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It is very easy to recognize the boletus mushroom from the photo; it has become one of the most famous and widespread in Russia. However, not everyone knows about its varieties and features.
Why is the mushroom called boletus
Another name for boletus is redhead, it is also known as obabok, aspen and leccinum. But much more often it is called boletus, and the reason is that it usually grows under the trunks of aspen trees, forming a symbiosis with the roots of these trees.
It should be noted that in fact, aspen can grow under other trees - birch and oak, pine and spruce. Sometimes it is fashionable to meet him in clearings and forest edges not far from any trees. But this rarely happens; most often the mushroom grows near aspen trees.
What does a boletus look like?
In fact, boletus is not one specific mushroom, but several varieties belonging to a single genus. Therefore, different boletuses can differ noticeably in appearance - in color, size, shades of the legs and taste.
There are several general characteristics that are characteristic of aspen trees of any type:
- The cap of boletuses, or lectinums, is noticeably convex at a young age, and straightens out as an adult, but remains cushion-shaped and dense. The diameter may vary, but the average is about 15 cm.
- The bottom of the mushroom cap is covered with small pores-tubes of a beige, yellowish, reddish hue.
- The leg of the aspen tree is strong, usually with a thickening at the bottom, up to 10-15 cm in height. Sometimes the leg is fibrous, sometimes it can be covered with small scales, similar to the scales of boletus.
- The skin on the surface of the boletus cap is usually smooth or slightly velvety, not slippery or sticky, like many other mushrooms.
- A distinctive feature noticeable in the photo and description of the boletus when cut is the rapid darkening of the flesh to a blue, purple or almost black hue.
Where does the boletus grow?
The redhead mushroom is very common in Russia, so it is widely known. It grows throughout the entire central zone and in temperate climates - in the European part of Russia, in Siberia, in the Far East, in the southern regions.
Aspen can be found in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, next to trees and on the edges or clearings. Mushrooms prefer moist soils and shady areas and are often found in fern thickets and mosses.
The most widespread fruiting of redhead begins in August and continues until the end of September. However, the first boletuses can be found already in June, and they are found in the forest until the first frost.
What kind of mushrooms does boletus belong to?
The scientific name for aspen is Leccinum, or Leccinum. Also colloquially, the mushroom is called obabok. Quite a few varieties of mushrooms from the Boletaceae family are combined under the name aspen mushroom. Despite the different photos and descriptions of boletuses, all of them are, one way or another, suitable for consumption - there are no poisonous species among them.
Varieties of boletus
In order to reap a good harvest at the beginning of autumn and not pass by tasty but unusual mushrooms, it is worth studying in more detail all types of boletus mushrooms. Sometimes they are completely different from each other, but, nevertheless, belong to the same genus.
Red boletus
It is this mushroom that is most often meant when people talk about boletus, or redhead. It grows in Siberia, the middle zone, the Caucasus and the Far East, and is found everywhere in deciduous forests under aspens, oaks, beeches and birches.
The mushroom is easy to recognize in the photo of the autumn boletus by its cap, about 10 cm in diameter, of a bright red or reddish-brown color. The leg of the red aspen is light beige, but covered with gray-white scales. Because of this, the mushroom resembles a boletus mushroom, but its cap is much brighter.
Yellow-brown boletus
This mushroom is also very common in Russia, but it can be found mainly in temperate climates; it is rarely found in the north and south. It grows mainly under aspen and birch trees, but can also be found in pine and spruce forests. The yellow-brown aspen, or multi-skinned aspen, can be recognized by its large size - the cap reaches 15 cm in diameter, and the mushroom can rise up to 25 cm above the ground.
The color of the yellow-brown cape is sandy-red or brownish-yellow, the leg is usually gray with characteristic black-brown scales.
White boletus
This unusual mushroom grows mainly in Siberia and the north-west on moist soils in mixed forests - under aspen, spruce and birch trees. You can recognize it by its large cap, up to 25 cm in diameter in adulthood, and by its characteristic color.
In young fruiting bodies the cap is almost white, but with age it darkens a little and acquires a brownish-gray tint. The leg of the white aspen is also light, covered with small whitish scales.
Oak boletus
Oak boletus is widespread in the temperate climate of the Northern Hemisphere. As the name suggests, it grows most often in mixed and deciduous forests under oak trees. You can recognize the mushroom by its large cushion-shaped cap, coffee-brown in color with a slight orange tint. The leg of the oak tree is beige, covered with brownish-reddish scales.
Painted-legged boletus
The unusual mushroom looks little like other boletuses.Its cap is more often than that of other mushrooms, flattened, and it has an uncharacteristic pinkish color of the skin. The stem of the colored aspen tree also has pink or reddish scales. The fruiting bodies are quite small in size. Photos of small boletuses show mushrooms on average up to 10 cm in height and 6-11 cm in diameter.
The colored-footed lobster is most common in North America and Asia. In Russia it can be found quite rarely and mainly in the Far East or Eastern Siberia.
Pine boletus
Obabok of this species grows in temperate coniferous forests throughout Eurasia. Most often, the fungus is found under pine trees, but can also be found under spruce trees. The pine aspen is characterized by a dark crimson cap up to 15 cm in diameter, and the leg is covered with brown scales.
Black-scaled boletus
The black-scaled obabok has quite standard dimensions for the species - about 15 cm in width and height, rarely more. The cap of the mushroom can be dark red, red or brick in color, and the leg is covered with reddish scales, but from a distance it appears dark gray, almost black. If the leg is damaged, it will quickly turn black or acquire a purple tint.
Spruce boletus
This mushroom is not found very often in Russia, but is widespread throughout the entire central zone. It can be found in mixed and coniferous forests where spruce trees grow; mostly spruce aspen grows in groups, but sometimes it can be found alone.
The spruce boletus has a dark brown, chestnut cap and a light leg covered with brownish scales.Like the rest of the geese, it is quite edible, although it cannot boast the same pleasant taste as the common redhead or yellow-brown aspen.
Is boletus edible or not?
Despite the huge number of varieties, boletus is known for being certainly suitable for human consumption. There are no poisonous mushrooms among redheads, although individual species may be more or less tasty.
Since aspen pulp does not contain toxic substances, there is no need to soak this mushroom before cooking. It is enough to clean it, remove the scales from the stem and cut it off at the bottom, and then rinse it under cold water and send it to boil in salted water. After cooking, the broth will need to be drained, and the boiled fruit bodies can be used for further processing.
In culinary use, boletus mushrooms are completely versatile. They are equally well suited for frying, pickling and salting for the winter; in all dishes they delight with their pleasant taste and dense texture. That is why collecting a basket of redheads is considered good luck for a mushroom picker. Fruiting bodies can be processed in any way and without spending much effort on their preparation.
Interesting facts about boletus
There are many interesting facts associated with red-headed mushrooms. Some of them are widely known, others are known only to experienced mushroom pickers:
- Aspen, or redhead, is a unique mushroom that has no poisonous counterparts.It is especially recommended for novice mushroom pickers to collect it, since the photo of the red boletus is so recognizable that it simply cannot be confused with a toxic variety. It is rarely mistakenly mistaken only for a gall fungus, but even that does not harm health, but is simply unsuitable for food due to its bitter taste.
- The pulp of the redhead contains a huge amount of valuable substances. Eating it is not only tasty, but also healthy. The high protein content in mushroom pulp deserves special mention - dishes made from aspen mushrooms are in no way inferior in nutritional value to meat dishes.
You can find boletuses in the forests throughout the warm season. There is even a special folk classification of mushrooms according to the timing of fruiting.
For example, yellow-brown and white aspen trees are called spikelets, since they are found mainly in early summer. Oak and black-scaled mushrooms appear en masse in July-August and are therefore called stubble mushrooms. But ordinary redheads are called deciduous ones, since they are found in forests from the beginning of September until frost.
Photo of redhead mushroom (Boletus)
To better study the appearance of boletus and its characteristic features, it is worth looking at photos of these edible mushrooms.
Conclusion
Photos of the boletus mushroom can differ greatly from each other, since there are quite a few subspecies of the boletus mushroom. However, they have a similar structure and size, and all are suitable for food consumption.
