Content
- 1 Are there honey mushrooms in the Moscow region?
- 2 Varieties of honey mushrooms in the Moscow region
- 3 Where to collect honey mushrooms in the Moscow region in 2024
- 4 When will honey mushrooms start in the Moscow region?
- 5 Collection rules
- 6 How to find out if honey fungus has appeared in the Moscow region
- 7 Conclusion
The Moscow region is a mushroom region. Honey mushrooms in the Moscow region are considered a common species and delight mushroom pickers almost all year round. Simple signs will help determine the start of the mushroom season for honey mushrooms.
Are there honey mushrooms in the Moscow region?
In the Moscow region there are many mushroom places where honey mushroom colonies are found. It is important to know the directions in which you need to go for them, the time of their fruiting. Every year they grow in the same places.
Varieties of honey mushrooms in the Moscow region
In the Moscow region there are edible and inedible varieties. In the photo below are honey mushrooms that can be found in the Moscow region in 2024.
What honey mushrooms look like in the Moscow region
In the Moscow region the same species are found as in other regions of Russia. The color of the caps and pulp of mushrooms depends on the tree species on which they grow in the Moscow region, the type of local soil and weather conditions.
The Moscow region honey fungus is a mushroom with a convex cap, a thin flexible stalk, frequent light plates, 10-15 cm high. The color varies from yellowish to brownish. With age, the cap takes on a flat shape, the light spot in the center becomes less pronounced, and the plates darken.
Types of edible honey mushrooms in the Moscow region with photos
The metropolitan area is home to several edible species that appear at different times of the year.
Among them:
- summer;
- autumn;
- meadow;
- winter.
Summer grows in large dense groups. Settles on damaged and rotting trees, prefers deciduous trees. Its other names: talker, linden honey fungus. Its cap reaches a diameter of 3-5 cm; in a young mushroom it is convex, in an old one it is flat. The color is brownish or honey-yellow, lighter in the center and darker at the edges. It is distinguished by thin, watery, pale flesh with a pleasant woody aroma.
Autumn is a real, classic honey mushroom. It is most common in the Moscow region. Grows in large colonies on stumps and living trees in damp forests. Rarely found alone. The diameter of the cap is from 3 to 10 cm, the color is honey-brown, brownish, red-brown, darker in the center. The pulp is whitish, dense with a pleasant smell.
Meadow (meadow grass, negniuchnik) is distinguished by its small size, smooth cream-colored cap with uneven edges, darker in the center. The diameter of the cap is 2-5 cm. The pulp is whitish or pale yellow, thin, with the smell of bitter almonds. It settles in the grass in open spaces: pastures, meadows, forest clearings, roadsides, in gardens, ravines, at the edges of fields. Grows in very dense arches or rows.
Winter honey fungus is called Flammulina velvetypodia. It is found only on rotting, diseased, fallen or old trees, broken twigs and branches, and rotten stumps. It does not grow in young forests and well-groomed forested areas. Found on forest edges, in gardens, along streams. Flammulina grows in dense colonies. The cap is yellowish, honey-yellow or orange-brownish in color with lighter edges. The young specimen is convex, the old specimen is flat. The pulp is light yellow or whitish, thin, pleasantly smelling. Another common name is winter mushroom.
Poisonous honey mushrooms in the Moscow region
In the Moscow region there are false species that are classified as inedible or poisonous.
Quite often in the forests of the Moscow region you come across poisonous sulfur-yellow honey fungus. It can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
- A smooth leg without scales, no skirt (the leg may have an inconspicuous leathery ring or fragments thereof).
- Bright yellow cap with a smooth surface.
- Greenish, yellow or olive-black plates.
- Unpleasant smell of earth or mold.
Another species is the brick-red false honey fungus.Distinguished by a smooth red-brown or yellow-brown cap with orange-yellow, yellowish or whitish edges; grayish, yellowish-gray or olive-gray plates; bright yellow above and brownish-red below; yellow-brown or dirty yellow pulp without a distinct odor. Some sources classify it as inedible and even toxic, while others classify it as an edible mushroom.
Honey fungus can be confused with the extremely poisonous galerina fringe, which is found in the forests of the Moscow region. It contains the same deadly toxins as the toadstool. Its insidiousness also lies in the fact that a single specimen can grow right in a colony of talkers and, through carelessness, it can be grabbed along with them. Its main difference from the edible one is the absence of scales on the stem and cap. Galerina fringed has a fibrous stalk with a white coating that is easy to wipe off. Another difference is the color of the cap: in the honey fungus, zoning is clearly visible (a darker center, then a pale ring and a dark rim along the edge), while in a poisonous mushroom its color is uniform over the entire surface.
Collibia spindlepod is similar to Flammulina velvetypod. It is considered inedible and slightly poisonous, causing mild poisoning.
Where to collect honey mushrooms in the Moscow region in 2024
Honey mushrooms in the Moscow region can be found in most mushroom places. Traditionally, the western and southern parts of the Moscow region are considered the most productive.
Summer mushrooms went to the Moscow region in 2024 now in the Belarusian, Kiev, Kursk, and Kazan directions.
The main gathering places are not too close to the capital; mushroom pickers have to spend a lot of time searching for them.
Where are honey mushrooms collected near Voronezh?
In the Voronezh region, summer and autumn species are found in mixed and deciduous forests. They grow on stumps, dead wood, and tree debris. Meadows can be found just outside the city in meadows with short grass, near rivers and other bodies of water.
Residents of Voronezh go to collect them in the mixed and pine forests of the Semiluksky district (Malaya Pokrovka, Orlov Log, Fedorovka).
A popular place is the Somovo station area. For meadow ones they go to the north, for summer and autumn ones - to the east.
Many meadows are found in the Ramonsky district near the villages of Medovka and Yamnoye. People go to Novaya Usman to collect forest species.
In the Voronezh region there are forestries and protected areas where honey mushrooms are found in large quantities and are allowed to be collected. These are the Somovskoye and Semilukskoye forestries, the Khopersky reserve, the Kamennaya Steppe nature reserve and others.
Where to go for honey mushrooms near Moscow
For summer mushrooms they go in the Kazan direction to the Gzhel station. Autumn ones go to Shevlyagino station to collect. Many of them are found in the forests on both sides of the railway near the Kuzyaevo station.
They are found in many directions: Kyiv, Leningrad, Belorussian, Savelovsky, Ryazan, Yaroslavl.
In which forests do honey mushrooms grow in the Moscow region?
They love to settle in mixed forests, birch groves, dark spruce and dense pine forests, and forest plantations.
Where are there a lot of honey mushrooms in the Moscow region?
It is believed that most of them are in the Kiev direction, especially in the autumn.
Another kingdom of honey mushrooms is located in the Leningrad direction along the route: Firsanovka, Nazaryevo, Elino, Poyarkovo.
When will honey mushrooms start in the Moscow region?
The appearance of honey mushrooms in forests depends not only on calendar dates, but also on weather conditions.They will go at different times after a rainy and after a dry summer. There are usually fewer of them in dry years, and they grow quickly in high humidity.
Summer and meadow ones appeared in June. It is expected that a second wave of mushrooms will begin in the Moscow region.
Autumn honey mushrooms will arrive in the Moscow region in September 2024 or at the end of August.
Winter ones will appear in the first half of autumn.
When can honey mushrooms be collected in the Moscow region in 2024?
You can collect them in the Moscow region all year round. At the beginning of summer the summer one appears, at the end of the summer - the autumn one, in the fall the winter one appears, which can be collected in the fall, winter and spring.
When do spring and summer honey mushrooms appear in the Moscow region?
Spring is a conditionally edible mushroom with low taste – oak-loving collibia (forest-loving). It is not in demand among mushroom pickers due to its thin pulp and lack of taste. Appears in forests in May and can bear fruit until late autumn. There are especially many of them in early and mid-summer. In the Moscow region this species is rare.
Summer varieties, including meadow varieties, bear fruit from June. Such honey mushrooms are collected in the Moscow region until October.
When to collect autumn honey mushrooms in the Moscow region in 2024
Autumn ones begin to appear at the end of August and actively bear fruit in September. Their season ends in November. They appear in layers, usually two or three, each lasting 2-3 weeks.
When winter mushrooms grow in the Moscow region
Winter mushrooms will go to the Moscow region in October 2024. They can be collected throughout the winter. They are not afraid of cold weather; growth stops in frost. When the temperature rises above zero, it begins to rise again. The most active time for collecting is the end of autumn and the beginning of spring.
Collection rules
The main task when collecting honey mushrooms is not to damage the mycelium.They cannot be pulled out of the ground, as this can lead to death. They need to be carefully cut with a knife or unscrewed. The second method is preferable, since the first method can cause infection in the incision. When unscrewing, you need to turn the mushroom around its axis until it separates freely. The resulting hole must be sprinkled with earth and lightly trampled.
When collecting, the following rules must be observed:
- For a better search, use a stick about 1 m long.
- Cut only familiar species. If in doubt, don't take it.
- It is recommended to give preference to young but mature specimens. It is better not to touch very small ones: they should be left to other mushroom pickers who will come the next day.
- Having discovered a small accumulation of honey mushrooms, you should not leave this place immediately: there may be other colonies nearby.
- It is better not to use a bucket for harvesting. For quiet hunting, you need a basket made of twigs so that the mushrooms can breathe. It is recommended to fold them with their caps facing up.
- Before putting the find in the basket, you need to clear it of soil and leaves.
- It is not recommended to pick mushrooms near roadways.
How to find out if honey fungus has appeared in the Moscow region
Honey mushrooms will begin to appear in the Moscow region in 2024, when warm and rainy weather sets in. Optimal weather conditions for their growth:
- temperature: 10-12 °C for autumn, 23 °C for summer;
- air humidity – 80%.
After rain they will go on average within 1-7 days.
Conclusion
Honey mushrooms in the Moscow region are one of the favorite species among mushroom pickers. To harvest large harvests, you need to know the mushroom calendar, which helps you understand when they will go and where to go hunting.
