pleasant smell.

It grows mainly in deciduous forests, but is also found in coniferous forests. Prefers calcareous soil.

Fruits from July to October.

It differs from inedible and poisonous spider webs by the absence of an unpleasant odor.

If you are not sure that you know this mushroom, it is better not to collect it.

In some countries, the excellent cobweb mushroom is valued on a par with porcini mushrooms.

Above we looked at what spider webs look like that are suitable for consumption, and now it’s their turn inedible species. It is worth knowing that the poisonous cobweb mushroom is very dangerous, as it can be fatal.

Look at what the poisonous cobweb looks like in the photo, remember it and under no circumstances pick it up in the forest:

Lazy web spider
Lazy web spider

Goat's web
Common spiderwort

Lazy web spider (Cortinarius bolaris)

Lazy web spider in the photo

Lazy web spider in the photo

The mushroom is inedible. Caps up to 3-8 cm, initially hemispherical, then convex and finally open, clay-yellow, densely covered with large red or red-orange scales. In young mushrooms, the scales are glued to the surface of the cap, yellow the surface is visible only as small gaps between the red scales. In mature mushrooms, the scales spread over the surface of the cap and lag behind it at the edge. The plates are clay-yellow, then brown, turning red when damaged. The stalk is 5-7 cm long, 5-15 mm thick, cylindrical, reddish-fibrous, often scaly, like a cap. The pulp is whitish with a brownish tint. Spore powder is yellow-green.

Grows in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests on acidic soil.

Fruits from August to September.

It has no poisonous counterparts.

Goat's web spider (Cortinarius traganus)

The mushroom is inedible. Massive caps 3-12 cm, at first, spherical and lilac, then hemispherical and, finally, open ocher, with a fringed edge. The plates are ocher-yellow with a violet tint, later brownish-ocher. The leg is lilac or yellow, with scales, 5-10 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, with a widening at the bottom. The flesh of young mushrooms is white-blue, then ocher with an unpleasant “goat” smell of acetylene.

It grows very abundantly in deciduous and coniferous forests, in shelterbelts, often in large groups.

Fruits from August to October.

The goat's web has no poisonous counterparts.

Goat's web is inedible due to the unpleasant odor of acetylene.

Common spiderwort (Cortinarius triviah)

The edibility of the mushroom is questionable. Caps up to 5-8 cm, initially hemispherical, then convex or open, mucous yellow-rusty-brown, straw-yellow when dry. The plates are white-gray with a purple tint, later rusty-brown. The leg is yellow or with a bluish tint, 8-12 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, covered with mucus in the upper part, with dark zones in the lower part. The flesh is light, whitish-ochre, and in old mushrooms it has a slight unpleasant odor.

Grows in deciduous and mixed forests under poplars, birches, oaks and pines.

Fruits in large quantities from July to September.

Looks like an inedible mucous webweed (Cortinarius mucosus) with a white stalk.

The common spiderwort is not designated as poisonous mushroom, but its edibility is in doubt.

Spider web is not the most common mushroom. Its family includes almost 40 species. Novice mushroom pickers sometimes confuse cobwebs with other mushrooms and throw them into a basket, without thinking that they can be deadly. Cobwebs come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. The names of the types of mushrooms speak for themselves: orange cobweb, crimson, white-violet, etc.

general information

The cobweb family got its name from the cobweb-like cover that connects the stem of the mushroom to the cap. It is especially noticeable in young mushrooms. In more mature members of the family, the cobweb encircles the lower part of the leg with a porous ring. All varieties of this mushroom have a round cap., which becomes more and more flat as it grows. Its surface has a smooth or scaly texture and can be either slippery or completely dry.

The stem and surface of the mushroom cap have almost the same color. The standard shape of the leg is cylindrical, but in some species it has a thickened base. The flesh of the mushroom is usually white, but can also be colored. The cobweb family loves moisture very much. They are most often found near wetlands, which is why they have earned the nickname “swamplanders.”

Mushrooms of this family are common in the European part of Russia, but they are quite difficult to find. Some species of cobwebs are listed in the Red Book. Spider webs rarely grow alone. Usually these are clans of 10 to 30 pieces, clustered in damp lowlands. It is recommended to collect them from late summer until the first frost.

The most special - the most poisonous spider web. To avoid being hit fatally dangerous mushroom to cart, you need to find out more about it. The cap of an adult beautiful mushroom reaches a diameter of up to 10 cm. In young mushrooms it can be in the form of a cone. As the mushroom grows, the cap changes its appearance and acquires a flat-convex shape with a blunt tubercle in the center. The surface is dry, velvety, slightly scaly at the edges. The color of the cap can range from red-brown to ocher-brown.

The stem of an adult mushroom reaches 12 cm in length and 1.5 cm in width, it slightly widens towards the base and is covered with noticeable bracelets of a spider web. The surface is orange-brown, fibrous. The flesh of the mushroom is yellow-ochre, without taste. Sometimes has a faint radish odor.

• Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
• Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
• Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
• Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
• Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
• Family: Cortinariaceae (Cobwebs)
• Genus: Cortinarius (Spiderweb)
• View: Cortinarius salor(Gossamer blue)

Description:
The hat and blanket are slimy. 3-8 cm in diameter, initially convex, then flat, sometimes with a small tubercle, bright blue or bright bluish-violet, then from the center becomes grayish or pale brown, with a bluish or violet edge.

The plates are adherent, sparse, initially bluish or purple, remain that way for a very long time, then light brown.

Spores are 7-9 x 6-8 microns in size, broadly ellipsoidal to almost spherical, warty, yellow-brown.

The leg is slimy and dries out in dry weather. Bluish, bluish-violet, or lilac with ocher-greenish-olive spots, then whitish without bands. Size 6-10 x 1-2 cm, cylindrical or slightly thickened downward, closer to club-shaped.

The pulp is whitish, bluish under the skin of the cap, tasteless and odorless.

Spreading:
Grows in coniferous and deciduous forests, often with high humidity, prefers birch. On soil rich in calcium.

Similarities:
It is very similar to, grows with it and ends up in the baskets of inexperienced mushroom pickers along with the rows. It is similar to Cortinarius transiens, growing in coniferous forests on acidic soils, which is sometimes found in sources as Cortinarius salor ssp. transiens.

Grade:
Not edible.

Note:
Belongs to the subgenus Myxacium, which is characterized by a mucous cap, stalk and general veil. Among similar types, belongs to the section Delibui (Cortinarius delibutus), which combines mushrooms with plates in bluish-violet tones.