What mushrooms on a walnut can destroy the tree?

Distinctive features of wood mushrooms

The parasitic species are basidiomycetes. The main feature of organisms is the place of growth - wood.

As they develop, they decompose the bark through special enzymes and absorb biologically active substances. Found on living or dead trees of various species. They often grow in large groups, forming several rows (plates).

It is impossible to identify a single characteristic based on its external form. There are parasitic mushrooms that are similar to traditional species (most of them have short legs and a fleshy and large cap), others do not have a clear shape.

Important! Old specimens have hard flesh and are often bitter. Sometimes they can cause digestive disorders. Due to the lack of a distinct taste, the legs are cut off when cooking.

Walnut diseases and pests, treatment and control, photo

Growing fruit trees on your own site always involves risks of infection by diseases and pests, and walnuts are no exception. Although problems with this crop are less common than with others, any gardener should know how to identify a disease or parasite, why it appears, and how to get out of the situation with minimal losses.

Leaf diseases

As a result of improper care or the influence of external natural factors, the crop in question may be affected by:

• white spotting;
• brown spotting;
• bacterial burn.

To identify the problem in time, you should inspect the foliage of the tree more often. Most often, the first symptoms of the disease manifest themselves as deformation or change in color of the leaves. It is important to understand that the sooner the disease is identified and the fight against it begins, the greater the chance of saving the plant and completely solving the problem.

White spot

The main reason why white spotting may appear is increased humidity combined with a decrease in temperature. The disease is caused by a parasitic fungus of the genus Microstroma. Plants in dense plantings are more susceptible to the disease than single specimens.

When affected by white spot, light green spots begin to appear on the inside of the leaf blades. A little later, a white coating forms in these places - these are fungal spores.

When the wind blows or rains, they are spread to neighboring plants, and also fall into the soil, where they settle in the upper layer and can function for quite a long time if soil care work is not carried out (loosening, fertilizing, disinfection, mulching).

Having discovered the first symptoms of the disease, you should immediately prune. To do this, use a pruner or hacksaw; The instrument is first disinfected in alcohol.

The cut is made 5 cm further from the lesion, including healthy areas. Immediately after this, the sections are powdered with wood ash and covered with garden pitch. Then the plant is treated along the leaf and trunk with Bordeaux mixture.

You will need to prepare a 1% concentrate - 100 g of substance per 10 liters of water.

Important! The trunk circle is equal to the diameter of the crown projection.

The liquid is placed in a tank with a spray bottle and treated with it. The tree trunk circle should also be treated.

After spraying the soil under the tree, it is necessary to loosen it after 5 hours and then mulch it. If the soil layer under the tree is too wet, you need to remove the top 5 cm and replace it with a mixture of peat and sand (1:1 ratio).

Treatment of the leaf and trunk with Bordeaux mixture is carried out 3 times. The interval between spraying is 10 days.

To avoid relapses, in the future, before bud break, be sure to treat with 3% Bordeaux mixture concentrate.

During the summer, if there is a decrease in temperature and long rainy periods, spraying with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture is carried out.

You can also use wood ash: it is sprayed dry directly onto wet leaves and soil.

At the end of the season, it is imperative to clean up all the foliage and collect all fallen fruits. After this, you need to inspect all the branches and remove those that were damaged by diseases, pests, or mechanically. Then treat the sections and spray with copper sulfate of 3% concentration.

Find out more about how to graft a walnut.

Brown spot

The disease in question is also fungal. It progresses with increasing humidity combined with rising temperature.

Main reasons for the spread:

• long rainy period at the beginning of summer;
• improper care - overwatering, neglect of soil care (loosening, mulching), lack of high-quality leaf removal at the end of the season, etc.

The disease affects young leaves, shoots and developing fruits. If measures are not taken immediately, you can lose up to 50% of the harvest. The first manifestations of the disease are observed in May.

Small round spots with a brown tint form on the back and outside of the leaves. Gradually, the lesions begin to grow.

Ultimately, they merge, the leaves lose intracellular pressure, dry out and fall off.

Important! When working with copper-containing products, wear gloves and a respirator. If liquid comes into contact with your skin, immediately rinse the area with plenty of water to avoid chemical burns.

Brown spots also appear on the shoots. If left untreated, the fungus begins to spread to the fruits - red-brown depressed areas appear on them. Over time, they grow, merge, and the core turns black and rots. Infected fruits develop poorly, most of them fall off at an early stage of infection.

Treatment consists of three times treatment with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or any other copper-based fungicide. The interval between spraying is 10–15 days. It is first necessary to remove all infected parts of the plant, collect fallen leaves and fruits. All this should be disposed of by burning off-site.

It is also necessary to monitor soil moisture. When the first symptoms are detected, it must be loosened immediately. If necessary, you can replace the top layer with a mixture of peat and sand, as when eliminating white spotting.

As a preventative measure, if there have already been manifestations of the disease, it is necessary to treat with a 3% solution of copper-containing preparations before bud break and after harvest. It is imperative to remove all plant debris from the site at the end of the season. In mid-summer, you can apply fungicides with copper 3 times with an interval of 10-15 days.

Source: https://fermer.blog/bok/sad/orehi/greckiy-oreh/vyraschivanie-greckogo-oreha/problemy-pri-vyraschivanii-greckogo-oreha/12566-bolezni-greckogo-oreha.html

TOP 5 interesting facts about tree mushrooms

Edible species that parasitize plants are used in the preparation of salads and main dishes. They are pickled and salted, eaten stewed and fried, and added to snacks and delicacies in Korean and Chinese. Heat treatment is required before use. Energy value (calorie content) – 14-25 kcal.

worth noting :

1. Crafts made from wood mushroom. From the hard pulp of some species they make figurines, jewelry (pendants, pendants), and make original lamps and lighting fixtures.
2. Ability to bear fruit on wet sawdust, straw or cellulose. This feature allows you to grow some varieties in summer cottages.
3. Increases with soaking. Tree mushrooms are small in size when dried, but when placed in water they expand several times in size.
4. Taste of seafood. Species growing on trees differ in taste characteristics from classic mushrooms.
5. Unique chemical composition. Many species have healing properties for the body and improve mental activity. They are used as part of low-calorie diets for weight loss, in the treatment of allergies, gastritis, oncology, diabetes and other diseases.

Useful types can be purchased in pharmacies in dry form. They are also included in a number of preparations for internal use and external application. In stores they are sold in pressed form (packaging briquettes).

Important! The benefits and harms of tree mushrooms depend on the correct method of preparation and compliance with contraindications. Store them dried in a cool, dry place to prevent the formation of mold.

Walnut diseases and their treatment - tips for gardeners

Hello, friends! All fruit trees are inevitably at risk of disease or pest infestation. The reasons for this can be either improper care or an unsuccessful planting location, or circumstances beyond the control of the gardener. Next, the main walnut diseases and their treatment will be discussed.

American white butterfly

This insect reproduces in three generations over the summer, becoming active between July and September, and harms all fruit trees. Its caterpillars gradually eat shoots and leaves, which can lead to the death of the plant. It can be combated by destroying caterpillar nests or using specialized microbiological preparations.

Nut moth

It is also called apple tree, as it is not picky and can infect any fruit trees in the garden. Over the summer, two generations grow, the first of which in May-June damages the nuts, which leads to their falling off, and the second in August-September settles directly inside the fruits, devouring the cotyledons.

The codling moth is dangerous because one caterpillar is not limited to damaging one kernel, significantly threatening the harvest. To get rid of them, pheromone traps are used to attract male pests and thereby reduce the number of insects.

Walnut warty mite

The pest is especially insidious because it attacks in the spring, eating undeveloped shoots, and it is difficult to detect at the initial stage of infection. Subsequently, it is easily recognized by the characteristic brown warts on the back of the leaf. Acaricides are used to combat it.

Walnut diseases

The most dangerous disease of walnut trees is marsonia, also known as anthracnose or blight.

It affects the entire plant - fruits, leaves, and young shoots, forming brown spots that increase over time (see photo).

Necrotic cracks may also form in which the pathogen overwinters, only to give rise to a new focus of infection the following year. Marsonia is most common in places with humid air, during seasons of heavy rain and fog.

To date, there are no varieties that are completely immune to this disease, but it is believed that varieties with thin shells are more resistant.

To eradicate brown spot, it is necessary to treat the entire tree with Bordeaux mixture at a concentration of 3%. In the fall, it is important to burn all fallen leaves, as the source of infection may remain there.

With mechanical damage there is a risk of trunk disease. We are talking not only about broken or cut branches and other injuries that were not properly treated, but also about parts of the plant damaged by frost.

They can harbor parasitic fungi that devour the center of the trunk, which leads to the formation of a hollow and the complete death of the plant. To avoid this, you need to promptly remove injured areas, cover the log houses with garden pitch or mineral paints.

If a hollow does form, it must be filled with crushed stone and plastered on top.

Sometimes it is not clear why walnuts on a tree turn black and then begin to fall off prematurely. Inexperienced gardeners attribute this to unfavorable weather conditions or a bad year, but the next season everything happens again. Such a tree is sick with bacteriosis and needs treatment.

The description of the signs of bacteriosis is as follows:

• Black spots spread along the veins of the leaves, which only increase as the disease progresses;
• spots spread over all above-ground parts of the nut - leaves, flowers, young branches and shoots, fruits of any degree of maturity;
• there may be mechanical damage that contributes to the introduction of infection and its overwintering;
• infection often occurs during rainy summers, but despite this, the shoots become bent and dry out.

As preventive measures, it is recommended to collect and burn all foliage on the site, promptly remove damaged branches and treat cut areas. In addition, do not under any circumstances overfeed the walnut tree in the spring, as this makes it vulnerable to bacteriosis. This is especially true for nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Medicines containing copper will help cure bacteriosis. Both copper oxychloride and Bordeaux mixture are suitable, which you can make yourself by mixing 1 part copper sulfate and 1.5 parts quicklime and dilute it in 10 liters of water. Of the ready-made products, you can use Oksikhom or Abiga-Pik.

Treatment for bacteriosis, like any treatment of walnuts for diseases, should be carried out in the spring, even before flowering begins. If necessary, you can repeat the procedure at the time of fruit set, but no more than two or three times, including the autumn period. To prevent diseases such as bacteriosis and brown spot, you can spray the entire tree with DNOC.

Here it is important to guess with time - the nut should completely lose its leaves, but it is advisable to do so before the first frost. In the spring, when the air temperature exceeds 15 degrees, you can treat the trees with Fitosporin. It is recommended to use this biological preparation 5-6 times during the entire growing season, approximately once every two weeks.

I would be glad if my article helps gardeners preserve walnuts on their site. Share the information with your friends and subscribers, and don’t forget to subscribe to blog updates.

Vera Sagalovich

Source: https://sait-pro-dachu.ru/bolezni-greckogo-orexa/

Similar mushrooms

Some species are difficult to distinguish from each other due to their external similarity. Sometimes mushrooms on trees look like ordinary chanterelles, champignons, and toadstools.

There are species that parasitize other plants, such as ergot. The fungus attacks the ears of cereal crops.

The danger comes from the similarity of edible specimens with poisonous ones:

• Trametes is fluffy. Settles on birch and coniferous trees. May have different shades of gray;

• Piptoporus oak. It has a large fan-shaped body, a velvety surface of a light or brown shade. More common on live oaks;

• Ganoderma southern. It has no legs, a large cap of brown shades is similar to the texture of wood. Grows on lindens, poplars and oaks;

• Postia astringent. The fruiting body is white, when young it is covered with drops of liquid; the shape may vary. Prefers conifers;
• Ischnoderma resinous. As it grows, red drops appear on the cap. The surface has a bronze or reddish color. Prefers deciduous forests.

Before using collected specimens, it is recommended to ensure that they are edible. Knowledge of external features will allow you to collect healthy, safe and tasty mushrooms.

Bizarre forms of the mushroom kingdom

Some varieties of xylotrophs are not at all similar to mushrooms in the traditional sense of the word. In appearance they resemble:

• sea ​​corals – Kalocera;
• resin droplets – Exidia ferruginosa;
• bubbles of polyurethane foam – Dacrimitses vanishing;
• pieces of minced meat – Askokorine meat.

Hypoclea sulfur-yellow deserves special mention. This mushroom lives on a tree, but feeds on its fellows. The spongy bright yellow body of the Hypocreas envelops the trunk in areas inhabited by colonies of Tremors or Exidium glandulars. The fruiting bodies of gelatinous xylotrophs are the favorite food of the parasitic fungus: it completely absorbs and processes them.

Special literature and oral stories from experienced mushroom pickers do not contain information about the edibility of these types of tree mushrooms. They look so strange that it never even occurs to anyone to collect, cook, or taste the taste of one of these strange mushroom representatives. Their fruiting bodies are extremely small. To try and evaluate the edibility of these amazing xylotrophs will require several hours of intensive searching.

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

Classification:

• Division: Basidiomycota
• Class: Agaricomycetes
• Order: Agaricaceae
• Family: Oysteraceae
• Genus: Oyster mushroom
• Species: Oyster mushroom

Other names:

• oyster mushroom
• Oyster mushroom
• Agaricus ostreatus
• Crepidopus ostreatus
• Dendrosarcus ostreatus

Description

Photo of a mushroom

Few people do not know about this lamellar mushroom that grows on wood.

• Young oyster mushrooms have dark brown or dark gray caps, while older individuals have gray-violet caps. Over time, they fade in the sun until they turn white.
• The round, dense cap reaches 6–12 cm in cross section and has the shape of an oyster or seashell. Young fungi have a convex shape with curled edges. In an adult, it is already a spacious funnel with a wavy tip.
• Since mushrooms grow in groups, the lower parts of the fruiting bodies grow together. The skin of the mushrooms has a pleasant gloss.
• The white leg of the oyster mushroom is short or absent altogether. If available, it is located at the edge of the cap.
• Young oyster mushrooms boast juicy and soft flesh. Whereas adult specimens are endowed with coarse and hard fibers.
• The pulp has a white tone and an attractive smell. The spores resemble an egg.

Spreading

Oyster mushroom chooses forest areas with a temperate continental climate. Settles on stumps and dead wood, on dead or diseased deciduous and deciduous trees and shrubs. Sometimes these can be coniferous trees.

Mushrooms grow in whole orders, so you can see tiers of oyster mushrooms on a tree. But some specimens prefer solitude. There are groups of 30 mushrooms clinging to each other. The weight of such a plexus reaches 3 kg. Mushrooms are located quite high from the ground.

Edibility

Oyster mushroom belongs to the category of edible mushrooms. They can be eaten in any form. Suitable for salting and marinating. Mushrooms are delicious fried, boiled, or stewed. They are used as a filling for pies and pizza, and soups and sauces are cooked in the broth. They are frozen for the winter. And there are many more wonderful recipes in the repertoire of every housewife who loves mushroom dishes.

Only young oyster mushrooms, measuring up to 7 cm, are eaten. Adult specimens are tough and not suitable for eating.

Can they be harmful?

As you can see, this product is very useful. But along with the benefits, the properties of tree mushrooms can also cause harm. They are dangerous for:

• children under fourteen years of age, because they contain chitin;
• may cause an allergic reaction;
• some have individual intolerance;
• people with diseases of the digestive system, because the body of such patients does not absorb this product.

Mushrooms are mainly produced in factories, there is no risk of poisoning. But you must follow the instructions for use and storage of raw materials. You also need to understand that dried tree mushrooms should not be bought secondhand.

Auricularia Ear-shaped Auricularia Auricula-Judae

A mushroom of the genus Auricularia, family Auriculariaceae, also known as Judas Ear and Black Wood Mushroom Muer.

The Latin name of this mushroom goes back to the legend according to which the New Testament traitor Judas hanged himself on a tree, and then this strange mushroom grew from his blood.

Appearance

In appearance, Auricularia resembles a crimson-red ear attached to the trunk or branch of a tree.

The cap is up to 10 cm in diameter, shell-shaped, lobed and attached sideways, velvety and finely hairy on top, matte, thinly folded and cellular-pressed from below. The color of the fruiting body varies from gray-brown to yellow-brown, with a reddish tint, depending on humidity. The inner surface is painted in darker shades. The leg is missing.

The hymenophore is flat and is located on the inner surface of the “ear”. Light-colored spore powder.

The pulp is dense and thin, elastic and gelatinous, without a pronounced taste or smell. When dry, it shrinks and hardens greatly.

Living conditions

In our latitudes, Auricularia bears fruit from July to November; in Asia, where it is very popular, it can grow all year round.

It grows in groups on the trunks and branches of deciduous trees, most often on elderberry, alder, maple and oak.

When to go on a quiet hunt

progorodnn.ru

To catch noble species in the forest, you should go mushroom hunting in the early hours, starting at dawn, between mid-July and the end of August.

Why so early?

Firstly, you are not the only mushroom lover, others also want to grab their share of the harvest, and if you manage to get ahead of your mushroom pickers and competitors, then the youngest, freshest and juiciest ones will go to you! And you won’t have to go far into the forest; you’ll quickly fill your basket full.

Secondly, summer is a hot time and in order not to sweat, it is better to visit the forest in a cool and fresh time. But remember that it is better to wear rubber boots or boots that will not get wet during the hunt, because... There will be a lot of dew, and dry feet are comfort.

Thirdly, hiking in the morning is safer, going in the middle of the day or worse - in the evening it’s not right, whatever one may say, the forest is a high-danger zone and you can get lost there, the best option is to take a partner with you. Read more about precautions in the forest below.

'Campfire'

Walking through the forest, almost all mushroom pickers look at their feet, and this is not surprising: most edible mushrooms settle in the soil, and it is on its surface that you should look for them. However, there are also mushrooms that you cannot see on the ground: they try to climb higher, climb up a tree trunk, sometimes several meters.

The most famous of these mushrooms are honey mushrooms; the name “honey agaric” itself means “mushroom on a stump,” which is why it hides many unrelated species. But besides honey mushrooms, a huge number of mushrooms settle on the trees. These include cap mushrooms (scales, oyster mushrooms) and tinder fungi, which resemble hooves, shelves, shells, growing one above the other, in layers. As with terrestrial fungi, what we see are fruiting bodies; the mycelium (mycelium) develops inside the wood, destroying it. Therefore, such fungi are called wood destroyers, or xylotrophs.

Some of them live on dead trees, stumps, and dead wood. Such mushrooms, energetically destroying wood, play the role of forest orderlies. Without them, the earth would long ago have been littered with dry trunks and branches, and there would have been no nutrients left in the soil for the growth of new generations of trees. By breaking down dead wood, fungi turn it into soil.

Other mushrooms, settling on living trees, destroy the forest. Their spores enter the tree through various damage to the bark, branches, and roots.

But of this variety of species, only a few are edible. We, as mushroom pickers, are primarily interested in mushrooms for gastronomic purposes, so the main thing is to learn to distinguish mushrooms by their edibility or toxicity. People usually pass by mushrooms on trees without noticing, because even among experienced mushroom pickers, few realize that such mushrooms can be edible and even tasty.

There was once a case. We were returning from the forest, it was in mid-May, with two huge packages. A neighbor sitting on a bench near the house curiously asks: “What are you talking about?” “Tinder fungi,” we answer. “What are you going to do with them?” “Let’s fry and eat.” You should have seen, dear reader, the old woman’s eyes at that moment. They read pity, fear, surprise and even disgust. And in the bags we actually had tinder fungi - young moths (yum!).

Edible tinder fungi

Variegated, scaly polypore (Polyporus squamosus)

Common names: pied, pied, pied, hare, elm. The fungus prefers broad-leaved trees. In the middle zone it can be found more often in parks than in forests - on ash, maple, beech, and sometimes on willow.

The motley polypore appears at the end of May. Starting from mid-May, we check those trees on which parsley crops were harvested in previous years, so as not to miss them, because they grow quickly, and after a week the grown mushroom can only be used for mushroom broth or for drying. Over the summer, several waves of its growth occur. The last individual specimens can be found in late August - early September.

In Georgia, they prefer the variegated tinder fungus to other mushrooms, calling it simply “tree mushroom,” despite the fact that in August, when it grows, the mountain forests are full of moss mushrooms, yellow milk mushrooms, and honey mushrooms.

Yes, indeed, at a young age, moths are very tender, fragrant, fleshy; when you fry them, an incomparable aroma spreads throughout the house. But tinder fungi grow quickly, age and become woody, although even in this form they make an excellent aromatic mushroom broth, although after that the mushroom will have to be thrown away.

The motley polypore is noticeable in the forest from afar; huge saucers grow white on fallen trees. The large fruiting bodies of this tinder fungus often have a saddle shape. The yellowish cap has large brown scales. The thick, short stalk is lateral or eccentrically located to the cap, dark brown at the base, dense and hard, even in young mushrooms.

Sulfur-yellow tinder fungus (Laetiporus sulphureus)

Common names: yolks, witch's dough. The sulfur-yellow tinder fungus settles on broad-leaved trees: oaks, elms, walnuts and manchurian nuts, and less often on poplar, willow, birch, and alder. In Siberia, this mushroom lives on larches. It begins to grow at the end of May, beginning of June. It may appear on the same tree a second time, in mid-summer or August.

Once we saw a young yellow mushroom in mid-October - there was something yellow lying on a stump, we approached, it turned out that a recently hatched, still very soft, mushroom was growing. This is how this mushroom is described in one book: “Imagine that inside the trunk of an old hollow oak tree goblins spread a yellow dough, it “escaped” and crawled out through the cracks and crevices of the bark, and froze just like that - in bubbles and sagging.” The mushroom is edible just in the “dough” stage; when young it is so soft and tender, somewhat reminiscent of an omelette in taste. It is important not to miss, the fruiting body quickly ages and becomes woody.

Liverwort (Fistulina hepatica)

The liverwort got its name for its bloody color and dense fleshy pulp - when cut, the mushroom really looks like a piece of liver.

The liverwort is shaped like a tinder fungus, it has a semicircular cap and a short side leg. The color of the mushroom is reddish-brown or orange-brown. The liverwort grows on living trees, mainly oak, chestnut, and less often other deciduous trees. Although we did encounter a liverwort growing on the roots of an old stump.

This mushroom can be collected only when it is very young; later the flesh coarsens and becomes tough. In its pure form, this mushroom has a very sour taste, so it is best to add it little by little either to a marinade or to a general stir-fry for color. If you want to try exactly its taste, then it is better to first soak the mushroom in salted water with the addition of a pinch of soda for several hours, then fry it. To our taste, when we tried the fried liverwort, the mushroom had no taste! Something crispy with a slight sourness.

Oyster mushrooms

These are large, beautiful and quite tasty mushrooms, which have recently been grown on an industrial scale in many countries.

At first glance, the name comes from the fact that the mushrooms seem to be hung on a tree trunk, like hanging shelves on a wall. But most likely the word “oyster mushroom” is associated with the word “vernal” - spring. The mushroom appears in spring, in May. For normal development of fruiting bodies, oyster mushrooms need a period of slight cooling and good warmth. This weather often occurs at the very beginning of summer and autumn. In mid-summer, oyster mushrooms are rare.

Oyster mushrooms settle on dead wood of deciduous trees, less often on living trees.

At first glance, all oyster mushrooms are very similar, and the more surprising is the fact that under this name mushrooms are united not only of different species, but also of different genera.

Oyster mushroom, oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

This mushroom is so named because a dense colony of fruiting bodies touching each other, growing in several floors, really resembles a colony of oyster shellfish.

Oyster mushrooms are light - beige or brownish, and dark - gray, brown-gray with a purple tint. Young mushrooms are sometimes almost black. As they grow, dark-colored oyster mushrooms lighten. The oyster mushroom has almost no legs.

Oyster mushrooms bear fruit until late autumn, often thaw after the first frost and continue to grow. Young oyster mushrooms are delicious, they go great in roasting, and also make a delicious mushroom broth. Old oyster mushrooms, like other tinder fungi, become tough and unsuitable for consumption.

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus cornucopiae)

Unlike the common (oyster) one, for the most part it has a rather long curved leg, eccentrically located in the cap. The color of this mushroom is always light - creamy, sometimes with a golden tint.

The oyster mushroom is easy to distinguish from other oyster mushrooms by its plates: they run down almost to the bottom of the stem, turning into ribs and forming bridges. The lower part of the legs is entirely covered with a mesh convex pattern of these jumpers.

Oyster mushroom prefers oaks and elms, but can grow on birch and rowan trees. It is less cold-resistant, fruiting ends earlier than that of the oyster mushroom.

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius)

Unlike previous species, oyster mushroom can also grow on coniferous trees, but more often you will see it on the trunks of oak, birch, aspen, and beech. Its lateral fruiting bodies with a short pubescent stalk also form large clusters. The pulp of this oyster mushroom is more tender, but quite elastic.

This species is also cultivated, but on a smaller scale.

Having tasted the oyster mushroom, horn mushroom and oyster mushroom, we came to the conclusion that the pulmonary oyster mushroom is significantly inferior to the others.

Late oyster mushroom (Panellus serotinus)

Other names: autumn oyster mushroom, alder oyster mushroom, willow oyster mushroom. On dead wood of coniferous and deciduous trees in October - November you can see a mushroom similar to oyster mushroom. Actually, mycologists previously considered it to be one of the species of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus), then, based on some microscopic features of the spore-bearing layer, as well as the structure of the pulp, they identified this mushroom as a separate biological genus, Panellus. The Russian name - late oyster mushroom - remains.

The main difference between the late oyster mushroom and other oyster mushrooms is the gelatin-like layer of pulp under the skin of the cap. The surface of the cap is olive-colored, darker at the edges, greenish-brown, closer to the stem - brownish-ocher, all covered with thin felt. In damp weather the mushroom becomes slightly slimy. The plates of this mushroom do not descend to the stalk, like those of oyster mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, pulmonaceae and carob-shaped ones. The mushroom is edible, but not everyone likes its bitter taste and rubbery flesh; it is not for everyone.

Orange oyster mushroom (Phyllotopsis nidulans)

The fungus grows on rotten stumps and dead wood. Sometimes orange oyster mushroom can be found on diseased or drying trees (birches, aspens, lindens). Orange oyster mushroom grows in October-December and is considered one of the most beautiful winter mushrooms - a true decoration of our forests. The cap is ocher-yellow in color with a rolled edge with white or yellowish felt pubescence, which makes it appear whitish. The mushroom grows so tightly to the wood that the cap breaks when harvested. The orange oyster mushroom has no stem. The pulp is watery, rusty-yellow without much odor when young. Some sources compare the smell of orange oyster mushroom to a fruity or melon aroma. Old specimens have an unbearable smell of rotten cabbage.

In most cases, the mushroom is inedible due to its hard pulp and unpleasant odor. However, in some regions of Russia, young mushrooms are eaten. We are sure: it is better to admire the orange oyster mushroom, although it looks quite appetizing in winter.

Cap mushrooms on stumps and trees

Pluteus deer

Common names: deer mushroom. Throughout the summer and autumn, deer whips can be seen on stumps, fallen trees, on piles of sawdust, bark, and small branches.

The cap of this mushroom is gray-brown in color, gray-pink plates and a long white stalk with longitudinal fibers.

Plutea deer is widespread on all continents except Antarctica. The mushroom is quite common in all types of forest. It also grows in dry times, when there are few other mushrooms in the forest. The mushroom is considered edible; it is even salted and pickled, although the unpleasant taste remains even after boiling. Some foreign sources classify the mushroom as inedible.

Row yellow-red

Other names: yellow-red honey fungus. This beautiful, large mushroom grows on the stumps of coniferous trees, most often pine trees, or near the stumps, on the roots.

The main color of the mushroom is yellow. But the yellow background of the cap and stem is densely covered with numerous velvety-fibrous dark red scales. On the cap of a young mushroom, the scales are arranged so tightly that the yellow color underneath is not visible; the cap appears entirely red-purple.

The mushroom is yellow-red, although the mushroom is harmless, it is tasteless, and some mycologists consider it inedible due to the bitter taste and smell of rotting wood.

Volvariella silky

Volvariella silky is one of the most beautiful agaric mushrooms. Its white cap is covered with yellowish, silky, thin fibers. Seeing this mushroom for the first time on the trunk of a dead tree, I admired the unusual fluffy cap for several minutes.

Read more about it here.

Winter mushroom

Common names: winter honey fungus. This mushroom grows in October-November, but in warm, mild winters, the growth of the fungus in the southern regions continues until spring. It freezes and thaws, but lives. The winter mushroom, like honey fungus, grows in large “bouquets”; sometimes several dozen mushrooms emerge from a crack in the bark.

The mushrooms are very beautiful: their caps are smooth, shiny, golden yellow. In a leafless late-autumn forest among dark trunks, the caps seem to glow. The stems of mushrooms are hard and fibrous, making them inedible. The hats are fried, pickled, made into soup, and dried. The thin pulp of mushrooms dries very quickly.

The winter mushroom has been cultivated in Japan for a long time, and it is grown not only on wood, but also in special jars on a nutrient substrate.

Poisonous mushrooms on stumps and trees

Galerina bordered

It grows from August to October on dead trees, participating in their decomposition, mainly prefers coniferous trees, but can also be found on deciduous trees. Fruits in small groups. The mushroom is deadly poisonous! Contains toxins, like the toadstool.

Galerina fringed is sometimes mistaken for summer honey fungus, which also grows on dead wood in dense colonies. More detailed description.

In our review we did not talk about honey mushrooms, but they are worth talking about separately.

Below we will talk about inedible, but still noteworthy other tinder fungi

Based on the type of nutrition, wood-decaying fungi are divided into two groups. The former “eat” the cellulose of the cell walls and all their contents, causing brown destructive rot. The wood becomes brittle, turns red, turns brown, and crumbles into small pieces that can be ground into powder. Destructive rot is more typical of coniferous species. You can see it on the logs of old wooden houses.

Representatives of the second group feed primarily on lignin, which holds wood cells together, and then turn to cellulose, causing corrosive or variegated rot. Cellulose does not completely decompose and, filling the cavities in the destroyed wood, looks like a fluffy white mass. If you break a dry birch branch, you can see a variegation of white and dark veins.

Mushrooms cannot live in completely dry wood; they need moisture. Air is also necessary, which is why wood that is completely immersed in water does not rot: piles, well logs, driftwood at the bottom of the river. There is a lot of water, but no air. The famous bog oak is wood that has been kept in water for a long time, without access to air. water mills can stand for several centuries on piles driven into the river bottom and no mushroom can take them.

The remains of the water mill on Krasny Klyuch have survived to this day.

Only mushrooms that can infect living trees are dangerous to the forest. Fungi block the path to water and nutrients from the roots to the branches, and the tree dies.

Polypores - pests or forest health workers?

True tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius)

This very noticeable tinder fungus has a “classic” appearance for a tinder fungus. It can be seen in forests throughout the year, mainly on dead wood, stumps and dead wood of deciduous trees: birch, linden, beech, ash and others, causing white marble rot. It rarely affects weakened living trees. These are perennial hoof-shaped fruiting bodies with a gray, sometimes yellowish surface, on which concentric grooves and ridges are clearly visible. Mushrooms can live for several decades and reach large sizes, up to 40 centimeters.

In the old days, the real tinder fungus was of great importance to humans. This mushroom was soaked in a solution of saltpeter, dried and used to light a fire. The spark that hit the tinder did not go out immediately, but caused it to slowly burn and smolder. Various flammable materials were placed on the smoldering tinder fungus: pieces of birch bark, straws, twigs, rags. Constantly smoldering tinder was used in battles when there were no matches and lighters. The tinder fungus fell out of use, and the name was assigned to many wood-destroying fungi.

False polypore (Phellinus igniarius)

On living deciduous trees - oak, birch, alder, it can be found on chestnut, hazel, maple and some other species - the false tinder fungus is found. This is a fairly large mushroom with a variety of fruiting body shapes.

Its fruiting bodies are thick growths on the bark with a finely porous, velvety brown underside, sometimes protruding yellowish profusely and curving onto a dark gray or black upper side.

This mushroom is often used for various decorative items.

Flat polypore (Ganoderma applanatum)

This is another large polypore that grows on tree stumps, the dead wood of many hardwood trees. This perennial tinder fungus has large flat caps, colored brown. Semicircular flat fruiting bodies are often ribbed, with streaks along the edges. The edge of the mushroom is mostly white, the rest is brown. Often mushrooms are connected in several pieces above each other and next to each other.

Pine polypore (bordered polypore) (Fomitopsis pinicola)

This fungus settles on dead wood, stumps of coniferous and deciduous trees (birch, alder). Rarely found on living trees. Perennial fruiting bodies are very brightly colored: the old part adjacent to the tree trunk is almost black and shiny, the younger parts are reddish-brown, the bright red edge gradually becomes cherry color with age. The lower tubular layer is yellowish, brighter along the edge. It happens that droplets of liquid appear on the tinder fungus, they say “the mushroom is crying.”

Polypore polypore (Trametes versicolor)

This beautiful multi-colored tinder fungus is often found. It literally covers rotting wood like a carpet. An extremely omnivorous fungus that causes white rot. It can be found in any forest, parks, gardens. The fruiting body of the tinder fungus grows very quickly; under favorable conditions, it grows within a week. At the ends of stumps and logs, the mushroom looks like bright, merging rosettes; on the branches it grows in funny “glasses” with a low stem. The surface of the mushroom is velvety, with multi-colored stripes: brown, black, gray, bluish. The outer young edge is always light, almost white.

Polypores with large pores are often called sponges. Almost all trees have their own sponges - deciduous, pine, aspen, oak, birch.

Root sponge (Heterobasidion annosum)

This fungus attacks living trees. Root sponge causes variegated root rot in conifers. In different conifers, the sponge develops differently: in pines it affects only the root, in spruce and fir it rises along the trunk to a height of 3-4, sometimes 10 meters. Grows mainly on pine. Perennial, thin brown fruiting bodies with a light edge are formed on the roots. They usually hide under a layer of fallen pine needles or in the soil. That's why we don't notice them.

Pine sponge (Phellinus pini)

This mushroom is widespread in pine and mixed forests. It is found mainly on living pine trunks, less often on cedar, larch, and fir. The fruiting bodies are large, often solitary. A characteristic feature of this species is the relatively large pores, from round to labyrinthine, and the surface of the caps covered with lichens. This mushroom is long-lived; it can reach an age of 30 years or more.

Oak sponge (Daedalea quercina)

Unlike the previous ones, this mushroom is annual. The oak sponge has especially beautiful pores - they resemble a labyrinth or lace. Cross sections of oak sponge are sometimes used to decorate small wood products. This sponge is extremely rare on living trees; it grows mainly on stumps and treated wood: piles, pillars. In addition to oak, the oak sponge settles on beech and chestnut.

Birch sponge (Piptoporus betulinus)

Birch sponge or birch tinder fungus is an annual mushroom that grows only on dead birch trees. Young fruiting bodies are white, soft, with a strongly curved lower edge. According to some authors, they are edible at an early age. Their surface is completely smooth, but can crack with age. The color of the old mushroom is grayish or yellowish. The appearance of birch tinder fungus on the trunk indicates that the tree is not a survivor.

Safety in the forest

As mentioned earlier, the forest is a high-danger zone; there is a risk of getting lost or getting into an unpleasant situation; to warn them, follow simple rules:

• Clothing should be comfortable and suitable for weather conditions.
• Raincoat - if you think it is necessary, then it is better to take it. An umbrella in this case is not very convenient, because... in your hands you will have a basket and a cane for searching for mushrooms.
• Shoes - It's best to wear comfortable and waterproof ones, especially if your run starts early in the morning, a lot of dew on the grass and leaves can make you uncomfortable.
• Navigation - during the search process, try to keep a path or some other landmark in your field of vision, you can use navigation on your phone, but cellular communications do not always work in the forest, as an option, take a GPS navigator with you, this device does not require cell towers, it keeps in touch with the satellite, but works well only in open areas, so in order to get your bearings, you need to go out into the open area before using it, so that there are no trees overhead.
• A basket or a bag - the best option is a basket; unlike a bag, the collected mushrooms will have access to air and be ventilated, as a result you will deliver them home fresh.
• Knife - for convenience and in order not to damage the mycelium, take it with you; the knife should be taken with a bright and visible handle so that it does not get lost in the grass.
• Have a snack - you can put a sandwich in your basket with you, or even better, a bar of chocolate, if hunger overtakes you during the hike, you will have something to answer it with.
• Be sure to take water with you, because... the feeling of thirst will definitely come; picking mushrooms is a very serious aerobic exercise.
• Mosquitoes and other game - to protect yourself from flying mosquitoes and ticks, be sure to take a cream or other means of protection.
• A search cane is a seemingly simple thing, but it can greatly simplify and secure your hikes in the forest. One of its functions is that you can push apart foliage or grass without bending over and identify the mushroom. And the second and most important thing is that various living creatures can be found in the forest, including... snakes, a cane will protect you from contact with them, since you won’t be pushing the grass apart with your hands!

Advantages of sulfur rowing

What are the undoubted advantages of rowing with sulfur?

1. The mushroom sometimes grows quite abundantly. And not alone. Having discovered a gray row, you will probably leave the forest not with an empty basket.
2. The gray row is unique enough to be remembered and not to be confused with inedible or poisonous mushrooms.
3. Gray row is a mushroom that grows in late autumn. Usually in the middle - end of October you will not find the usual summer mushrooms in the forest. But the rows - gray and purple - grow at this time, and quite abundantly. And they tolerate the first frosts well.
4. The sulfur row has a very pleasant taste and aroma, especially when fried.
5. The gray row can also be salted, pickled, or frozen in boiled form.

So the gray row (hatched) is a rather pleasant mushroom with undoubted advantages. Moreover, mycologist Mikhail Vishnevsky in his book “Medicinal Mushrooms” describes the gray row as a medicinal mushroom, which has a powerful antioxidant effect.

Of course, we do not prepare mushroom extracts at home. But it’s nice to think that just by eating fried mushrooms, you at the same time bring some benefit to your body!

Best regards, Alexander Silivanov

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Usable types

There are more than a thousand species of edible mushrooms, most of which belong to macromycetes. But some varieties are hybrids of fungi and plants. This category includes those that do not pose a danger to human health and life and are of particular value in cooking. They have a pleasant taste, and the prepared dishes do not become boring.

Good species are distinguished by a lamellar or spongy structure on the underside of the cap. Edible mushrooms also have other characteristics:

• frequency of arrangement of plates on the cap;
• spore color;
• method of attaching the plates to the leg;
• the color of the pulp before and after pressing on it.

The mycelium from which mushrooms emerge resembles light mold. She appears on a rotting tree. Its fibers entwine the roots of the tree, saturating it with organic matter and receiving in return moisture and mineral elements for nutrition. Some names come precisely from the type of tree to which they are attached.

The following types of mushrooms can most often be found in forests:

• common oakwood;
• pine mushroom;
• boletus;
• registry;
• boletus

Mushroom pickers in mixed and coniferous forests collect the following varieties:

• saffron milk caps;
• honey mushrooms;
• chanterelles;
• Champignon;
• boletus;
• Russula;
• milk mushrooms

After collecting mushrooms, it is best to put them in a wicker basket, which allows you to check them and maintain their original shape. It is better not to use the bag, as when you come home you may find a shapeless mass in it. It is necessary to collect only those mushrooms that are probably known to the mushroom picker. Wormy legs and old caps should alert a forest hunter. Morning is the best time for picking in the autumn forest, as the mushrooms are still strong and fresh.

Inhabitants of trunks

While walking through the forest, looking for mushrooms, it makes sense to look not only at your feet, but also carefully study the trunks of the trees you encounter. Many types of mushrooms happily live on tree bark, and although some of them look very specific, and even scary, many of these tree inhabitants are quite suitable for food, and are even quite popular among lovers of an exquisite mushroom diet.

Many of the mushrooms growing on tree trunks have been used in folk medicine for a long time, and with considerable success, for example, the legendary chaga, but this article talks about those species that can be successfully used as food.

Grifola Curly Grifola Frondosa

A mushroom from the genus Grifola, the Meripilaceae family, also known as the Leafy Polypore and the Ram Mushroom.

This mushroom was apparently called “ram” because of its vague external resemblance to lamb’s fleece. However, there are other types of mushrooms with this nickname.

Appearance

The fruiting body of this mushroom consists of many grayish-brown spade-shaped caps, up to 10 cm in diameter, which taper downwards in a wedge-shape and turn into lighter colored stalks. The surface of the caps is rough and radially wrinkled, the edges are wavy and uneven.

The hymenophore is tubular-type, light in color, strongly descending onto the stalk. White spore powder.

The pulp is brittle and light, with a peculiar nutty taste and smell.

Growing conditions

Grows from late June to late September in deciduous forests on the bark of oak, maple, chestnut and beech. Causes white rot of wood. It is found both on stumps and living trunks.

Culinary use

Grifola Curly is quite edible, but very rare, therefore it is listed in the Red Books of some regions of Russia, and therefore we urge you, when you encounter the Ram Mushroom, to leave it to grow in its place.