In the summer-autumn season, when mushroom pickers with a basket in their hands walk through the forest and look for mushrooms, dreaming of reaping a rich harvest, you can come across so-called doubles, which easily confuse inexperienced lovers of “silent hunting”. Doubles are false mushrooms, externally very similar to the real thing. They have their own features by which such a mushroom can be easily distinguished. Anyone who knows these signs, with due care, can easily protect himself and his family from troubles, poisoning and disorders. We will talk about the gall fungus.

Gall mushroom (popular name bitter) is a false White mushroom, at first glance very similar to its edible namesake. They are often confused, but they can also be confused with common boletus and boletus - bitterling can take the form of these mushrooms.

It was nicknamed bitter because of its bitterness, which does not disappear with any processing - this mushroom can be stewed, fried, boiled, but it will still be unbearably bitter and disgusting in taste.

Description and appearance

The cap size of this inedible mushroom ranges from 4 to 15-16 centimeters - depending on age. Young mushrooms that have just grown out of the ground have a spherical (hemisphere-shaped) cap, while older ones have a rounder and ball-like cap. The color varies from light brown to yellow-brown, with predominant light shades, like boletus. Porous spongy layer under the cap of newly emerged light mushrooms white, older ones develop a pink tint.

The flesh of the mustard mushroom is fibrous and either has no smell at all or gives off a slight mushroom smell. The stem of this mushroom has a cylindrical shape, the base is somewhat swollen. The height also depends on age - from only 3 centimeters for a newborn mushroom, and up to 14 centimeters for an adult mature mushroom. While the mushroom ripens, the stem is gradually covered with a fine mesh, which is made up of small brown or grayish fibers. The shape of the pores of bitterling is round, sometimes somewhat angular.

The gall fungus has one feature that completely gives it away - as soon as you cut off the mustard, the cut area immediately begins to become covered with a brown tint and darken. Is it possible to distinguish it from the real thing? Signs that allow this to happen:

1. The main feature that distinguishes the gall mushroom from the real white and edible boletus is its bitter taste. To feel it, you don’t need to taste the mushroom you find—just lick it and everything will become clear. Neither real white nor boletus has any bitterness. In addition, the tongue will feel a slight burning sensation caused by the substances contained in the mushroom.
2. The flesh of a cut gall mushroom immediately darkens, acquiring a pink-brown color. This does not happen with a real porcini mushroom, just like with boletus - the flesh remains the same white color. Only in the pinking boletus does the color scheme of the flesh undergo changes - it becomes pinkish.
3. Another difference between the gall mushroom: the leg is decorated with a pattern similar to a brown mesh. Real white does not have such a pattern. And on the leg of the boletus there are scales of white and black colors, arranged so that it resembles a birch trunk. The only thing is that the bronze and reticulated boletus There is a similar mesh, only it is less dense and has a different appearance.
4. The tubular layer of the gall fungus is white (on young ones) or, for the most part, pink and dirty pink (on adults). The true edible porcini mushroom has a tubular substance that is white, slightly yellowish, or gray in color. True boletus mushrooms have a whitish-gray tubular layer; in old mature mushrooms it is brown.

Gorchak grows in Russian, American and European forests of any type - both coniferous and deciduous. Forms a kind of mycorrhiza with deciduous (oak, aspen, birch) and coniferous trees. The first gall mushrooms appear in June and remain in the forests until the first October frosts. They grow under a tree, forming a symbiosis with the root system, and are found on rotten stumps, often in groups of 5 to 15 pieces, less often singly.

Poisoning

The gall (false white) mushroom is considered inedible, but not poisonous. The pulp contains bitter substances, which is why the plant gets its name. When the mushroom begins to be fried, boiled or thermally processed in any way, the bitterness becomes many times stronger, and it is simply impossible to eat a lot at one time. This is precisely the reason that cases of poisoning with this product are so few and rare.

Most poisonings occur when a mushroom picker mistakes bittersweet for healthy mushroom, confusing it with boletus or boletus, and puts it in a common pile. When preserved, vinegar with various spices slightly masks the bitterness, but it is present in all mushrooms, and they simply cannot be eaten.

The harmful toxins contained in the pulp of bitterling, first of all, have a detrimental effect on the liver - the process of destruction and degradation of the organ begins. After this “ignoble” mushroom enters the stomach, the body reacts as if it had received mild food poisoning.

Symptoms indicating poisoning

1. The body immediately begins to hurt and feel dizzy, the body experiences slight weakness, nausea and vomiting appear, painful sensations in the abdominal area, diarrhea may begin, but this goes away after 1-2 days.
2. After a couple of weeks, the toxic substances in the mushroom begin to affect the liver and disrupt bile secretion. If eaten a large number of bitter, that is, the likelihood of developing cirrhosis of the liver.

Video: gall mushroom (bitter, false white)

Sometimes in common people or in everyday life you can hear a whole collection of names - bitter, bitter, hare mushroom, false white or false boletus - but this does not mean that friends talk about several completely different mushrooms, but vice versa.

Its official name is gall mushroom (lat. tylopilus felleus), known for its belonging to the boletaceae family. Mainly distributed in regional areas middle zone Russia and is not popular among foresters due to its dubious reputation, because even if you have numerous recipes for processing at hand, you cannot eat gall fungus.

Gall mushroom. Description of appearance

And yet, the object of our attention received the name false white for a reason. Possessing the most similar appearance, bitterberry has a massive and strong leg, the diameter of which often reaches 7 cm, and even more in length - up to 9 cm.

The base is expanded, on the outside there is a characteristic fibrous mesh layer, predominantly brown or brown in color. At the fracture sites, the color palette instantly changes, acquiring all the shades of the pink palette.

As for the cap, it is many times larger than the stem itself and takes the shape of a hemisphere, painted in a light brown color scheme.

But with age, the gall fungus changes its shade to chestnut, and the cap becomes elongated and convex even more.

How more mushroom years, the more the hemisphere is subject to cracks and breaks, reminiscent of a pillow. Changes also affect color - the older the gall fungus, the brighter the yellow-brown hue.

Distinctive feature The amazing inviolability of the false boletus is also considered - not a single chip or dent. This is due to the fact that insects purposefully avoid the mushroom, not daring to taste it. Which is not recommended for humans either.

Attention! Do not forget to check the appearance with the foresters of your region, due to the wide variety of color palettes - representatives of the species may have a “headdress” of both reddish and gray shades.

Where and when does gall fungus grow?

You can see a collection of gall mushrooms in the forest from August until the cold days of October, especially low temperatures significantly shorten the period until September. In most cases, the false boletus prefers exclusively coniferous soils, which are abundant among the growth of fir trees and pine trees.

Sometimes you can see a representative of the species under a birch tree, which happens extremely rarely. But the bitterbush does not like to grow in the wilderness, choosing the outskirts and clinging to the roots of trees (especially many near rotten trunks and stumps).

Most often, a single representative or a group in modest numbers is found in one place; it is not possible to see the concentration of bile copies in one sector.

It is for this reason that the gall fungus often ends up in the basket along with the others; only an experienced specialist can distinguish the substitution.

Gall mushroom. Difference between gall fungus and boletus

And it is first and foremost worth mentioning that the distribution of beneficial mushrooms differs markedly from the preferences of bitterling; the same boletus cannot be found near a rotten tree, rhizome or stump.

The similarity between porcini and gall mushrooms is undeniable, but there are some nuances here too. For example, pay attention to color scheme“headdresses” - the cap of a porcini mushroom has dark shade above and greenish-yellow on the inside, while false white is known for its pink interior.

The leg should also be of interest to an avid forester - in the porcini mushroom it is of a distinct light shade than in the bitterling. A distinctive feature is the dullness of the mesh on the original representatives; the bitterbush cannot boast of this.

And, as mentioned earlier, gall mushrooms are never eaten by insects, which cannot be said about boletus or porcini mushrooms. As can be observed, even such an exact identity has differences.

But in order to avoid mistakes in choosing, a specialist is advised to take a look at the photo of the gall fungus before going hunting. This will make it much easier to distinguish the substitution and choose useful product for future dishes.

Gall mushroom. Edible or not? Taste qualities

A representative of the species fully lives up to its name - just lick the cap of the mushroom, after which you will instantly feel bitterness, and as a result, a burning sensation.

The bitterness produced by the gall fungus is not destroyed by exposure to high temperatures, neither boiling nor frying will help - all this only increases the amount of bitter substance. Moreover, one piece of gall mushroom is enough to “infect” the entire dish.

Marinade or vinegar has a softening effect, which makes it possible not to notice bitterness in food. But it is still not recommended to use it to avoid further health problems.

Photo of gall fungus

Inexperienced mushroom pickers often confuse gall mushrooms with boletus mushrooms or porcini mushrooms. The result of this may be spoiled products that will acquire a disgusting bitter taste. To know how to distinguish such a mushroom from its beneficial “brothers”, it is worth getting to know it better.

The gall mushroom (Tylopilus felleus), also known as bitter or false white, belongs to the class Agaricomycetes, genus Tylopilus, family Boletaceae. The second name was given for its bitter taste and appearance, similar to white.

• The size of the cap is from 4 to 10 or more centimeters, the shape of a hemisphere, which turns into a cushion shape with time of maturation. The color is brownish with shades of yellow, hazel or gray. It is slightly fluffy to the touch, and slightly sticky when wet.
• The pulp is white, fibrous, and when broken it acquires a pink tint. There is no smell. Leaves a burning, bitter feeling on the tongue. It is extremely rarely affected by worms.
• The tubes of newly emerged mushrooms are white, gradually acquiring a gray-pink tint, up to 2 cm long. When pressed, they turn pink or brown.
• The stalk of the gall fungus can be described as cylindrical, with a thickening at the base, a maximum height of 4 to 13 cm and a girth of 1.5-4 cm. From light to dark shades yellow color, with the appearance of a pink color on the cut. The mesh is pronounced, coarse, dark brown in color.

Spreading

It grows in the forests of all European countries. Occurs frequently, appearing singly or in limited groups. Prefers acidic sandy and sandy-clayey soils with a large amount of fallen needles.

The bitter fungus forms an equally successful symbiosis with coniferous and deciduous trees, from the roots of which the gall fungus takes useful substances. Most often located at the base of trunks or on rotten stumps.

It actively grows from July to September, and can occur in the second half of June and in October, depending on the weather.

Similar species and how to distinguish them from them

Gorchak has his counterparts among his useful “brothers”. In order not to “upset” the entire harvest, you need to be able to distinguish between them.

Similarities

• Sometimes it grows in the same places as boletus and boletus.
• The shape of the cap is similar to white.
• With boletus according to its color.

Differences from edible mushrooms

• The difference between the gall fungus and the white one is that the cap has a lighter, usually grayish tint, the mesh on the stalk is darker, and the tubes are pinkish in color in adulthood.
• Unlike boletus, the stem of the gall mushroom does not have scales.
• The mesh on the leg is darker than that of the reticulated and bronze boletus.

Special differences from all mushrooms are the bitter taste and pink tint of the flesh when cut, which quickly darkens.

Why is it not edible and is it poisonous?

One can definitely say about the gall mushroom that it is not poisonous, but it will be impossible to eat it because of the bitter taste, which after soaking, boiling and canning is not “masked” by adding seasonings and vinegar, but only worsens.

It is possible that in large doses, gall mushrooms can cause some symptoms of poisoning (dizziness, weakness, intestinal upset, which quickly disappear), but due to their bitter taste, they are rarely eaten. The best thing is to remember the false white by its appearance and avoid it.

Medicinal properties

Experiments were carried out abroad, primarily in France, in which the following medicinal properties of bittersweet were identified:

• stimulation of immunity;
• antitumor activity;
• restoration of liver cells;
• antibacterial;
• choleretic.

In this country, false white preparations are mainly used. They have not received wide distribution around the world.

The mushroom world is too rich and diverse to stop looking at false whites. You should not eat something that can ruin not only the taste of all the collected mushrooms, but also your health.