Content
Collibia broadplate (Udemansiella) is a type of mushroom belonging to the Negniuchnikov family. It is also popularly known as wide-plate Money.
What does Collybia broadplate look like?
This is a lamellar mushroom with a thin stalk, reaching 15 cm in diameter. It has thin white pulp with a faint odor.
Description of the cap
Cap sizes can vary from 50 to 150 mm. In young individuals it is bell-shaped; As it grows, it gradually opens up and eventually bends upward. A tubercle remains in the middle of the cap. The cap is gray or gray-brown, darker in the tubercle area. Due to the radial structure of the fibers, in dry weather the cap may crack at the edges.
The plates are brittle, wide, adherent to the stem, and are not often located. In young specimens they are white, in adults they darken and acquire a gray-brown tint.
Description of the leg
The thickness of the leg ranges from 5 to 30 mm, and the height from 50 to 150 mm. A stem formed by longitudinal fibers, usually cylindrical in shape, somewhat tapering from the base to the cap. The color of the leg can vary from light gray to brown.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
In different sources you can find different information about the suitability of Collibia broadleaf for food. Experts classify it as conditionally edible. In addition, this type does not have a distinct taste. It may be of interest to mushroom pickers due to the fact that it can be collected already at the beginning of summer, long before other mushrooms appear.
How to cook Kollibia broadleaf
The wide-laminated collibia is pre-boiled for 15 minutes to get rid of the unpleasant woody taste, then it is pickled, salted or fried.
Where and how does it grow
Collibia is widespread in deciduous and mixed forests in the European part of Russia.It can be found in the Caucasus, the Far East, as well as in Western and Eastern Siberia.
The collection season for Collibia broadplate begins in late spring and ends in mid-autumn. Single individuals or their clusters can be found on rotten stumps or fallen trunks of deciduous trees, most often oak, alder and birch.
Doubles and their differences
An edible mushroom of the IV category, Plutaeus deer, which has a similar appearance, can be confused with Collibia broadplate. You can distinguish Pluteus deer by the following characteristics:
- its spores are pink;
- the plates are pinkish, located noticeably more often than those of Kollibia;
- the smell of the pulp is similar to the smell of radish;
- the plates do not reach the stem;
- there are no rhizoid strands.
Conclusion
Collibia broadleaf is a conditionally edible mushroom found throughout Russia. It is little known to amateur mushroom pickers, since it does not have much nutritional value, but it may be of interest due to the early start of the season, when there are no other mushrooms yet.
