Names and descriptions of poisonous mushrooms in Crimea (+30 photos)

When heading into the forest for a quiet hunt, it's worth familiarizing yourself not only with edible mushrooms but also with poisonous ones. Crimea is home to a vast variety of mushroom species, including many false and poisonous ones. Eating inedible mushrooms can cause poisoning or even become deadly.

Distribution areas of inedible mushrooms

The Crimean Peninsula is an excellent destination for those who enjoy a quiet hunt. Thanks to the warm climate, a wide variety of mushrooms grow there, often including inedible specimens. The steppe zone offers mushroom-rich spots, particularly the Donuzlav and Sasyk estuaries. The village of Mramornoye is rich in chanterelles, which are also home to false chanterelles. Inedible mushrooms are often found in the mushroom-growing areas of Mount Demerdzhi, Luchistom, and the mountainous regions of the peninsula.

In eastern Crimea, false lookalikes grow among the true mushrooms. Caution is advised when harvesting mushrooms in the forests of Feodosia, Sevastopol, and the Bakhchisarai region.

Deadly poisonous mushrooms in Crimea

Across the country, mushroom pickers have identified approximately 30 mushrooms dangerous to humans. They differ not only in appearance but also in their toxicity. On the Crimean Peninsula, the most dangerous are:

• whitish talker;
• red fly agaric;
• death cap;
• sulfur-yellow false honey fungus.

These species are mostly disguised as edible fruits. Photos and descriptions will help you choose, but only an experienced mushroom picker can distinguish them with 100% certainty.

White talker

The fruiting body of the talker mushroom has no distinct boundaries between the cap and the stem. Young talkers have a convex cap, which becomes saucer-shaped as the fruit matures. The white cap can reach 4 cm in diameter. Talkers also have gray, pale pink, or whitish surfaces, on which a powdery coating can be seen. In high humidity, the usually dry cap becomes slippery and sticky.

The flesh is white and remains consistent where cut. The fruit has a pleasant, sweet-smelling aroma. Mature specimens have a hollow stem, while young ones have a denser one.

The whitish talker likes to grow in clumps in open wooded areas, meadows, and cattle grazing areas. An amateur mushroom picker might mistake it for the edible meadow honey fungus or honey mushroom.

Red fly agaric

This species has a rather striking appearance, making it impossible to confuse it with edible fruits. The stem of the fly agaric can grow up to 20 cm in height and about 2.5 cm in width. Young specimens are characterized by a hemispherical cap, which becomes umbrella-shaped with age. White warty scales are clearly visible on the red cap.

The red fly agaric mushroom prefers acidic soil in predominantly coniferous forests, but is also often found in mixed forests. When ingested, the fly agaric mushroom can cause hallucinations. Consuming large quantities of these toxic fruits can be fatal.

Death cap

This member of the Amanita genus deserves a closer look, as it is considered a deadly poisonous mushroom. This species prefers fertile soil in light beech and mixed forests. The death cap grows up to 18 cm. The cap is gray or greenish. Young death caps have a hemispherical cap, but as they mature, it flattens. The white flesh has no distinct flavor or aroma.

The death cap's distinctive feature is the presence of a white volva, often hidden under the soil or leaves. It can be found at the base of the stem. Death caps can be confused with russula or champignons. It is important to remember that the mushroom's gills darken over time, while other similar species lack a ring on the stem.

Soaking or prolonged boiling cannot remove the poison from the death cap fruiting body, so extreme caution is required when harvesting the forest fruit. Even 30 grams of the poisonous fruit can be fatal.

False honey fungus sulphur-yellow

The sulphur-yellow false honey fungus belongs to the genus Hypholoma. Its appearance is very similar to the edible varieties of meadow and autumn honey fungus. The main difference from true honey fungus is the lack of a ring on the stem.

The cap of this poisonous member of the genus reaches 7 cm in diameter. Young specimens have a bell-shaped cap, which straightens as the fruiting body ages. The surface and flesh are sulfur-yellow. The flesh can be whitish, has a distinctly bitter taste, and an unpleasant odor. The false honey fungus grows up to 10 cm. The stem is fibrous and smooth.

Poisoning from this species occurs within the first few hours after consumption. A person sweats profusely, vomits, and may lose consciousness.

Moderately poisonous mushrooms

These fruiting bodies can cause acute poisoning of the body, but fatal cases are extremely rare, unlike those of deadly species.

False chanterelle

Some sources claim that the false chanterelle is considered a conditionally edible mushroom, but most claim the fruit is poisonous. Therefore, it's best to avoid risking your health and only collect edible chanterelles.

The cap is convex or funnel-shaped. The cap (up to 5 cm in diameter) is yellow or golden in color. Its center is much darker than the edges. The flesh has a rather unpleasant aroma and is colored yellow-orange.

False chanterelles can be found in mixed forests from August to November. You can distinguish the edible chanterelle from the false chanterelle by its stem, which is red with an orange tint in the poisonous variety. Furthermore, the false chanterelle's stem is much thinner.

White rowan

The cap of this poisonous fruit reaches 10 cm in diameter. Its surface is grayish-white, always dull and dry. The center of the cap in mature specimens is covered with ochre spots and is brown with a yellow tint. At an early stage of maturity, the cap is convex with inward-turned margins, but with age, it becomes spreading and convex.

The stem length varies between 5 and 10 cm. Some specimens are often covered in a mealy coating. The white flesh takes on a pink tint where cut. The flesh of young Trichovki mushrooms is odorless, while that of mature fruits is distinctly odorous, reminiscent of radish. The taste of the flesh is pungent and quite hot. Consuming white Trichovki mushrooms can cause severe gastrointestinal upset.

Satanic mushroom

The Satan's mushroom is a close relative of the edible boletus. It can be found in Crimean mixed and oak forests. The Satan's mushroom begins to bear fruit as early as July and can be encountered until October.

The cap reaches 10-30 cm in diameter. It is hemispherical in shape, becoming slightly spreading in maturity. The cap can be dirty gray, olive gray, or off-white. Specimens with greenish or yellowish-pink streaks are common. The white flesh turns blue or red when damaged. Old fruits have an unpleasant odor.

The fruit's stem tapers toward the cap and grows up to 15 cm in height. It features a reticulated pattern with rounded cells. The stem is barrel- or spherical in shape.

Champignon dark scale

The dark-scaled button mushroom is a poisonous lookalike of the wild button mushroom. The cap of this inedible variety grows to about 5-8 cm in diameter. Young mushrooms are characterized by a spherical cap, which becomes convex and spreading as they mature. The surface color can be white or brownish. Small light-brown scales are clearly visible on the cap.

The fruit's stem is smooth and has a tuberous thickening near the base. It can reach 8 cm in height. A ring forms around the stem. The soft flesh is white and has a faint, unpleasant odor.

You can identify a poisonous champignon by the cut. The flesh of a wild champignon has a pleasant aroma, and the cut slowly turns red. A poisonous fruit has an unpleasant odor, and the flesh turns yellowish when broken.

Answers to frequently asked questions

Among the wide variety of Crimean mushrooms, you can often encounter false and poisonous specimens. Before hunting for mushrooms, it's important to carefully study the dangerous species, as this knowledge can determine not only your health but also your life.

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