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Tricolor white pig or Melanoleuca tricolor, Clitocybe tricolor, Tricholoma tricolor are the names of one representative of the Tricholomaceae family. Listed in the Red Book of the Krasnoyarsk Territory as a relict species.
Where does the white pig tricolor grow?
The tricolored white pig is a rare species, which scientists have classified as a group of nemoral relics of the tertiary age. The mushroom is on the verge of extinction due to the massive deforestation of black forests, taiga and deciduous. In 2012, Leucopaxillus tricolor was listed in the Red Book as an endangered species of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
In Russia, the distribution area is scattered, the species is found in:
- perennial pine forests of Altai;
- forest-steppe zone of the right bank of the Volga;
- the middle part of the Angara region;
- untouched Sayan taiga.
The species is very rarely found in Central Europe and the Baltic republics. There are isolated cases when fruiting bodies were found in the Penza region and on the Crimean peninsula in the Sevastopol region. This is data from scientific expeditions. It is almost impossible for a non-mycologist to distinguish this rare species from other mushrooms, but upon closer examination, the mushroom does not resemble any member of the family.
Mushrooms often grow under birch trees in small groups. In the mild climate of the southern regions it can be found under beech or oak, in temperate climates - under pine trees. Fruiting is long - from the first half of July to September. The fungus is a saprotroph, located on the litter layer of rotted leaves. Possibly attached to birch, forming a mycorrhizal symbiosis with the root system.
What does a tricolor white pig look like?
One of the very large species with a thick, fleshy fruiting body. The diameter of the cap of a mature specimen reaches up to 5 cm. In the world of mushrooms, this is a record figure. The color is not monochromatic, the surface is three-colored, there are areas with a light brown, ocher or chestnut color.
The external characteristics of the tricolor white pig are as follows:
- At the beginning of development, the cap is convex, round, regular in shape with clearly concave edges. Then they straighten and form partially curved waves. The size of the upper part of the fruiting body in adult specimens is up to 30 cm.
- The protective film of young mushrooms is matte, smooth, with a fine felt coating. Then scales form on the surface, pressed tightly against it. The arrangement is not continuous, each section is divided by barely noticeable grooves. This structure gives the fruit body a marble structure.
- The surface of the cap at the place where the scales break is white, the areas are of different colors, so the color is not monochromatic, most often three-colored.
- The spore-bearing lower layer of the species is lamellar, the plates are of different lengths. Along the edge of the cap, short ones alternate with large ones, reaching the stem with a clear, even border.
- The structure is watery, cottony, the color is uniform, closer to a yellow-beige tint, the edges have dark areas. The plates are smooth, free, wide - 1.5-2 cm, densely spaced.
- The spores are needle-shaped, large, ocher in color.
- The stem is central, short relative to the size of the cap, and grows up to 13 cm long. The shape near the mycelium is club-shaped, 6-9 cm thick. Tapers upward to 4 cm wide.
- The surface is rough, sometimes finely scaly. The color is white, less often the same as the plates, monochromatic. At the base of the thickening there is soil with fragments of mycelium.
- The structure is fibrous, dense, solid.
Is it possible to eat tricolor white pig?
The mushroom is considered edible, but there is very little information about this; a few sources classify the white pig into the fourth category in terms of nutritional value. This section also includes conditionally edible mushrooms. In most biological reference books there is no information on edibility, as well as on toxicity.
The unpleasant, pungent odor is alarming; it may be possible to get rid of it during processing, but this is not a fact. One way or another, the tricolor white pig is so rare that it is almost impossible to collect. Even experienced mushroom pickers will be put off by the smell and dissimilarity of the large fruiting body to familiar common species.
Conclusion
The relict mushroom, the tricolor mushroom, has been added to the Red Book list as an endangered species protected by law. Mushrooms are found in rare cases; their distribution range is scattered from southern latitudes to temperate regions. The humus saprotroph often grows under birch trees on rotted leaf litter from late summer to early autumn. Can be found under oak trees, but only in mild climates.
