Content
- 1 Why are oak trees called that?
- 2 What mushrooms look like
- 3 Where do oak mushrooms grow?
- 4 When oak trees grow
- 5 Types of oak mushrooms
- 6 Is the poddubnik mushroom edible or not?
- 7 Beneficial properties of poultice mushrooms
- 8 False counterparts of common oak trees
- 9 Rules for collecting tubular subdubniks
- 10 Conclusion
Oak mushroom is an edible mushroom from the Boletaceae family. You can meet it in the autumn forest in the southern regions quite often, but you need to know how to distinguish this mushroom from other similar species.
Why are oak trees called that?
The mushroom is known by many names - dubovik and podubovik, podubovik. The names reflect the most common place where the oak tree grows; you can usually see it under oak trees. The oak tree forms a symbiosis with these trees and transfers nutrients and moisture to the roots, in turn receiving from them the sucrose necessary for development.
What mushrooms look like
You can recognize the common oak tree in the photo by its large cap, reaching 10-15 cm in diameter. Young fruiting bodies have a hemispherical cap, but over time it straightens out and becomes cushion-shaped. The cap is covered with velvety skin, which becomes sticky after rain; its color is yellowish-brown, brown, gray-brown. In very old fruiting bodies, the cap may take on an almost black tint.
The lower layer of the cap is tubular, ocher in young fruiting bodies and dirty olive in old ones. If you cut the oak tree in half, its flesh will be dense and yellowish, but upon contact with air it will quickly turn blue-green, and then turn to an almost black color. The smell and taste of fresh oakwood are neutral; it does not have any characteristic features.
According to the photo and description of the mushroom, it can rise up to 12 cm above the ground, its stem is thick, with a thickening at the bottom. The color of the leg is yellow closer to the cap and darker below, covered with a noticeable thin mesh. The flesh at the bottom of the stem may be red.
Where do oak mushrooms grow?
Most often, oakwood can be found in the southern regions - on the Crimean Peninsula, in the south of Ukraine and Belarus, in the Krasnodar Territory. It is found in both deciduous and mixed forests, growing mainly under oaks, but can also grow under birches, beeches and hornbeams.
When oak trees grow
The first Crimean mushrooms appear already in June, but the period of maximum fruiting occurs in August and early autumn. You can find the poddubnik in the forests until the end of October, right up to the first frost.
Types of oak mushrooms
Poddubniki can be found in forests in several forms.They are similar in structure and size, but differ in the color of the cap and stem.
Common dubovik
The mushroom, which is also called olive-brown or yellow oak, reaches 5-20 cm in diameter and has a hemispherical or cushion-shaped cap. The color of the cap is olive-brown or yellowish-brown, velvety, becoming slimy in wet weather. If you touch the cap with your finger, a dark spot will remain on its surface.
According to the description of the olive-brown oak tree, its leg is up to 6 cm in girth and up to 15 cm in height, with a thickening near the base, yellow-brown in the upper part and reddish below. The leg is covered with a reticulated reddish pattern, which is a characteristic feature of the poddubnik.
On the break, the common squash is dense and has yellowish flesh, which quickly turns blue upon contact with air. The mushroom is considered conditionally edible, suitable for food consumption after heat treatment.
Speckled oakweed
This species is somewhat more widespread than the common one - it can be seen not only in the Caucasus, but also in the south of the Far East and even in Siberia. It has a large hemispherical or cushion-shaped cap up to 20 cm in diameter, the color is chestnut-brown, dark-brown or black-brown, sometimes a reddish or olive tint can be seen on the cap. The cap is velvety to the touch; in damp weather it can be slimy.
The leg of the speckled oak tree is dense and wide, up to 4 cm in girth, and rises in height up to 15 cm above the ground. The lower part of the leg is thickened and is red-yellow in color. The speckled oak tree does not have a characteristic mesh pattern, but instead there may be individual dots and spots on the leg.
The mushroom belongs to the category of conditionally edible. It cannot be eaten raw, but after boiling, the dubovik is suitable for further processing.
Dubovik Kele
This fungus is widespread in acidic soils, grows mainly in deciduous forests, but can also be found near coniferous trees. The oak cap is uniformly convex, cushion-shaped, up to 15 cm in diameter. The color of Kele's cap is brown or yellowish-brown; its cap is dry and velvety, but in humid weather it can become sticky and slimy. The underside of the cap is covered with reddish small tubes.
In the photo of oak mushrooms, it is noticeable that the leg of the Kele oak mushroom is up to 5 cm in girth and up to 10 cm in height, with a thickening at the base, and is yellowish in color. There is no mesh pattern on the leg, but reddish scales may be present. When broken and pressed, the flesh on the cap and stem turns blue. Poddubnik is classified as edible, but requires heat treatment before consumption.
Is the poddubnik mushroom edible or not?
Oaks of all types are suitable for consumption and are used for frying, pickling and salting. But before any preparation, the pulp of the poultry must be processed.
Fresh fruit bodies are cleaned of soil and forest debris, then washed in cool water and boiled with salt. During boiling, it is recommended to change the water - do this 10 minutes after boiling, and then cook the duboviks for another 20 minutes.The finished fruiting bodies are placed in a colander, and the broth from under them is drained; it is not suitable for use as broth.
Beneficial properties of poultice mushrooms
Dubovik is valued not only for its versatility and pleasant taste after processing, but also for its beneficial properties. The composition of mushroom pulp includes the following substances:
- magnesium and phosphorus;
- calcium and iron;
- ascorbic acid and vitamin PP;
- thiamine and riboflavin;
- amino acids - lysine, tryptophan, threonine;
- antibiotic substance boletol.
Thanks to such a rich composition, oakberry is able to have a very beneficial effect on the body. When consumed correctly, the mushroom has a positive effect on the condition of blood vessels and the heart, normalizes blood pressure and removes toxins and waste from the body. Dubovik strengthens the resistance of the immune system, has a beneficial effect on potency and libido, strengthens nails and improves the condition of skin and hair.
False counterparts of common oak trees
The oak tree's appearance is quite unremarkable, and it can be difficult to distinguish it from other varieties. Among the double mushrooms, there are not only edible, but also poisonous ones, so before going into the forest you need to carefully study the photo and description of the mushroom.
Satanic mushroom
The most dangerous of the oak mushroom's doubles is the satanic mushroom.The varieties are similar in structure and color, so they are often confused. Like the butterfly mushroom, the satanic mushroom has a hemispherical or pillow-like cap with a velvety skin, a dense stem and yellowish flesh. The color of the satanic mushroom varies from whitish to gray-olive.
However, there are certain differences between mushrooms. The leg of the satanic mushroom is thicker than that of the oak mushroom, and looks more like a strong barrel, and the color of the leg is yellow-red, with a well-defined mesh. The edible boletus turns blue when cut, and quite quickly, while the satanic mushroom first turns red and then acquires a bluish tint. In addition, the poisonous mushroom has a noticeable unpleasant odor.
Polish mushroom
Poddubnik can also be confused with the conditionally edible Polish mushroom. The false double has a hemispherical, pillow-like cap with a velvety skin, and its stem is cylindrical and thickened near the surface of the ground. When cut, the double shows whitish or yellowish flesh.
The main difference between the varieties is the color of the cap - in the false mushroom, it is much darker, reddish-brown, chestnut or chocolate. Also, the stem of the Polish mushroom is not covered with a mesh, but with longitudinal red-brown streaks.
Gall mushroom
Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse the mushroom with mustard, a non-poisonous but very bitter mushroom. The mustard plant is characterized by a large hemispherical cap and a thick cylindrical stem; its color also resembles the red cap - the shade of the skin varies from yellowish to brownish-brown.
But at the same time, when cut, the flesh of the bitterling quickly turns red, while the bluish boletus acquires a corresponding blue color.If you lick a gall mushroom, it will turn out to be very bitter and unpleasant, while the oak mushroom does not have any characteristic taste.
Borovik le Gal
In deciduous forests, next to oaks, hornbeams and beeches, you can often find the legal boletus, or le gal. An experienced mushroom picker can easily distinguish it from oak mushroom, but a beginner can confuse the varieties due to similar hemispherical caps and strong cylindrical legs with a lower thickening.
The easiest way to distinguish varieties is by color - the Le Gal boletus has a cap that is not yellowish, but pinkish-orange, as is the stem. It is dangerous to confuse mushrooms with each other - the boletus mushroom is poisonous and is not suitable for food consumption.
Porcini
This edible doppelgänger resembles the butterfly in its outline. The porcini mushroom is characterized by a cushion-shaped, slightly velvety cap and a very thick and dense cylindrical stem. Like the oak mushroom, the porcini mushroom is found in deciduous and mixed forests; it resembles the oak mushroom in color; its cap can be whitish, brownish, or yellowish-brown.
You can distinguish mushrooms from each other by the stem - in the porcini mushroom it is lighter, without redness in the lower part. Also, boletus is characterized by a constant color of the pulp; it remains white even when cooked, but oak mushrooms turn blue when exposed to air.
Rules for collecting tubular subdubniks
The best time to go into the forest for oak trees is in mid-August. The mushroom bears fruit in waves, and its first appearance occurs in June, but at the beginning of summer the harvest is usually weak, but the second and subsequent waves are much more abundant.
It is necessary to collect oak trees in ecologically clean forests away from highways. There should be no industrial facilities located near the forest. Mushroom pulp very quickly accumulates toxic substances, so mushrooms collected in contaminated areas do not have any nutritional value.
Conclusion
The oak mushroom is suitable for consumption in almost all forms, except raw. Among its counterparts there are edible fruiting bodies, but there are also poisonous mushrooms, so before collecting it is necessary to carefully study the information about the mushroom and its photo.
