The use of the herbal mushroom
There are many varieties of mushrooms. The group that unites various mushrooms of the hedgehog includes about 15 species that differ in appearance, habitat and belong to different genera and families. Some of them actively bear fruit in temperate climates.
Uses of the blackberry mushroom
Characteristics of the fungus
The peculiarity of the hedgehogs is the appearance of the hymenophore. This is the part of the fruiting body on which the spore plates are usually located. In representatives of this group, it looks loose, in the form of pointed cones or thorns. It is this feature that made it possible to distinguish all species into a separate group.
Hercules mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible. This marker means that they are not poisonous, but they have a rather low taste, so they are limitedly used in cooking.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
At the end of the 1960s, the leading character in the taxonomy of hymenomycetes, to which the barnacles belong, were considered the shape of the fruiting bodies and the hymenophore, the Yezhovikov family included all fungi that have a spiny or warty hymenophore. However, by the mid-1970s, it became clear that this trait perfectly demonstrates the convergence (similarity of traits of representatives of different species), which is observed in many aphyllophoric fungi of very different origins.
As a result of in-depth microscopic studies to this. Ezhovikovs was assigned to the only species - notched hydnum. This species, representing a whole family, is characterized by smooth, colorless spores that do not stain under the influence of iodine (non-amyloid).
Close to this. Hericium and small family Hericidia, whose fungi are distinguished by the presence of amyloid spores and peculiar hyphae with oily contents (gleocystid hyphae).
Habitat - mixed or coniferous forests. More often, the species of black man's people are collected under the pines. Mushrooms prefer sandy soil, bear fruit in groups, forming the so-called. "Witch circles" from June to November.
Blackberry mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible
Varieties
The most common types of hedgehogs are:
- e. comb;
- e. coral;
- e. motley;
- e. white;
- e. yellow.
Many species of this group cannot be found in the nearby coniferous forest for the following reasons:
- They are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book. Such fruiting bodies should not be harvested in order not to reduce their population.
- They have a limited range: some grow only in the Far East, the Caucasus, China and the Crimea.
The description of different species is different, since sunlight, soil characteristics and weather conditions affect the color and shape of the fruit.
Hericium crested
The appearance of the blackberry comb mushroom is unusual. It does not have a well-defined leg, and the fruiting body looks spherical. It is difficult to see the hat as such, the surface is organized in the form of small cones-spikes with a length of 2 to 5 cm.The color of the fruit body, and hence the pulp, is white, and when it dries it becomes yellowish-brown. The flesh itself is fleshy. The hymenophore justifies the reckoning of this species, as well as others similar to blackberries - it is prickly and resembles thin needles hanging down
This is a wood-destroying fungus - it grows in places where branches or bark of deciduous trees break. This species is listed in the Red Book of Primorsky Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Region.
Coral Hericium
In science, a coral fungus (or lattice hedgehog) is a mushroom whose fruiting body looks like a bush or, more precisely, a representative of marine invertebrates - a coral with a calcareous skeleton that makes this organism look like an outlandish (as previously thought) plant. It consists of coral-like processes. The fruit body reaches 20 cm in diameter, and the overgrown fruit bodies are not suitable for human consumption. The flesh of a young mushroom is white, and yellowing is characteristic of old mushrooms.
Coral Hericium bears fruit from late July to early September. It is not easy to meet this species, because it is on the verge of extinction and is included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
Hericium is motley
Mushroom blackberry variegated (or tiled) got its name due to the color of the cap, which is clearly distinguished in this species. Its diameter reaches 25 cm. It also has characteristic scaly growths of brown color. The surface is dry and velvety to the touch. The leg is dense or hollow, the same color as the cap, or other shades.
Pulp description:
- off-white or gray;
- spicy, pleasant smell in young specimens;
- putrid odors in overripe, their flesh is hard and dry to the touch.
The hymenophore, located on the underside of the cap, is represented by densely located conical, pointed and thin spines, about 1 cm long. In young specimens they are light, in older organisms they darken.
This species forms mycorrhiza with representatives of coniferous trees. Prefers dry coniferous (pine) and less often mixed forests for its growth with sandy soils. Begins to bear fruit in August and continues until October-November, but mass fruiting includes only the second half of August and the end of September.
Different types of blackberries differ in appearance.
Hericium white
The white hedgehog has a strong, dense leg, reaching a length of 6 cm. The fruit body grows small, more often up to 12 cm in diameter. As it grows, the cap bends inward at the edges. Its color and the color of the plates (in the form of cones) are white or light gray, yellowish. In a young mushroom, the hymenophore in the form of thorns will be elastic and will not crumble.
Did you know? White Hericium is often confused with a relative - yellow Hericium, because it looks like a smaller copy of it, only with a white or yellowish cap.
Hericium yellow
This species is widespread on the territory of Russia and does not belong to endangered ones. It chooses saturated soil for its development, it is easy to find it in moistened glades in low grass. It often grows in groups.
The cap has a deep red or yellowish color, sometimes fading in the sun to whiteness. Its edges are uneven. The pulp is fleshy, darkens when cut or when pressed. Young specimens have flesh with a pronounced fruity odor. And in old ones, it gives off a bitter aftertaste and smells unpleasant.
The stem of the fruiting body is in the form of a cylinder, which expands towards the bottom. It grows up to 8 cm long and can bend. Yellow barnacle bears fruit from mid-June to late October.
By the way. Very often, novice mushroom pickers, those who have not carefully studied the appearance of the common chanterelle are shocked when they see this mushroom, because outwardly it resembles a chanterelle. But upon careful study, you can immediately see the differences.
Why are the fruit bodies of black mans useful?
The pulp contains only 22 kcal per 100 g, so it is allowed to be eaten on a diet.In addition to proteins, fats (only 5%) and carbohydrates, the pulp contains a large list of trace elements and minerals. The beneficial properties are realized through a significant amount of fiber, vitamin C, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
To try these mushrooms for children, people with diseases of the stomach and intestines, liver should be given prudently, in small portions. They should be consumed in small quantities, since chitin in the pulp takes a long time to digest.
The use of mushrooms
The hedgehog is widely used in cooking and alternative medicine. More of it is prepared in the East, it is also used there as folk remedies for various diseases. In Russia, conditionally edible blackberries are often bypassed, ignoring their medicinal and nutritional properties, because for the Russian Federation it is a rather little-known mushroom in many regions.
Cooking
In Russia, conditionally edible fruit bodies of herringbone mushrooms are used as a pickled or salty snack. To get rid of the bitterness, they are left in cold water for several days. During the process, the liquid is changed a couple of times a day, then quickly boiled.
The younger the fruiting bodies, the less they need to be processed. This group, especially the speckled hedgehog species, is not consumed raw, since it can cause severe poisoning. Due to the bitterness, some types are not suitable for frying or drying. But yellow blackberries are fried after boiling and served with sour cream sauce.
Blackberry is widely used in cooking
The medicine
In traditional science, wild-growing fruit bodies of hedgehogs are not used. They are used in the composition of ointments for the skin in cosmetology. Eastern peoples prepare infusions and decoctions from fruit bodies, legs. The funds are believed to have a beneficial effect on:
- nervous system;
- vessels;
- heart;
- condition of the skin, nails, hair;
- the work of the endocrine glands.
Before trying on yourself the healing properties of traditional medicine, be sure to consult a doctor to identify possible problems, for example, individual intolerance to the components of the mushroom.
Growing methods
It is easy to grow representatives of this group on your site, if you put in effort, desire and patience. First of all, choose the right place. You should not plant them within a radius of 4 km from enterprises, highways and dacha cooperatives.
The mycelium of the fruiting bodies spreads for kilometers underground and absorbs everything that falls into the ground. Even edible mushrooms in such places are dangerous to human health.
To grow such mushrooms in the country, it is recommended to breed mycelium. These are wooden log cabins or containers with soil where dry or live material is planted. Blackberries love to grow in mixed forests - it is better to take the soil from there. Instead of soil, you can use sawdust from wood species.
The more difficult method is using a log. Method description:
- Holes are made on the log with a drill 4 cm deep and 1 cm in diameter, placing them in a checkerboard pattern.
- Sticks with mycelium of mushrooms are inserted into the holes, covered with perforated cling film.
- The wood is removed to a warm and dark place, watered 2-3 times every 7 days.
When the mycelium appears, the log with the mycelium is placed in water for 24 hours. Then the log is placed vertically (many species of the hedgehog grow precisely on wood cuts) and left to grow.
The harvest will have to be expected for at least 6 months. In winter, they imitate hibernation: they remove the mycelium in the basement or cellar, covering it with sawdust or sprinkling it with leaves.
Conclusion
Hericium is a common mushroom, but some of its species are listed in the Red Book. It is grown in makeshift myceliums in a summer cottage or cellar. In a coniferous or mixed forest, an ordinary yellow blackberry, i.e. white, is found. E. comb and E. coral are on the verge of extinction. Hericium is used in cooking and for the preparation of medicinal decoctions in folk medicine.
