Autumn honey mushrooms. What mushrooms grow in October, at the beginning and at the end of the month? Are there mushrooms at the beginning of October?

A trip to the forest for honey mushrooms will in any case bring you pleasant emotions as these mushrooms grow large families and, having found suitable tree, you can quickly fill your basket. Collection is carried out almost all year round, since there are many types of these mushrooms, and they can be collected even in winter. But for this you need not only to know what they look like edible species, but also according to what rules they are collected.

Features and methods of collecting winter, spring and autumn honey mushrooms with photos and videos can be found in this article. It will help experienced mushroom pickers improve their knowledge, and beginners - master the necessary techniques.

With the onset of the first autumn month comes the time to collect honey mushrooms. In conditions high humidity they grow very quickly. They can be found both in deciduous and mixed forests on stumps and old trees (Figure 1). Although they are small, collecting them is a real pleasure, because they grow in whole families, and you can immediately collect a whole basket of fragrant forest gifts.

Figure 1. Places and rules for collecting honey mushrooms

Sometimes they are hidden under a layer of fallen leaves, and then it becomes more difficult to find them, but how great is the joy of a mushroom picker who discovers a family growing on a stump. Fans of quiet hunting are well aware of the features, conditions and rules of collection, and beginners will find it useful to familiarize themselves with the materials in this article.

Peculiarities

You should know that different kinds can be collected practically all year round except during periods of severe frost. Thus, autumn ones are harvested from August to November, meadow ones - from May to June and from September to October, summer ones bear fruit from August to October, and winter ones - throughout the fall until frost.

Note: You need to look for them when you are old enough deciduous forests, on stumps and trunks of fallen trees, and sometimes on living wood. The exception is meadow, which grow exclusively in open areas among grass. Look for them on forest edges, pastures, fields, and meadows.

When collecting, be careful and remember that along with edible ones, you can also find false ones, some of which are poisonous. To prevent such a specimen from accidentally ending up in your basket, learn to distinguish between real and false specimens (Figure 2).

Here's what you should pay attention to

1. True honey mushrooms grow only on wood, while false ones can also grow on the ground.
2. Hats false species painted in bright colors - bright red, greenish-gray, and the plates on their back side have a dark color.
3. The main sign of edibility is the leathery ring on the stem under the cap. False ones have fragments of such a ring, but they are difficult to see. In addition, the cap and stem of a real mushroom are covered with scales, which are completely absent in false ones.

Figure 2. Main differences between true and false species

In addition, real varieties have a pleasant mushroom aroma, while false varieties have an unpleasant earthy odor.

Conditions

If you want to harvest, go to a forest that is over 30 years old. In such forest area you can find enough places where honey mushrooms like to grow - rotten stumps, dead trunks, dead wood, protruding tree roots.

When to collect winter and other species? The best time for this they call early morning, since it is then that they are still fresh and dense after the coolness of the night, which means they are more resistant to transportation and storage.

Methods

When choosing a collection method, you should give preference to those that protect the mycelium from mechanical damage. Therefore, it is unacceptable to pull out mushrooms, because such actions lead not only to damage to the mycelium, but also to its death, as a result of which growth in this area stops.

It is recommended to carefully cut off the stem with a knife or twist the mushroom from the mycelium. However, with the first method there is a risk of infection entering the mycelium through an incised wound on the leg, so it is better to use the second method. When unscrewing the mushroom, it must be rotated around its axis until it easily separates. The hole remaining after such actions must be trampled or lightly dug in.

Rules

All lovers of “silent hunting”, whether an experienced mushroom picker or a beginner, must follow the following rules (Figure 3):

1. You can collect only well-known species. If you have the slightest doubt about its edibility, you should discard it.
2. It is recommended to select young, healthy mushrooms, because they have the ability to accumulate dangerous toxic substances, and therefore overgrown, wormy, rotten specimens are of no use to you. It is better to hang it on a branch with the cap down so that the wind can carry and disperse its spores for the future harvest. At the same time, mushrooms that are too young and not yet ripe should not be collected. Leave them to other mushroom pickers.
3. Try not to damage the mycelium. Therefore, it is better to twist the tubular species, and break or cut off the lamellar and marsupial species.
4. If you find an edible mushroom, do not rush to leave this place. Most species grow in whole families, so a careful search can reveal many mushrooms in one place.
5. Remember that mushrooms do not grow in tall grass and windbreak.
6. When going into the forest, take a basket with you, not a bucket, since mushrooms quickly suffocate in a confined space without ventilation.
7. Before placing your find in the trash bin, clear it of soil and debris. Place them with their caps down or sideways.
8. Don't try to take all the mushrooms from the forest. This is impossible. Raw mushrooms They deteriorate quickly, so they need to be processed quickly.

Figure 3. Collection methods and rules

Do not knock down unfamiliar mushrooms. After all, there may be a mushroom picker who will not only recognize this mushroom, but also pick it up.

Collection of honey mushrooms: video

To learn more about the collection process, we recommend watching the video, which shows where to look for mushrooms, how to distinguish them and collect them correctly.

When to collect winter mushrooms

Most mushrooms are collected in the summer and autumn months. The exception is winter varieties, the harvest of which can be harvested even with the onset of slight cold in December, and in conditions of early and warm spring - in January and March. They appear in the forest in October and can continue to bear fruit until March (Figure 4). It all depends on the climate and weather conditions, since growth stops at temperatures below zero.

Figure 4. Collection of winter species

It is very difficult to confuse a winter variety with any other species, since most mushrooms do not tolerate cold weather, and with its onset they die off in their above-ground parts, which means they are simply absent.

When to collect spring honey mushrooms

Spring mushrooms belong to early species. They can be found in both mixed and coniferous forests on old stumps and protruding tree roots, as well as on damp mossy litter from mid-May to the end of October (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Features of collecting spring species

The largest harvest can be harvested in June-July, when these mushrooms are especially prolific, and since they grow in small mushroom season, then cause increased interest among mushroom pickers.

Collection of autumn mushrooms: video

The most popular are autumn varieties. From the video below you will learn how to collect them correctly and what places in the forest you should inspect to find a rich harvest of mushrooms.

October is also a good month. Just like in September, this month you can collect a decent basket edible mushrooms, if there were no severe frosts and constant heavy rains. So, under the bright leaves, don’t miss the caps of saffron milk caps, russula, boletus, and moss mushrooms.

And if, after all, slight frosts have already set in in October, then there is no need to despair here either, since greenfinches and greenfinches are not afraid of them.

So, now about every mushroom that grows in autumn forest, we'll tell you in more detail.

• Porcini

One of the most favorite mushrooms is also found in October, but provided that there were no severe frosts. In mushrooms growing in pine forests it is dark brown, often with a purple tint; in spruce forests it is brown or reddish-brown, in deciduous forests it is lighter. The pulp is white, dense, does not change color, which is especially appreciated. Porcini mushrooms are pickled, salted, dried, and fried, so this mushroom is universal.

• boletus

Another one of our favorite edible mushrooms. And although it is called boletus and essentially should only grow under birch trees, it can be found in almost all deciduous forests. He gravitates towards edges, hillocks, and also towards light. Boletus mushrooms are often used for drying and pickling.

• Ryzhik

Many mushroom pickers do not agree that the king of mushrooms is the boletus mushroom, and put the camelina in first place. It can be found in young pine trees that grow along the grassy edges of older pine forests. This mushroom is quite recognizable. It is a bright, orange-red mushroom with concentric darker orange zones. Ryzhiki is a valuable mushroom; even when pickled, it does not lose its color, and, in addition, has excellent taste.

• Oyster mushroom

Oyster mushroom is considered one of the most popular mushrooms that grow in late autumn and are not afraid of cold weather. Sometimes they grow even until December. Oyster mushrooms can be found on aspen, poplar, oak or birch, as well as on rotten stumps. What to do with this mushroom? Usually it is salted, fried, pickled.

• Winter mushrooms

Winter mushrooms are an excellent edible find for avid mushroom pickers who love to go mushroom picking even in October. Some even believe that winter mushrooms are tastier than autumn ones. Whether this is true or not, you can check for yourself by going to the forest in October. What do they do with them? Yes, as usual: salted, fried, marinated.

• Row purple

This autumn mushroom also quite popular among mushroom pickers. You can easily recognize it by its purple hat. Interestingly, this mushroom is also not afraid of cold weather, so it grows until December. Ryadovka is most often pickled, fried or salted, depending on your preference.

• Talker

Talker mushroom is a fairly popular edible mushroom, although some believe it can cause distress in some people. But this can be avoided if you boil the mushrooms thoroughly and then drain all the water. The talker is “friends” with the row, which is why you can often see them together in one place. Govorushki are salted, pickled and fried. They grow even in November.

• Garlic

Garlic is an edible mushroom that is famous for its garlicky aroma, which is unusual for a mushroom. Therefore, it is often used as a seasoning instead of garlic. When dried, it retains its aroma. Where can you find this garlic substitute? Look on the stumps. By the way, it also grows until the end of November.

• Volnushka

Volnushka grows in a variety of forests, but, as a rule, most often in birch forests. Often mushroom pickers do not collect the mushroom and avoid it. And all because you have to tinker with it a little when cooking, because if you don’t soak it, it will be bitter. But if you still devote time to this mushroom, it will pleasantly surprise you with its taste. Moreover, the volushki make very decent pickles, which are eaten once or twice in winter.

• Greenfinch

Greenfinch is a very tasty edible mushroom that forms a mycelium with pine. Greenfinch can also be found in November.

• Common chanterelles

Chanterelles are one of the most beloved and famous mushrooms, which is almost never wormy. In mid-October, young chanterelles begin to appear, you just need to notice them under the withered foliage. Sometimes they grow until December.

• Trembling orange

Trembling is a rather original mushroom for real gourmets. It is known for its smooth, jelly-like consistency as well as its vibrant orange. From tremors you can make an omelette that literally melts in your mouth or a delicious, tender soup. This mushroom grows not only in October, but throughout the winter to the delight of mushroom pickers. The best place to look for the mushroom is in the hazel tree on dead branches.

• Ice mushroom

Another original edible mushroom, characterized by a gelatinous consistency. Its cap is decorated with translucent spines. Unfortunately, the ice mushroom is quite rare and quite difficult to find.

I’ll say right away that the “honey agaric” group contains artificially collected very, very distant mushrooms from 5 genera of three different families. They are united only by some similarity in appearance, and the predilection of most of them to grow near stumps, which is reflected in the name - growing “about the stump,” or in modern terms, by the stump.

Most of them have a medium-sized elastic plate-like cap and a long thin stem. They somewhat resemble “toadstools”, as some mushroom “experts” imagine them to be. Nevertheless, since they were united by our people together, we will consider them all together here. Although the description of each of them will be completely independent.

This is a saprophytic fungus, that is, it lives only on dead wood; Unlike those in autumn and winter, it does not settle on living trees. The cap is up to 5 cm in diameter, thin, convex, later almost flat with a tubercle, light brown; along the edge with a darker rim, as if saturated with water. The plates are sparse, the color of the cap, but slightly lighter (fawn). The young hat is covered with a blanket at the bottom. The stalk is thin, 0.5 cm in diameter and up to 8 cm long, hollow, with a ring, fibrous; Light at the top and dark brown at the bottom, tapering towards the bottom.

In June – September, the fungus is often and quite abundantly found on the stumps of deciduous trees: aspen, birch, linden, etc.; it almost does not grow on coniferous trees. Since it forms large colonies, despite its puny structure, you can collect quite a lot of them. The pulp is grayish-whitish, the taste is pleasant, the smell is moist, woody. The legs, due to their stiffness, are often not taken.

Suitable for all types culinary processing, however, when dried, it becomes very tiny and thin, like paper, and also crumbles easily. Therefore, dried honey mushrooms are usually ground into powder, which is added to sauces to give them a mushroom aroma. The Germans believe that this honey mushroom is especially good in soup. It is therapeutic, normalizes metabolism. Has several varieties. Very rarely wormy. However, many of our mushroom pickers do not take it - some out of ignorance, others simply neglect it, but in vain.

Honey fungus is called so because, in most cases, it grows on stumps. Translated from Latin language(lat. Armillaria) honey mushrooms are “bracelets” that have many beads. There are also types of these mushrooms that are also found in meadows. Not only are honey mushrooms edible, but they are also very tasty and healthy mushrooms, because they are rich in proteins, amino acids and fiber.

Characteristic

Honey mushrooms grow in entire families. It is very rare to come across species that grow one at a time.

Mushroom dimensions

By itself, the mushroom is quite easy to recognize. He has a cap, which begins to change “with age.” At first it is hemispherical in shape, a little later its edges begin to bend and take on the shape of an umbrella with a small bulge in the middle of the cap. The diameter of the top of the mushroom is 2-10 centimeters. It has small scales, which begin to smooth out over time; in some cases, mucus may appear. The color of the cap can range from beige to different shades of red. Most often you can find yellowish-red representatives of the honey mushroom group.

Pulp

The pulp of all types of honey mushrooms is the same - it is smooth and tender, pale yellow in color. In addition, it is very often wet due to the fact that it collects water for better vitality. It tastes very tasty, with a pleasant aroma of raw wood.

Leg

The stem to which the mushroom cap is attached can reach 15 centimeters, and its color depends on the age and location of the mushroom. The young mushroom has a light honey-colored stalk, but over time it begins to darken and acquires a dark brown tint. Quite often you can find such types of honey mushrooms that have a “skirt”. This part of the mushroom connects top part(hat) with the bottom (leg) and serves as an additional fastening during strong winds.

Most often, honey fungus can be found in ravines, on stumps, near swamps or in damp, impassable forests. They are common in the northern hemisphere of the Earth and are found everywhere except in the region permafrost. They are most popular among residents of Russia and Eastern Europe.

The yield of honey mushrooms depends on the forest in which they live. For example, in coniferous forests you can find summer representatives of the honey mushroom group, but only if the area is located near the mountains. In another case in coniferous forest the honey fungus will not settle, because it will not have enough moisture.

But as for deciduous forests, so here you can safely take baskets and go pick mushrooms, because from one stump you can collect so many honey mushrooms that there will be enough for soup, and for the main course, and there will be left for a snack. In such forests you can find all representatives of this group: winter, summer, autumn and spring honey fungus. These mushrooms are also found in mixed forests, but in smaller quantities. It all depends on the humidity of the area where the honey fungus has settled - what more water, the more mushrooms.

The harvest also depends on the tree on which the mushrooms live. Honey mushrooms are very fond of deciduous trees, especially birch and linden. But do not forget that this group of fungi grows only on dead stumps, so it can also be found on oak, maple, acacia and others.

In order for this mushroom to feel comfortable, it needs a lot of moisture and warm climate, therefore honey fungus is rarely found in meadows and steppes. He can't stand a direct hit sun rays and loves the shade. And also in the steppes, old stumps, which are necessary for the viability of the fungus, are rarely found.

Honey fungus can be found at any time of the year. It all depends on the type of mushroom and on climatic conditions. For example, the autumn honey fungus begins to grow from the end of August, and its last representatives can be seen already at the beginning of winter. Winter honey fungus, accordingly, gives a good harvest in the cold season, and spring and summer ones begin to grow with the first warming.

Mushrooms grow best in rainy times - that’s when they have enough moisture, so late autumn and early spring are considered to be the honey mushroom season.

By the way, many people have probably noticed that after the rains there are many times more honey mushrooms. This is due to the fact that mushrooms love water very much and they need a damp surface to better development. Temperature does not play a big role in their growth, because with the arrival of cold weather, one species begins to grow, and with the arrival of warmth, another. Thus, honey mushrooms can be harvested throughout the year.

As mentioned earlier, honey mushrooms are one of the most complex groups of mushrooms, so they include both edible and inedible species. There are representatives of honey mushrooms that are strictly forbidden to eat, because there is a risk of serious poisoning. But the problem is that they are all similar to each other and it is very important to be able to distinguish between each type, so as not to end up in the hospital later.

By itself, honey fungus is very poisonous and can cause paralysis and, in some cases, cardiac arrest. Representatives of such fungi are: mushrooms of the genus Gimoloma (family Strophariaceae) and mushrooms of the genus Psatirella (family of dung beetles).

Poisonous honey mushrooms are most often found in summer time and have a yellow-brown or sulfur-yellow color. The cap of such mushrooms is no more than 7 centimeters, and the stem reaches 10 centimeters in length. Another difference from edible mushrooms is the absence of a “skirt”, and the cap of the honey fungus itself does not have any scales.

Raw honey mushrooms don’t taste very good, so it’s best to boil or fry them. These two methods are the fastest, because they do not take more than half an hour. And also, if you have time and patience, then honey mushrooms can be pickled, dried or salted. These mushrooms make very delicious pies, they are ideal for salads and simple mushroom slices.

Types of mushrooms

As mentioned above, honey mushrooms are divided into edible and inedible types. Now let's look at each representative separately.

The summer honey fungus belongs to the strophariaceae family. It prefers deciduous trees, less often pine trees, and lives in temperate climate. The cap of this species is very small in diameter - 3-6 centimeters. From birth, the top is semicircular in shape, and over time it loses its convexity and becomes flatter. The color of the cap can vary from brown to dull yellow. Its shade depends on the amount of rainfall. The more moisture, the lighter the shade. The tubercle, which is located in the middle of the cap, is often of a different color - it is lighter than the other zones, and during rain it begins to darken. The mushroom itself does not have scales, and its skin is often covered with a thin layer of mucus. The mushroom stalk grows to a size of 7 centimeters, after which its development stops. It has small dark scales that remain until the “end of life” of the mushroom. This mushroom can be found in early April and until November, but in warm climates, summer honey mushrooms can be collected all year round.

The winter honey fungus belongs to the category of edible mushrooms and is a representative of the family of rowaceae or tricholomaceae. This mushroom is very fond of temperate and northern climatic zones and prefers deciduous trees such as poplar, birch and willow. The mushroom cap is 2-10 centimeters in diameter. It is flat, light yellow in color and has thin flesh. The leg is also small – 2–7 centimeters. It is quite dense, with small fibers that retain moisture in the mushroom for a long time. This mushroom is found both in autumn and spring. It bears fruit well in the cold season and can withstand very low temperatures.

The spring honey fungus belongs to the family of non-rotting mushrooms and is found under oaks and pines. The difference from other species is that the spring honey fungus most often grows one at a time and prefers mixed forests. Its cap can reach 7 centimeters, and its minimum diameter is 10 millimeters. Its shape depends on age - at first it is highly convex, then less convex, and later it becomes completely flat. The color changes according to the same principle - from red-brown to yellow-brown. The hat is attached to a flexible leg, the size of which is 3-9 centimeters. It is relatively smooth and thin, but it is quite difficult to break. The peak growth of spring honey fungus occurs in July. Most often it can be found from late May to early October.

Similar species

Most often, edible honey mushrooms are confused with false honey mushrooms. The main difference between real mushrooms are the rings, which are located under the cap. Also, false mushrooms have a very unpleasant odor, which is more reminiscent of rotting wood rather than a mushroom aroma. Poisonous mushrooms have a cap of a more saturated color (to attract attention) - sulfur-yellow or brick-red shades. Moreover, in almost all species edible honey mushrooms there are small scales on the cap, which the false species do not have. You also need to pay attention to the color of the inner plate, because for fake mushrooms it can even be olive, while for edible ones it can be light beige.

Such false heels are more like summer look mushrooms, because they have approximately the same size, but you need to examine each mushroom very carefully so as not to end up in the hospital later.

Growing at home

Few people know that mushrooms can be grown at home, and honey mushrooms are no exception. There are several ways to place any of the types of this group of mushrooms.

The technology of growing on stumps is the method closest to the real growth of mushrooms. In order to plant your garden with honey mushrooms, you need to choose a place where there is a lot of shade, because, as mentioned earlier, honey mushrooms do not like direct sunlight. If there is no such place, then you will have to use straw to cover the habitat of the mushrooms. It’s also worth remembering that you need to use stumps only deciduous trees: aspen, birch, apple, pear, acacia and others. You need to plant small pieces of mushrooms in a well-moistened tree and cover them with moss so that the mushrooms begin to germinate faster. Already next year it will be possible to harvest the first harvest, which will be regular for 6-7 years.

The technology of growing in glass jars is a method for urban mushroom lovers. It will require 1/3 bran and 2/3 sawdust from deciduous trees. To all this you will need to add starch and flour. After that, fill it all with water and boil. You can plant pieces of mushrooms into this cooled mixture, covering the jars with lids with holes. When the mushrooms germinate, the lids are removed. This method bears fruit much faster - within a month it will be possible to harvest the first harvest.

Calorie content of honey mushrooms

The calorie content of each product depends on whether it has undergone some kind of heat treatment. This table provides calorie data for 100 grams of raw honey mushrooms.

• Very often you can see such a phenomenon as the glow of stumps. This happens when the stump is covered with autumn honey mushrooms. The mushrooms themselves do not glow, but due to the contrast between the wood and the mushroom, the effect of a light bulb is created.
• The honey fungus mycelium, which is located in the ground, can reach a meter in size, and the fruit that we see can barely rise above ground level.
• Scientists have proven that all types of honey mushrooms appeared 400 million years ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth. During the course of evolution, they almost did not change their structure, they were only divided into edible and inedible.
• Honey mushrooms, like people, know how to sunbathe. This happens with any changes in temperature and weather. Some species become darker during rain, and some become darker during strong sun.
• Honey mushrooms grow very quickly. On average, each mushroom can grow 5 millimeters in a minute. Bamboo has the same growth rate. Only honey mushrooms stop growing, but bamboo does not..

About heels we call one of the varieties of edible lamellar mushrooms, autumn honey mushrooms. These are the most productive and collected honey mushrooms, among the most common summer honey mushrooms and winter. Scientific name mushroom “true honey fungus” or “autumn honey fungus” (Armillariella mellea) . Usually, autumn honey mushrooms end the mushroom season. IN Central Russia they are often called “Assumption” for their massive appearance at the end of August, just on the Feast of the Assumption Holy Mother of God(August 28). On this day, experienced mushroom pickers go to the forest for the first autumn honey mushrooms, which bear fruit from then on for two to three weeks. In a dry summer, the first wave of fruiting may go unnoticed or move to a later date. In some regions, honey fungus is widespread throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere except permafrost and tropical latitudes, a second and even a third wave of honey mushroom fruiting is observed, depending on the weather and climatic conditions of the area. There, autumn honey mushrooms are collected until mid-October.

In the photo: autumn honey mushrooms (true honey fungus, Armillariella mellea). On the following pages, see other photos of autumn honey mushrooms.

When and how to collect autumn honey mushrooms.

The generosity with which the forest gifts us with these fragrant mushrooms can satisfy everyone, so the appearance of honey mushrooms is eagerly awaited. Collecting honey mushrooms is a real pleasure. They meet in families, so they manage to pick up a lot of mushrooms at once, sometimes not even carrying them away at once. Behind the honey mushrooms comes the real “ silent hunt" - Who is first? attacked mushroom place– cut off all the mushrooms at once. Returning again, you may not find them - there are many “hunters”. And those cut and laid under a bush, sprinkled with grass and branches, will go unnoticed and will wait for your second arrival. But this is only if you want to process so many mushrooms later, and you know how to navigate the forest.

Honey mushrooms are well transported. Placed in large baskets, buckets, bags, car trunks and whatever is at hand at that moment, they are safely delivered to the recycling site. The main thing is to cook them quickly and scatter them so that they don’t “burn.” In cooking, the caps and legs of young honey mushrooms are often used. However, some mushroom pickers prefer to collect mature mushrooms with a large cap. “There’s something to pick up with a fork!” - they say. From large honey mushrooms, only the caps are collected; their legs are hard and not suitable for food. Overgrown honey mushrooms or collected in a lingering rainy weather partially lose their attractiveness appearance, mushroom aroma and taste qualities, but they are still good fried, boiled and pickled. Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse autumn mushrooms with similar mushrooms false honey mushrooms. Therefore you need to know them features.