Description and photos of edible mushrooms

To learn how to identify edible mushrooms, you need to put in the effort and do some research. This article will cover photos of mushrooms with names, descriptions, information, and other useful data. While it may initially seem like all mushrooms look alike, a careful review of the information provided will help you finally begin to understand these valuable gifts of the forest.

Edible mushrooms: photos of mushrooms with names, descriptions, and information in the Moscow region

White mushroom

Many sources write that this mushroom is the "king of the forest". It is quite rare and typically grows solitarily. It possesses unique beneficial properties and an excellent taste and aroma. It is a tubular mushroom with a thick cap ranging from purple-brown to dark olive in color and firm flesh.

This mushroom begins to grow in the forests of the Moscow region as early as mid-June, and then, depending on the weather, it can be collected until mid-September. It is most often found in clearings among tall grass.

Aspen mushroom

Another edible tubular mushroom, it ranks a respectable second only to honey mushrooms in protein content. Its cap is oily and has a pleasant brownish-red hue (white-capped aspen mushrooms are also found). If you touch the stem of this mushroom or the inside of the cap, after a couple of minutes the area will turn blue: a sure sign that you're dealing with a true aspen mushroom.

It's also worth noting that the stem always has many dark gray scales. As the name suggests, These mushrooms like to grow in deciduous forests, especially under aspen trees. The picking season begins in July and lasts until October. These mushrooms tend to appear after heavy rains (although excess moisture causes many mushrooms to become worm-eaten). They typically grow in clusters.

Birch boletus

This mushroom has a dark brown cap and a distinctive appearance that's hard to confuse with other forest bounty. These mushrooms are capable of detoxifying the human body and grow in sunny birch forests right at the roots of birch trees. They thrive in moist soil and proliferate after heavy rains.

The stem of a young or old boletus will always have small scales, and the stem itself always widens towards the base, although it is very thin in nature.

Russula

Edible mushrooms, as well as photos of mushrooms with names, descriptions, and information about russula mushrooms, can vary. For example, some people don't collect these mushrooms at all, although they are, in fact, edible and grow actively from mid-summer, regardless of the weather.

The different types of russula can be confusing, and you should exercise caution and care, as not all of them are edible. You can eat green, blue, and red russula. Don't eat russula raw; they should be boiled first, then fried, frozen, or preserved for the winter.

Milk mushroom

Depending on the habitat, different types of milk mushrooms are found in forests. They are conditionally edible, and before frying, freezing, or pickling, milk mushrooms must be soaked in cold water for 3-5 days.

Volnushka

Another conditionally edible mushroom that requires pre-soaking, the pink milk cap has a matching cap, often up to 12 cm in diameter. The cap is slightly slimy to the touch, and the flesh is firm and compact. These lamellar mushrooms require pre-soaking and then long cooking before eating.

Chanterelles

These orange mushrooms are hard to confuse with anything else. They're incredibly tasty no matter how you cook them, and they're never wormy. Chanterelles are harvested from early July until late fall. Finding them in the fall is difficult because they blend in with the orange, fallen leaves.

Chanterelles grow almost everywhere in Russia and are sometimes confused with saffron milk caps. However, the chanterelle's distinctive feature is its cap, which is concave and brighter in color. It grows in large clumps; be sure to look under the moss for young mushrooms. The cap of a large mushroom rarely exceeds 7 cm in diameter.

Chanterelles

These mushrooms have already been briefly mentioned when describing chanterelles. Saffron milk caps are considered delicious both fried and pickled, and are perfect for making aromatic mushroom sauces. They are most often found in July in the forest, favoring clearings and cleared areas.

 

The cap of the saffron milk cap grows up to 10 cm in diameter and is a lamellar mushroom that is depressed inward. Small spots can be seen on the cap's surface, contributing to the wavy coloration. When cut, an orange sap will ooze from the cut surface, which darkens upon exposure to air.

Boletus (Polish mushroom)

These tubular mushrooms can be found in all forests across our country. The cap is brown and up to 15 cm in diameter. With age, the cap droops. They are most often found in moss and in damp weather.

Butterlets

These mushrooms grow in coniferous forests, are attractive in appearance, and can even be eaten raw. They are tubular mushrooms, with a slimy, shiny cap. The stem of a young mushroom is soft and smooth.

The flesh of this mushroom is dense and therefore a bit dry. However, when cooked, the mushrooms produce a wonderful aroma and have a wonderful sweet aftertaste. They grow in clusters.

Honey mushrooms

These agaric mushrooms boast the highest nutritional value of all forest bounty. They are considered autumn mushrooms, although there are also summer mushrooms that grow in August. They are easy to collect because they grow in clusters and even entire patches. The round cap of the autumn mushroom is covered with numerous small scales.

Umbrella

This is a common mushroom in our forests, but not everyone knows it's edible. The stem is long and thin, and the cap is large and round. It can be picked from mid-July until the end of October. The mushrooms appear especially plentifully after rain.

Edible mushroomsPhotos of mushrooms with names, descriptions, and detailed information about each mushroom will help you understand what to put in your basket during a quiet hunt.