Description of the chicken coop mushroom
The lamellar, conditionally edible mushroom chicken coop (red umbrella) is not popular. Only experienced mushroom pickers are able to appreciate its taste. The species is easily confused with others, some of which are poisonous.
Description of the chicken coop mushroom
Description of the species
The hen house is also called the blushing, shaggy and chicken umbrella. In general, the specific scientific name of the fungus is an umbrella blushing, silt in Latin Chlorophyllum rhacodes. It grows in coniferous (mostly spruce) and mixed forests. Fruiting from late August to October frosts. Mushroom pickers often find large groups of umbrellas near anthills.
Appearance Description:
- the diameter of the cap is 10-20 cm, but for some “champions” it can reach 30 cm;
- the shape of the cap is first ovoid, then umbellate, the surface is scaly (or, more precisely, shaggy, where one of its popular names comes from), reddish-brown, there are no scales in the center;
- the flesh is white, when pressed and cut it turns pink, the smell is light and pleasant;
- hymenophore: plates are frequent, creamy in young representatives, redden with age.
- the length of the hollow fibrous stem is 20 cm, 1-2 cm in girth, in new fruiting bodies it is thickened downwards, in old ones it is cylindrical;
- there is a narrow brownish ring on the leg under the umbrella.
The legs of the umbrellas are usually placed in the ground layer of the needles. A blushing chicken coop is easy to confuse with a colorful umbrella. It should be taken into account that the motley umbrella is smaller in size, its leg is covered with cracks, scales, the ring is lighter.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Today, the position of the blushing umbrella in the mushroom taxonomy is twofold. Some sources claim that, according to phylogenetic studies, the American species Chlorophyllum molybdites is listed in the closest relatives of the blushing umbrella mushroom, and not the variegated umbrella. Therefore, it was proposed to include the fungus in the genus Chlorophyllum, removing it from the genus Macrolepiota and to call it Chlorophyllum rhacodes. But the famous Russian mycologist M. Vishnevsky, in his book “Mushrooms. Mini-expert "(M., 2014), nevertheless believes that the blushing umbrella should be attributed to the genus Macrolepiota, or the Umbrella Mushroom. Both of these genera belong to the Champignon family.
Sometimes the chicken coop mushroom is confused with fly agaric. To prevent this from happening, you need to remember the following points:
- Scales (the remains of the bedspread) on the cap: in fly agarics, their color is always lighter than the main background of the cap, and in the umbrella it is darker than the main color.
- Hymenophore plates: at the hen house they are attached to a special cartilaginous ring at the junction of the caps and legs - the collarium.
- Leg ring: in umbrella mushrooms (and a blushing umbrella is no exception), it moves freely along the stem, while in fly agarics it is adherent.
- Leg: at the base of the leg there is something like a "bulb" - a slight thickening, but there is no volva (the remainder of the common blanket).
Only hats are edible in chicken coops. The legs are not eaten due to their rigidity.
It is advised to collect fruit bodies in early September: at this time they have the best taste and nutritional qualities.
Beneficial features
The chicken coop, like many other mushroom species, has beneficial properties. Fruit bodies are rich in protein, vitamins, polysaccharides, but have a low calorie content.
The blushing umbrella has the following types of effects on the body:
- strengthens the walls of blood vessels, improves heart function;
- stimulates the growth of muscle mass;
- increases the body's resistance to bacteria, viruses, i.e. stimulates immunity;
- stimulates brain activity;
- lowers blood sugar levels;
- promotes the elimination of toxins from the liver.
Also, the components of this type have anti-inflammatory effects. The use of the product slows down the aging process of cells due to its antioxidant activity.
Contraindications
Collect chicken coops away from the pistes
The fruiting bodies of the mushroom of the blushing umbrella should not be used if there are such contraindications:
- children under 12 years of age (the product is too heavy for a child's stomach, it can also cause allergies);
- pregnancy and lactation period;
- tendency to allergies (some chemical components of fruit bodies are strong allergens);
- hypoglycemia;
- problems with the work of the kidneys and liver;
- diseases of the stomach and intestines.
In pregnant women, fungi cause constipation, increased symptoms of toxicosis. The use of the product during the feeding period provokes colic in newborns. In diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the assimilation of the fungus sharply deteriorates, there is heaviness in the stomach, problems with stool.
You can not collect chicken coops in dry weather, near factories, routes: fruit bodies quickly accumulate toxic substances, their edibility decreases.
Mushroom application
The shaggy chicken coop has found its use in cooking, traditional and folk medicine. It is prepared in different forms, added to medicines for a number of diseases.
Cooking use
The chicken coop mushroom tastes like champignon. After mandatory heat treatment for 10-15 minutes, fruiting bodies are added to salads, soups or fried. The product is also salted and pickled.
The chicken coop is a dietary product. It is recommended to be added to the diet of athletes.
It is allowed to store freshly harvested chickens in the refrigerator for 2-3 days without polyethylene. Fruit bodies salted in jars are best consumed during the year.
Application in medicine
The use of umbrellas in medicine is the subject of scientific research around the world, which has been going on for a long time. They are used as a prophylactic agent against cancer, tuberculosis and viral infections.
Fruit body extracts are used in cosmetology to treat various types of skin inflammations. They reliably help get rid of acne. Lotions from alcoholic tinctures are used to rejuvenate the skin.
Conclusion
The chicken coop is a delicious, beautiful and healthy mushroom. It is harvested in spruce forests in all mushroom regions of Russia. The species is distinguished from poisonous by a characteristic feature: reddening of the pulp when pressed.
