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False truffle, or melanogaster Bruma, is a mushroom belonging to the Svinukhovy family. It owes its name to an English mycologist who lived in the 19th century. Is inedible. This species has nothing to do with truffles, since it belongs to a completely different taxon. His closest relatives are pigs.
What false truffle mushrooms look like
It is a spherical tuber with a diameter of 1 to 8 cm. “Tubers” of irregular shape are often found. Relatively soft to the touch. When compressed, they quickly restore their original shape. A photo of the false truffle is shown below:
The cut shows a characteristic cellular structure
The outer shell, or peridium, of young mushrooms is similar to potato skin. Its color can be yellow or brownish-yellow. As it grows it changes to darker. Old copies may even turn black. The peridium is usually smooth, but there are also species covered with a mesh texture. In some cases, the peridium may be tomentose.
The inner part of the fruiting body, also called “gleba,” has a gelatinous consistency. However, it is quite elastic. In young specimens its color is light brown.It darkens with age, becoming first dark brown and then completely black.
Whole and cut false double tubers
Gleba is a kind of sponge, the cavities of which are filled with a gelatinous substance. The layers inside can be white, yellow or gray.
One of the features of the false double is its rather pleasant smell, which has fruity notes. It also often confuses inexperienced mushroom pickers who mistake it for the real thing.
In addition, false truffle is often understood as another type of mushroom - venison truffle or parga. This is a representative of another family - Elafomycetes. It also has no relation to edible mushrooms.
A distinctive feature of parga is the granular structure of the peridium.
The mushroom got its name because it is happily eaten by deer and other animals, such as squirrels and hares. Its fruiting bodies have a diameter of up to 15 cm and are located in the upper layers of the soil.
Where do truffle-like mushrooms grow?
The range of the toadstool truffle is very extensive. The mushroom can be found in many regions of Europe and Asia, as well as North America. In Russia, it is especially abundant in the Novosibirsk region; in Kazakhstan, it grows in the Almaty region.
Prefers deciduous forests with acidic and neutral soils. Less common in mixed ones. In coniferous forests, populations of this species are extremely rare (the exception is the previously mentioned Novosibirsk).
Unlike its expensive and edible namesake, which grows deep underground, this species forms fruiting bodies exclusively in the upper layers of the soil. Often it can be found right on the ground under a layer of fallen leaves. Mushrooms are distinguished by early ripening - the first specimens appear in early June.By mid-July, fruiting ends and the mycelium no longer forms new specimens.
The deer truffle is much more widespread than the false truffle. It is found almost everywhere from the tropics to the subarctic.
Is it possible to eat false truffles?
Formally, the false truffle is not a deadly poisonous mushroom. But you can’t eat it. Its taste is unpleasant and even in small quantities it can cause serious problems. Eating a large amount of this “delicacy” will cause serious food poisoning. In addition, there are not many people who want to eat glebe, even after processing, because of its appearance.
How to distinguish false truffles
The main difference between the original mushroom and its false counterparts is the aroma and taste. But even without gastronomic experiments, it is possible to establish whether a mushroom belongs to one species or another without any problems.
The main difference is that black or white truffles that are eaten are formed deep (up to 50 cm to 1 m) underground, and all false twins bear fruit exclusively on the surface of the soil. In addition, mushrooms that are eaten are hard, and their inedible counterparts can be easily deformed with your fingers.
The original truffle has a hard body and coarse-grained peridium
Conclusion
The false truffle is an inedible mushroom that can sometimes be confused with the original black or white truffle due to its smell. In fact, this species even belongs to a different family.The false double is not eaten as it has a very unpleasant taste and in large quantities causes serious gastrointestinal disorders.
