Content
Double networt is a conditionally edible mushroom that is exotic in appearance. According to traditional healers, it has healing properties and helps to activate the immune system. The product is eaten only at the stage of a young ovoid fruiting body. This mushroom is very rarely found in domestic forests.
What does a double net look like?
The double networt is a mushroom belonging to the Veselkov family (Phallaceae), the Nutrieva group. Synonymous species names:
- dictyophore double;
- double phallus;
- lady with a veil, lady with a veil, smerdyachka are popular names.
The double networt can be found from July to September. From an ecological point of view, it is a saprotroph, that is, organic remains are needed for its development. In nature, it serves as a soil former and wood destroyer. Networt spores are carried by flies. To attract these insects, it emits a smell reminiscent of carrion.
Based on the description and photo of the mushroom given below, we can conclude about the characteristic features of the double net-carrier:
- fruit egg. During the development process, the fungus goes through two stages that differ significantly in external characteristics. At the initial stage of formation of the double net-carrier, its fruiting body is ovoid in shape and is located in the ground. Coming to the surface, it reaches 60 - 80 mm in diameter, but its third part continues to remain in the soil. The egg is heavy and dense; at its base there are white mycelial strands. The surface of the young fruiting body is covered with a matte peridium (shell protection). As it ripens, it takes on a yellowish-brown hue. Gradually, the shell opens, and a mushroom of a special elongated shape emerges from the egg.
- hat. The fruiting body of a mature networt is crowned with a gleba (cone-shaped cap), under which spores ripen. It has a ribbed structure and is covered with a greenish mucous membrane. Its width and height are 30x50 mm. There is a small round hole at the top of the cap.
- Controversy. The spores are very small (3.6x1.7 microns), oval in shape, green with a smooth surface. They are carried mainly by flies.
- Leg. The leg of the double net-carrier is hollow inside and has a cylindrical shape.At the base and cap its diameter is smaller than in the central part. The leg quickly grows to 15 - 25 cm in length and 2 - 3 cm in thickness. Its growth rate can reach 5 mm per minute. The lower part of the stalk retains a volva-shaped shell with several lobes. At first, the leg stands strictly vertical. Reaching maturity, it declines.
- Indusius. This scientific name has the most characteristic part of the dictyophora - a mesh with rounded cells of irregular shape. It hangs down in the form of a cone, covering the leg of the double net from the cap to the middle or base. The main function of the mesh is to increase the area of the odorous surface to attract flies and dead-eating beetles.
In the early stages, indusia has a bright white color, and then gradually acquires a light brown color with a light green or pinkish undertone. At night, it attracts nocturnal insects with a greenish glow.
Where does the double mesh mushroom grow?
Optimal conditions for the growth of double networt, or dictyophora, are created by a warm and humid environment, loose humus, covered with decomposed plant and woody remains. It grows only in deciduous and mixed forests with a predominance of deciduous trees. Found very rarely in single copies. Even less often you can find it growing in small groups of 2-6 fruiting bodies.
Populations of the double networt and its distribution area are rapidly declining for as yet unexplored reasons. This is believed to be caused by global climate change.Another probable reason is the low culture of mushroom pickers, who, upon seeing an unfamiliar fruiting body, tend to destroy it.
You can meet the double net-carrier in very limited areas:
- In Russia: in the Novosibirsk region. near the village Klyuchi (Iskitimsky district) and village. Novobibievo (Bolotinsky district), Moscow, Belgorod, Tomsk regions, Transbaikalia, Khabarovsk, Primorsky and Krasnoyarsk territories, in the vicinity of Tomsk, on the southern coast of Crimea it grows in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden;
- In Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan);
- In Northern Europe (Lithuania).
Double networt is a rare mushroom, listed in the Red Book since 1984. It is not cultivated or propagated in specially created conditions. No special measures have been developed to protect this species. Conservation measures consist of identifying places of growth and monitoring the development of the population.
Is it possible to eat double netting?
Double networt is a conditionally edible mushroom. Only its young fruiting bodies can be eaten while they are in the egg stage.
The lifespan of a double dictyophora does not exceed 24 hours. Most often it is found when it already looks like an inedible fruiting body with an openwork mesh, emitting an unpleasant odor. It is not easy to detect in the edible stage.
Taste qualities of mushroom
The taste qualities of double mesh nets are low.It is classified as a mushroom of low taste and consumer value and is assigned to the fourth category.
The pulp of an unripe dictyophora, suitable for human consumption, has a jelly-like consistency, odorless and tasteless. As it ripens, it acquires a specific, characteristic smell of carrion.
Benefits and harm to the body
According to traditional healers, the double net has beneficial properties that activate the human immune system. The polysaccharides that make up its tissues promote the synthesis of proteins that destroy the walls of cancer cells. Special biologically active substances give the fruiting body antibacterial properties. In addition, its use for medicinal purposes helps alleviate certain conditions:
- in case of disruption of the digestive system;
- tuberculosis;
- thrombophlebitis;
- hypertension;
- joint diseases.
If you have an allergic reaction to mushrooms, exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, or metabolic disorders, you should avoid using the net-carrier both for food and externally.
False doubles
In its young form, inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse dictyophora with mushrooms that have a spherical shape:
- with raincoat;
- with royal mushroom.
Mushrooms of the Veselka species are similar to the double networt:
- Dictyophora campanulata. It does not grow in the forests of Russia and the CIS. Its habitat is the tropics of Brazil. It is larger in size and brighter in color.
- Veselka vulgaris. It is distinguished by the appearance of the cap and the absence of mesh around the stem. The Veselka's cap is smooth, without a cellular structure and colored green.
- Veselka Hadriana. The main difference of this mushroom is that it does not have a net and its fruit eggs are pink.
Collection rules
Double net-carrier is a relict mushroom. Its collection is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation. If a place where it grows is discovered, it is necessary to report this fact to environmental authorities.
Use
Young egg-shaped fruiting bodies of the networt are usually eaten raw, after removing the shell and seasoning with salt and spices. You can use the product with sour cream. Dictyophora double is not salted or pickled.
The fruiting bodies of the networt can be fried without removing the shell. But it is believed that after heat treatment their beneficial properties disappear.
Some gardeners are trying to grow networt in their garden plots as an exotic plant. To do this, it is recommended to do this:
- To obtain spores, remove the cap from a double net-carrier and wrap it in mulch from the forest floor.
- In garden conditions, place the cap with a layer of forest substrate under garden organic soil and water it periodically.
- The place where the cap is located must not be dug up or loosened.
Use in folk medicine
You can find the following examples of using netting for medicinal purposes:
- A. S. Pushkin used a mushroom tincture to treat manifestations of thrombophlebitis;
- Honore de Balzac, thanks to the double dictyophora, got rid of a stomach ulcer;
- residents of villages around the city.Opochka (Pskov region) often ate raw, finely chopped fish net with sour cream and did not get cancer.
In folk medicine, double mesh is used for gout and rheumatism in the form of a tincture. To prepare it, you need to cut the raw egg-shaped fruiting bodies into small pieces and place them, without compacting them, in a half-liter jar. Then pour the mushrooms with weak (30 - 35 0C) vodka or moonshine and leave for 21 days. At night, you can make a compress from the tincture and apply it to sore joints, wrapping it in a woolen cloth.
Conclusion
Double networt is a relict mushroom with unique characteristics, which is at the stage of extinction. It has low taste qualities. In folk medicine, it is used for its medicinal properties to relieve joint pain due to gout and rheumatism. It is rare and is listed in the Red Book.
