Content
The gall mushroom belongs to the Boletaceae family, genus Tilopil. It has a bitter taste and is considered inedible. It is called differently - bitter or false white.
Where does gall mushroom grow?
Found in the temperate climate zone of Europe and North America. It grows mainly in coniferous forests and loves acidic soils. Settles at the bases of trees, sometimes on rotting stumps. It bears fruit sparingly from July to October. Found in small groups or singly.
What does bitterling look like?
A description of the gall fungus will help distinguish it from similar species. Its fruiting body consists of a cap and a stalk. The pulp is thick, white, soft. When cut, the gall mushroom turns pinkish or remains unchanged, the taste is very bitter, there is no smell, and it is never wormy.
Hymenophore tubular. The spore-bearing layer is dense, with small adherent tubes. The color of the hymenium is white, then pink, with the growth of the fungus it becomes dirty pink, and turns red when pressed. The powder is pinkish. The spores are smooth, fusiform, colorless or grayish-pinkish.
The mustard mushroom has a rather dense stem and an elastic cap.
The cap of the gall fungus bitterling is first hemispherical, then hemispherical, and in the old specimen it is spread out. Its surface is dry to the touch, at first fibrous or velvety, then becomes smooth. Slightly sticky in wet weather. The color is yellowish-brown, yellowish-brown, light brown, cream-brown, gray-ocher, gray-brown or brown, less often dark brown or chestnut brown. The skin does not come off easily. Size – from 4 to 10 cm in diameter, sometimes grows up to 15 cm.
The length of the leg is up to 7 cm, thickness – 1-3 cm. It is cylindrical or swollen at the base, brown or creamy-ocher, with a mesh pattern of the same or slightly darker color.
Is gall mushroom edible or not?
Inedible, but poisonous, the gall fungus is not recognized by all experts. It is believed that it should not be eaten because of its very bitter taste, which when boiled not only does not disappear, but also intensifies.
Foreign sources contain information about its toxicity.Its pulp contains toxic substances that are quickly absorbed into the blood and penetrate the liver cells.
Attractive in appearance, but completely unsuitable for consumption
How to distinguish gall mushroom
It can be confused with mushrooms such as:
- white;
- flywheel;
- boletus (bronze, mesh);
- boletus
Distinctive features of the gall fungus:
- The pulp is very bitter.
- The gall mushroom turns pink when cut.
- When you press on the tubes, they turn dirty pink.
- The mesh pattern on the leg is almost the same in color; there are no scales.
- The skin on the cap, even on a mature specimen, is velvety.
White
It is considered the noble and most valuable edible mushroom. It has marbled white flesh and high taste characteristics, and does not change color during heat treatment. It differs from the gall one in having a thicker stalk with a pronounced club-shaped shape, a white (in older ones yellowish or olive) tubular layer, lack of bitterness, a lighter mesh pattern on the stalk, and pulp that does not change color when broken.
The cap of a young porcini mushroom is spherical, while that of an adult is flat, lighter at the edge than in the middle. Color - from white to brown, depending on climatic conditions. The diameter can range from 5 to 25 cm and even more.
The most desirable find in the forest is boletus
Its leg is massive, widening downward, barrel-shaped. A significant part of it is underground. Height - up to 20 cm, thickness - from 5 to 7 cm. Usually it is lighter than the cap: milky, light beige. A mesh pattern is clearly visible on it.
The pulp is thick, dense, white, and does not darken when broken. The smell is pleasant, with nutty notes, intensified by heat treatment and drying.
Spore powder is olive-brown.The spores are fusiform.
Grows all over the world except Antarctica and Australia. Settles in coniferous or mixed forests next to lichens and mosses. Fruits from June to October. Productivity is high in moderately warm and humid weather, with night fogs. Does not like too much moisture and is practically not found in swampy places. In wet weather it appears in open areas.
Mosswort
Some types of moss mushrooms are similar in appearance to false white. The main differences are the color of the pulp and the spore-bearing layer. On the fault they turn blue (boldweeds turn pink). The tubes are yellow or greenish-yellow (in the gall tube they are pinkish). Moss mushrooms are edible.
Bitterweeds can be easily distinguished from moss mushrooms by their yellowish tubular layer
Boletus net
Another similar edible species. Its other name is white oak/summer mushroom.
The cap of the reticulated boletus is first spherical, then cushion-shaped. The surface is velvety; in old specimens it cracks in dry weather, forming a peculiar pattern. The color may vary, but, as a rule, it is light: gray-brown, coffee, ocher, brownish. Size – from 8 to 25 cm.
The tubes are thin, loose, at first white, then yellowish-green or olive. Powder – olive brown.
The reticulated boletus has a white spore-bearing layer with an olive tint
The height of the stem is from 10 to 25 cm, thickness from 2 to 7 cm. In young mushrooms it is cylindrical-clavate or club-shaped, in old ones it is usually cylindrical. The color is light walnut with a distinct brown mesh on top.
The flesh is spongy, dense, and springs when squeezed. The color is white and does not change when broken. The smell is pleasant mushroom, the taste is sweet.
The earliest of the boletus species.It begins to bear fruit in May and appears in periods until October. Found in deciduous forests, prefers oaks, hornbeams, beeches, and lindens. It grows in places with a warm climate, most often in hilly areas.
Bolet bronze
Other names for this edible mushroom are bronze/dark chestnut boletus.
The cap grows to 7-17 cm in diameter. In young mushrooms it is almost black, in mature ones it is rich brown, the shape is first hemispherical, then becomes flat with raised edges. The surface is dry, velvety, with small cracks in old mushrooms.
Bronze boletus has a dark cap
The leg is cylindrical, massive, thicker at the base. Height - up to 12 cm, thickness - from 2 to 4 cm. Covered with a fine mesh, which at first is almost white, becomes beige with age.
The tubes are thin, small, adherent. The color of the spore-bearing layer is white, gradually turns yellow, and becomes greenish when pressed. The spores are long, large, fusiform, olive-colored in mass.
In a young specimen the flesh is thick and hard, but in an old specimen it becomes soft. The color is white, slightly darker when cut. The smell and taste are mushroom, pleasant, unexpressed.
It is rare, grows in mixed forests where there are oaks and beeches, prefers moist humus. In Russia, it is common in the southern regions. Found alone and in small groups. Fruits from July to October.
It has high taste qualities and is of gastronomic value.
boletus
You can confuse the gall mushroom and the boletus mushroom, which has other names - obabok and birch boletus. Among the differences is a pattern of black scales on the stalk, reminiscent of a birch tree (the bitterling has a pale mesh pattern).Another sign is the whitish or light gray color of the tubular layer (in the gall fungus it is pinkish).
Boletus forms mycorrhiza with birch trees. First it has a hemispherical cap, then a cushion-shaped one. The surface is thin felt or bare. The skin peels off poorly and becomes slimy in humid weather. Color varies from white to dark gray and almost black. The lower part of the cap of a young specimen is white, then grayish-brown. Size – up to 15 cm in diameter.
The pulp is white, does not change color when cut, sometimes turns slightly pink. In old mushrooms it becomes watery and spongy. The smell is mushroom, pleasant, the taste is neutral.
The business card of the boletus is black scales that form a peculiar pattern on the stem.
The leg is high - up to 15 cm, thickness - about 3 cm. The shape is cylindrical, expanding slightly near the ground. The surface is whitish-gray with longitudinal dark scales. In young mushrooms, the stem is fleshy and dense, while in old mushrooms it is hard and fibrous. Spore powder is olive-brown.
The fungus is distributed throughout the temperate climate zone in deciduous and mixed forests near birch trees. Happens frequently. It is one of the first to appear in early summer and finishes bearing fruit at the end of autumn. It grows especially actively in young birch forests. Sometimes found in large quantities in spruce forests with occasional birch trees.
It has a good taste, but is inferior in gastronomic qualities to boletus mushrooms. Fertility is cyclical: in some years there is a lot of it, in others there is none at all. In the area where it was widespread, it may disappear for several years, only to appear again after a while.
Boletus
The differences between the boletus and the gall fungus are in the remarkable appearance of the former.It stands out for its bright appearance - most often with an orange-red cap and a leg covered with black scales. It is called red-headed, but the color of the cap can be different: chestnut, yellow-brown, red-brown, white. There are several species (red, oak, pine), united under one name, but there is no clear classification. When cut, the boletus turns blue, purple or almost black. It bears fruit from June to October and is found in large quantities. It forms mycorrhizae most often with aspens. The mushroom is edible, with good taste.
An important feature of the boletus is its bright orange cap.
Gall fungus poisoning
The question of the possibility of bitter bitter poisoning is still open. They say that signs of gall fungus poisoning appear if you just taste it on your tongue. At first you may feel weak and dizzy. Very soon the symptoms disappear, after a few days problems with the outflow of bile appear, liver function is disrupted, and with a high concentration of toxins there is a risk of developing cirrhosis. There is an opinion that irreparable damage is caused to the kidneys.
You should not experiment with your health. Most mushroom pickers do not recommend trying it.
Human use of gall mushroom
Traditional healers attribute medicinal properties to the gall fungus. It is believed to have a choleretic effect and is used to treat the liver.
Some mushroom pickers claim that bitterness is easy to get rid of. To do this, you need to soak the gall mushroom in salted water or milk before cooking. Others say it doesn't help and only makes the bad taste worse.
Conclusion
The gall fungus is very bitter and cannot be eaten. Its name fully justifies the unpleasant taste. It repels insects and is never wormy.
