Many wild mushrooms thrive near or on birch trees. This is because they form strong mycorrhiza with this tree and enjoy favorable growing conditions. Birch trees are often used as a landmark for finding mushrooms, and birch groves are teeming with them. Experienced mushroom pickers advise keeping a close eye on mushrooms, as poisonous species grow near birch trees, which can cause severe poisoning.
Medicinal birch mushroom Chaga
The asexual form of the tinder fungus is called Chaga. It is also known as the birch black fungus, as it grows on birch tree trunks. The fruit has no clearly defined parts and is gray with a brownish tint. This species is considered parasitic, as it enters the trunk's crevices as a spore and then parasitizes the trunk.
The interior of the fruit is brown with a reddish tint. A single piece of fruit can weigh up to 3 kg. It is harvested year-round, only from healthy, living trees. Afterwards, the fruit is dried, cut into pieces, and stored in jars.
The mushroom isn't used in cooking, but it's widely used in folk medicine. It's used to treat cancer, lower cholesterol, normalize gastrointestinal function, restore central nervous system function, boost immunity, and treat inflammatory skin conditions.
This broad spectrum of action is due to the large number of beneficial substances, minerals, and vitamins it contains. To use Chaga, decoctions and tinctures are prepared by boiling the fruit.
You may be interested in:Edible mushrooms growing on birch trees
Besides chaga, there are many birch mushrooms that also grow directly on the trunk. Oyster mushrooms and honey mushrooms are widely known and are often used in cooking. There are no inedible or poisonous varieties of oyster mushrooms, but photos and descriptions of honey mushrooms, for example, require careful study to distinguish them from the false variety.
Oyster mushroom
Oyster mushrooms get their name from the fruiting bodies that hang from birch tree trunks. They are not only tasty but also healthy, so they are often used by home cooks in various dishes. There are many varieties of oyster mushrooms, but the most popular are the common, corniculate, lung, and orange.
The oyster mushroom, also known as the oyster mushroom, is a large mushroom with a cap diameter reaching 30 cm. It is shell-shaped, with inward-facing edges and a smooth surface. It later flattens.
The color varies, ranging from dark gray with a brownish tint to ash-gray with a slight purple tint. The stem is short, curved, and light-colored. The flesh of the fruiting portion is light and soft, becoming firmer with age. Common oyster mushrooms can be found from early fall to early winter.
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The horn-shaped oyster mushroom differs from the previous variety in that it has a smaller, funnel-shaped cap. Its color is almost always light, with a grayish tint. The flesh is white and fleshy, odorless and tasteless.
The pulmonary oyster mushroom has a thin, tongue-shaped cap with cracked edges, beige in color, reaching 8-9 cm in diameter. The lamellar portion descends. The flesh is always thin and firm. The stem is almost invisible and lightly pubescent.
The distinctive feature of the orange oyster mushroom is the bright orange color of its fruiting portion. The cap is attached to the tree sideways, so it often has an irregular shape with wavy edges. The cap surface is pubescent.
This variety lacks a stem, and its gills are large, wide, and orange. It has a mildly putrid taste and odor. The mushroom is considered inedible due to its rather hard texture and distinctive taste and odor. Despite this, young fruits are still eaten.
You may be interested in:Edible honey mushrooms
Honey mushrooms are no less common. They are often used in cooking and are prized for their flavor. They are divided into summer, autumn, and winter varieties, depending on their peak harvest.
Summer honey mushrooms have a thin cap with inward-curving margins that straighten with age. The cap is yellow with a brown tint. The cap diameter does not exceed 8 cm, and centric water rings may appear across its entire surface. These rings disappear over time.
The cap's interior is covered with a lamellar system that darkens over time. The stem is tall, brown, and thin, with a ring and scales below it. Summer honey mushrooms can be found from July until the first snow.
Autumn honey mushrooms are distinguished by their flat caps with wavy edges, colored green-brown. The flesh is soft, dense, and white. The stem is tall, widened at the base, and covered with scales. Autumn honey mushrooms can be found from late August until late fall.
Winter honey mushrooms are unmistakable, as their caps are glossy, light brown with a reddish tint. They are convex in shape. The flesh is thin and firm, mostly white. The stem is cylindrical, 8 cm tall, and light brown. This variety can be found from the onset of cold weather until early spring.
Mushrooms that most often grow under birch trees
Mushrooms harvested from under birch trees are generally highly nutritious. The most popular varieties thrive alongside birch trees.
Birch boletus
In terms of taste, the birch bolete is comparable to the boletus. This variety is prized in cooking for its flavor. Unlike the boletus, its flesh darkens after cooking. The birch bolete resembles the boletus not only in taste but also in appearance. The birch boletus fruiting portion is medium-sized.
The cap is semi-circular in shape, flattening over time. The color is initially light brown with a yellowish tint, which fades to brown. The cap's surface is velvety and pleasant to the touch, and in damp weather, it becomes covered with a thin mucous membrane. The stem is barrel-shaped, covered with a small number of gray scales. The flesh is beige with a slight gray tint, loose, with a faint mushroom aroma. The birch bolete can be found from mid-June to late September.
You may be interested in:White milk mushroom
The white milk cap, also known as the true milk cap, has long been used in cooking for pickling, frying, and boiling. The cap is flat but gradually becomes funnel-shaped, with a deep pit in the center, approximately 25 cm in diameter.
The cap is white and pleasant to the touch, sometimes covered in a sticky skin. The edges are curled inward and have a small amount of fuzz. The stem typically reaches 10 cm in height, with the central portion slightly wider than the rest. The white flesh secretes a milky juice that turns yellowish upon exposure to air.
White mushroom
Another name for this mushroom is the boletus. Boletus mushrooms are very common among mushroom pickers, prized for their flavor and considered a delicacy. They are used in cooking and are also grown at home. The fruiting portion of the boletus is medium-sized.
The cap is rounded, becoming flatter with age. The cap is initially light brown, but as the mushroom matures, it acquires a brownish tint. The cap can reach 30 cm in size, reaching 50 cm in favorable climates.
The flesh is dense and juicy, always retaining its white color, even after cooking, which is where the mushroom gets its name. The stem is short, about 12 cm, barrel-shaped, and tapering at the base. The stem is typically brown or beige. The mushroom's peak harvest occurs in midsummer and lasts until October.
Russula viridans
The green russula belongs to the Russulaceae family. The variety's peak yield occurs in early July and lasts until mid-autumn. The fruiting portion is small. The stem is cylindrical and white with occasional brown spots. The cap is semi-round and greenish, giving the mushroom its name.
Over time, a small pit develops in the center of the cap. The cap's surface is covered with a sticky membrane that peels off easily. The inside of the cap is covered with a dense lamellar system. The flesh of the fruiting body is beige and has a slightly bitter taste.
Russula viridis is used in cooking, and to remove the bitter taste it is soaked in water beforehand.
White volnushka
White milk caps belong to the genus Lactarius, and their distinctive feature is the milky juice that their flesh secretes, which has a slightly bitter taste. To remove the bitterness, the mushrooms are soaked before cooking. Milk caps are often used in cooking, primarily for pickling and marinating.
Another distinctive feature of this variety is the dense covering of the cap with light-colored hairs, especially along the margins. The cap is flat in young specimens, but becomes funnel-shaped in mature specimens. The fruiting body is white. The stem is short, 4-8 cm. With age, the stem may become honeycombed. Volnushki fruiting season is short, from early August to late September.
You may be interested in:Inedible mushroom varieties in birch groves
In addition to edible species, poisonous varieties of mushrooms are also common inhabitants of birch groves.
Russula brittle
The brittle russula is a striking member of the Russulaceae family, often found in forests. While Russian experts classify this mushroom as conditionally edible, Western literature classifies it as an inedible forest mushroom. This is due to the flesh's pungent odor and taste.
The cap of this variety is striking, a vibrant purple color. It also has a convex shape. The underside of the cap has sparsely spaced gills that are fused to the top of the stem. The stem itself is long, white, and brittle. The lower part of the stem is widened. This variety is found from late summer to late October.
Thin pig
A striking member of the Pig's-head mushroom family, found from June to mid-autumn. This mushroom has a small cap, which grows up to 12 cm in diameter. It is funnel-shaped, with a central pit and inward-curving edges. The cap is olive-brown in color. The cap surface is rough in young mushrooms, while smooth in mature ones.
The flesh is soft and dense, pale yellow with a brown tint. Once cut, the flesh immediately darkens. The stem is long, averaging 10 cm in height, and dirty yellow. After rain or during periods of high humidity, the mushroom's surface becomes covered with a slippery film.
Death cap
The death cap is a well-known poisonous forest dweller. Its distinctive features include its pale yellow cap and the presence of an egg-shaped thickening on the underside of the stem. A young mushroom begins to germinate as a beige chicken egg covered with a film. The mature mushroom has a convex cap with a smooth surface, green or light olive in color. It turns grayish over time.
The flesh is white, odorless, and tasteless. The stem is about 15 cm tall and is the same color as the cap, sometimes covered with a moiré pattern. The underside of the cap is covered with a lamellar system. The top of the stem has a wide, fringed ring that disappears with age. This variety is often confused with russula or champignons. The peak harvest of toadstools occurs in midsummer and lasts until mid-autumn.
Satanic mushroom
The Satan's mushroom belongs to the Boletus genus and the Boletaceae family. The fruiting body is large. The cap grows up to 25 cm in diameter and is semi-circular, with inward-curving edges. The cap is typically off-white with a grayish tint, and can also have a greenish tint. The flesh of the cap is white with a yellowish tint, immediately turning blue after cutting, later turning red. The flesh of the stem has an unpleasant odor.
The tubular system is dense, with yellow tubes tinged with green. When pressed, they immediately turn blue. The stem is short and barrel-shaped. The upper part is red with a yellow tint, the middle part is orange, and the lower part is yellow with a brown tint. The stem also has a mesh pattern of large, ovoid cells. The Satanic mushroom grows from June to October.
Answers to frequently asked questions
There are many edible mushroom species that grow in association with birch trees and can be found specifically in birch forests. However, the edibility of mushrooms cannot be determined solely by their location, as poisonous and inedible species also "live" under this tree. Therefore, caution and attention are the primary considerations when hunting in the wild.
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Valeri Mishnov
The photo on the birch tree doesn't show chaga, but a burl (a wart-like growth). I've found chaga on aspen, willow, rowan, and even spruce. Tinder fungus grows on any dead wood. Oyster mushrooms also grow on diseased or dead wood. Honey fungi can infect any living tree, making them dangerous to the garden. And according to folk belief, chaga is only medicinal when grown on birch trees.
Grandfather
Why did the russula suddenly become inedible when we've been eating it our whole lives? And the birch tree doesn't have chaga, it has burdock.