A mushroom from the Red Book – the White Aspen

Children are taught from childhood to pick only those mushrooms they know well. This is the main rule for mushroom pickers. Many collect only the most well-known and common varieties native to their region. However, the mushroom kingdom is vast and multifaceted. One rare species, the white aspen mushroom, is found in our forests. Photos and a detailed description will help you identify it.

Usually aspen mushrooms are edible mushrooms On light-colored stems with multicolored caps—red, orange, brown, or yellowish. They can be found in light coniferous and deciduous forests under a wide variety of trees—aspen, poplar, pine, birch, oak, and willow. The white aspen mushroom is a very rare mushroom, listed in the Red Book of Russia, and therefore requires careful handling and preservation.

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How to recognize him?

The white aspen mushroom differs from other aspen mushrooms in its light, almost white color. The cap can have a slight pale pink or greenish tint in young mushrooms, or yellowish-gray in older mushrooms. It feels dry and rough, like paper. It's typically 4-15 cm wide, but large caps—up to 25 cm in diameter—can also be found. In young mushrooms, the cap fits tightly to the stem and has a spherical shape. Over time, it widens, flattening out and resembling a small cushion.

The white aspen mushroom grows 5-15 cm in height, with specimens reaching up to 30 cm. The stem is tall and dense, with a slight thickening at the base. Its surface is covered with small scales—at first white, later turning brownish. The tubular layer under the cap is white, sometimes with a yellowish tint, delicate and finely porous. In older mushrooms, it becomes gray or brownish.

If the fruiting body is cut, the cut will soon turn blue, and then black. The cut on the stem will turn lilac or purple. The mushroom flesh itself is white—dense and firm, does not crumble, and retains its shape. Only at the base of the stem may the flesh have a blue-green tint. The spores are light brown ochre when released.

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Where and when can I meet you?

White aspen mushrooms form mycorrhiza with birch, aspen, and pine trees. They are found in deciduous and coniferous forests. If the summer is dry and hot, the fruiting bodies grow only near aspen trees, which retain sufficient moisture. Finding them is difficult, as they are an endangered species. From time to time, the colony sprouts abundantly, forming small mushroom glades.

The first white aspen mushrooms emerge in early June and continue to bear fruit until the end of September. The fruiting body lasts up to two weeks, after which it releases spores and dies. In Russia, it is found in the western and northern regions, Siberia, and near Lake Baikal. It is also known in other countries, including Belarus, the Baltic states, North America, and Western Europe.

Knowledge of the natural environment of your native land and the ability to recognize rare species will help preserve its diversity. Fungi form a symbiotic relationship with trees, enriching their roots and the surrounding soil with minerals. They are an integral and vulnerable part of the forest community. Once the mycelium is lost, restoring it is often virtually impossible.