Talkers belong to the tricholome family and the lamellar order. Among them there are edible, conditionally edible and inedible representatives. Therefore, going after them on the “hunt”, you need to know them well “in person”.
Mushroom description
There are over 250 species of these mushrooms. All of them have a hat and a leg, but their shape, size and color depend on the variety of the mushroom. Most talkers are classified as little-known edible and conditionally edible mushrooms; they are included in the 4th category by nutritional value. Before use, they must be boiled in water, the first broth is drained.
Mushroom cap
It does not grow to large sizes, reaching an average of 3-6 cm in diameter. In young mushrooms, it has the shape of a hemisphere, but with age it evens out and takes a depressed shape.
The surface is smooth and dry under normal climatic conditions, with frequent rains it can be covered with mucous membrane. Sometimes on the upper part you can see spots similar to mold - these are the remains of the mycelium. Color ranges from white to pink-brown and even buffy, depending on the species. Coloring tends to brighten around the edges of the cap.
Records
The color of the plates also varies. They descend along the leg, and can be frequent or rare. They form a white spore powder.
Leg
The height and diameter of this part of the fruit body of the fungus also depends on the variety, but on average it is 6-8 cm and the diameter is 0.5-3 cm.
Pulp
White, dense in young representatives and loose in old mushrooms.
Spore powder
Pure white or cream-whitish color.
Nutritional value
100 g of crude product contains:
- proteins - 3.7 g;
- carbohydrates - 1.1 g;
- fats - 1.7 g.
The nutritional value of 100 g of the product is 34.5 kcal.
The composition includes B vitamins, minerals, plant fibers, amino acids.
Where and when can I find mushrooms?
Talkers prefer to settle in coniferous forests - they especially like spruce and pine forests, and in mixed ones, where birch grows. You can find them on the edge of the meadow and in deciduous forests. The first mushrooms begin to appear in July, but the peak of harvest occurs in August-September. Collect them until November. They are common in the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in Western Siberia, in the Far East.
Species of Talkers
There are a lot of varieties of talkers, all of them cannot be enumerated, only the most popular can be distinguished from the most famous species.
Bent or red
The most famous representative of this family. It often grows as a large colony in different forests. The reddish hat grows to 20 cm. It changes shape as it grows - in young talkers it is convex, in more mature mushrooms it is funnel-shaped, the edges are slightly lowered and turn down. The peel on the hat is smooth, yellowish-brown in color, but fades with age and becomes fawn with rusty spots. The yellowish leg is 15 cm long and not more than 3 cm thick. The shape is cylindrical, thickened to the bottom.
They grow in Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Belarus and other temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere. It bears fruit actively already from the first July days, and the last mushrooms can be found even in October. A favorite place is along the edges of paths, on forest edges and grassy meadows, in the depths of deciduous, coniferous or mixed forests on a bed of fallen leaves or mosses. They grow in heaps of arched shape.
Orange or coconut
Another name is false chanterelle. There is a resemblance to a real fox, but differs in a thin and dense pulp and a bright color.
The mushroom cap is small, 2-5 cm in diameter, initially it has a convex shape, but eventually becomes flat, with outstretched edges, slightly bent at the ends. The color is orange-ocher, fading to pale yellow, but the middle remains bright yellow, and the edges become almost white.
Leg in the shape of a cylinder, length - up to 5 cm, diameter about 0.5 cm, yellow-orange, brighter than the hat.
Fruits from early August to late October, you can find it in coniferous and mixed forests, can grow both singly and in groups.
Only hats of young coconuts are used in food, since their legs are stiff, and old hats become stiff and tasteless.
Giant
Record holder among the other species in the size of the hats and legs. The mushroom is completely white. The hat usually grows up to 15 cm, but quite often you can see mushrooms with 30-centimeter hats. At first it is convex, then it takes the form of a funnel with the edges turned down. The leg does not lag behind the size of the cap. It is 4 cm thick and 8 cm long. The pulp is white and dense, but it has practically no taste, as well as aroma.
A giant talker can form “witch circles”, although it is believed that mostly poisonous representatives of the mushroom kingdom grow this way. Mycelium growing in the ground spreads evenly in all directions, which is why it occupies an area in a ring. Therefore, mushrooms grow along the border of the mycelium, arranged in a circle.
Grows in forest glades in North America, Europe and Russia. Fruits from late August to October, sometimes can be found even in October.
Goblet
The most common in Russia. She settles on a rotten tree or forest litter. Mushroom pickers leave for her in the forest in August - September. The gray-brown hat is similar in shape to a cup or a glass with a diameter of 3–8 cm. The leg is very thin, reaches a maximum thickness of 0.6 cm, and a length of 10 cm. The flesh is watery, grayish-brown in color.
Funnel
It grows both individually and as a group in forests, meadows and pastures. Harvest of mushrooms occurs in July - October. The hat is small (10 cm in diameter). Initially, it is convex with a tubercle in the middle and curled edges. Then the mushroom gradually unfolds and forms a deep funnel, the edges of which are bent outward.
The hat is thin, light yellow or reddish. The leg, which has one color with a hat, is of medium length and does not exceed 8 cm in length. At the base there is a slight thickening with white hairs. The pulp is also distinguished by almond notes, white, loose. Gimenophore plates are often located, strongly descend to the leg.
The view is widespread on the European territory of Russia, Western Siberia, the North Caucasus, as well as most of the countries of Europe.
Smoky
The mushroom is found in spruce and pine forests, from late summer to November. She grows in groups. The hat resembles a gray pillow. Young mushrooms on the surface may have a gray-white coating, which is easily removed. The leg grows up to 12 cm in length, 2-3 cm in diameter. The base has a slight thickening.
The pulp is white, has a floral-fruity aroma, fleshy, soft in young mushrooms, in mature ones - more fibrous and stiff.
Although smoky talker belongs to conditionally edible mushrooms, its use can cause serious damage to the digestive tract, as the fungus contains nebularin, a cytotoxic substance.
Smoky white
A little different from his brother - smoky talker. The hat in representatives of this species reaches a diameter of up to 20 cm, but usually no more than 15 cm. In young mushrooms, it has a hemisphere shape, convex with a folded edge, eventually becomes convex-spread, fleshy, thick, the color is yellowish-whitish or dirty and white, in dry weather it may be gray.
The stalk is thick, can grow up to 8 cm in length, 1-3 cm in diameter, its shape is club-shaped, expands to the base with time, grayish, almost white.
The pulp is fleshy, dense, has a characteristic fruity aroma.
Fruits in early September to November, but the peak falls on September. It is found in coniferous and mixed forests.
This species has some similarities with the poisonous White Row, which can be distinguished by an unpleasant odor.
Club-shaped
Unusual mushroom, similar to an exotic jug. He settles in the forests on coniferous litter. The convex dark gray hat straightens along the growth of the fungus, its diameter is 4-8 cm. The leg at the base is strongly swollen, and resembles an inverted mace, 3-6 cm long.
The pulp is ash gray, but it tastes very pleasant, has a pronounced mushroom aroma. Mushrooms grow in families, often grow together with legs. It grows in coniferous forests from July to October, sometimes found in deciduous and mixed forests.
Fragrant
Refers to conditionally edible mushrooms, is used in pickled or boiled form (boiled for at least 10 minutes). It grows in coniferous and mixed forests, but is quite rare. The period of active fruiting is from the first half of September to the first half of October. The cap of the mushroom is small, up to 6 cm in diameter, initially convex in shape, later becomes concave, with the edge down, the color is yellowish-gray or pale ocher. The leg of the same color with a hat, thin, can reach a length of 5 cm, a cylindrical shape. The flesh is thin, watery, whitish in color.
There is a resemblance to a fragrant talker, but differs from it in the yellowish color of the hat.
Fragrant
It is harvested very rarely, although it is a very fragrant mushroom that smells of anise. But due to the strange bluish-green color, many mushroom pickers consider it poisonous. The hat is small - does not exceed 7 cm, flat with a tubercle in the middle. It is unattractive bluish-green in color, with age becomes gray-yellow.
The cylinder-shaped leg is painted, as is the cap. In length, it reaches 5 cm. The plates on the lower surface of the cap are pale green. The pulp is fleshy, but the color repels mushroom pickers - it is pale gray with a green tint. Even if you boil the mushrooms, the color will not change.
Abundant fruiting occurs in the period from the first decade of August to the second half of October. It settles in deciduous, coniferous or mixed forests of Western Siberia, Central and Eastern Europe, the European part of the Russian Federation.
Winter
The mushroom grows in the European part of the post-Soviet space; it can also be found in the Caucasus, the Far East, Western Europe, South America and North Africa. The fruiting period is late autumn.
The convex cap reaches 5 cm in diameter, then takes a depressed shape. The edges are thin and slightly sinuous, the color of the hat is smoky or olive-brown. The leg is cylindrical in height reaches 4 cm, the color matches the color of the hat.
Snowy
Some mushroom pickers claim that snow talker is an edible mushroom, but officially it belongs to the category of conditionally edible.
The diameter of the cap is up to 4 cm, initially it is convex, with curved edges, with time it becomes depressed, smooth, the color is grayish-brownish, may be grayish-brown, the middle is darker than the edges. The leg is thin, reaches 4 cm in length, cylindrical, light in color.
The mushroom pulp is dense, stiff in the leg, may be odorless, or with a faint cucumber hue.
The fruiting period is short - from the beginning to the end of May, lives in light spruce forests or coniferous forests, and is not found every year.
What mushrooms can be confused with - poisonous varieties
There are a number of poisonous and deadly for humans varieties of talkers. They must be able to distinguish from edible varieties.
Waxed Talker
This mushroom has a dirty white hat, watery circles with a tubercle in the middle are visible on its surface, the funnel is not as deep as the funnel talker, the poisonous mushroom does not have a pleasant smell.
Also, this toxic mushroom should be distinguished from edible hangover. The hat differs from the scavenger in that in its center you can see a wide hump-shaped tubercle, the edges are wavy, sometimes even fluffy. Leg slightly bent, fluffy at the base.
Brown yellow
The cap body of the fungus can reach a diameter of 10 cm, but more often there are specimens with a hat of 3-6 cm. The shape is convex, with a barely noticeable tubercle and a curved edge. When drying, small wet spots appear, which is a distinctive feature of the fungus. The color is yellowish brown, yellowish ocher, reddish, fades to cream, often with rusty spots.
Leg up to 5 cm long, diameter - 0.5-1 cm, smooth, barely narrowed to the base, yellow-ocher or pale ocher.
Fruits in early July to late October, found in coniferous and mixed forests, in groups.
It is similar to an inverted talker, but since both mushrooms are classified as inedible, therefore, their distinction is not of particular importance.
Talker inverted
The diameter of the mushroom cap can reach 10 cm, initially it is convex, with time acquires a wide-funnel-shaped shape, the color is red, brick-rusty, sometimes with dark rusty spots.
The leg can reach 6 cm in length, stiff, the color matches the color of the hat, a little lighter.
It grows from early August to late October in coniferous forests, small groups form the shape of rings, or grow in a row.
The inverted talker is recognized as poisonous because of the content in it of poisons similar to muscarine.
Translucent talker
Unaware mushroom pickers can confuse it with other members of the genus. The hat is round, hazel or ocher in color, after rains the surface is covered with a mucous membrane, it becomes sticky. The pulp is white, fleshy. The leg is in the shape of a cylinder, about 3.5-4 cm long. It is painted, like the hat, in ocher, brick tones, darkens with age and becomes dark red or bright brick.
It occurs in coniferous and deciduous forests, likes to settle on infertile soils, differs in that it grows in large groups.
Pale or grayish
Outwardly, young mushrooms of this species are very similar to a winter talker. The cap is more tuberous than that of a winter talker; over time, pits appear on it. In diameter it reaches a maximum of 5 cm. The leg is hollow, also slightly different in color from the winter one - at first it is grayish with a whitish bloom, then grayish-brownish. The pulp is watery, odorless.
It grows in fallen oak or birch leaves, some specimens are found in mixed and even coniferous forests. It grows alone, while most edible varieties grow in groups.
Whitish talker
A poisonous mushroom containing muscarine. The hat is small, only 1-4 cm in diameter, flat. Its color in the center and at the edges is different, in the middle it is pale red, and at the edges it is pale gray.
Pulp with a deceptively pleasant aroma, reminiscent of the smell of tomato seedlings. The leg is light gray in color, with a pinkish tint, to the base the color turns gray. It grows in meadows, deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests.
Reddish or furrowed
Deadly poisonous mushroom. The diameter of the hat is small, does not exceed 4 cm. The color can be different, from powdery white to pinkish-brown. Sometimes there is a slight powdery coating on the surface, as well as grayish spots. The pulp is fleshy, has a pleasant sweetish smell. The leg is thin and short, the shape is cylindrical. In young mushrooms - fibrous, in old - hollow.
Fruits in the second half of July to early November. You can meet her in the forest glades and fringes, and even in city parks.
Low-odd talker
The diameter of the cap reaches 6 cm. Initially, it is convex in shape, gradually develops with development, becomes flat or funnel-shaped. Color - beige, brown or taupe, covered with a waxy coating.
The leg reaches a length of up to 6 cm, cylindrical or flattened, located in the center. The color is slightly lighter than the color of the hat.
It grows in winter in mixed and pine forests from December to January.
Cash Talker
The cap body of the fungus in diameter reaches 6-10 cm, initially has a convex shape, with a curved edge and a noticeable tubercle, with time it becomes tuberous, with a lowered, wavy edge. Color - white or cream.
The leg is quite long, reaches 8 cm, cylindrical in shape, becomes hollow with age. Whitish in young representatives and grayish-brown in old mushrooms. The pulp is fleshy, whitish, with a sharp spicy aroma.
It grows from September to November, likes to settle in birch forests and conifers.
When picking mushrooms, follow the rule, if you are not sure about the edibility of the mushroom, then it is better to leave it in place.
Poisoning by poisonous species of talkers
Symptoms of muscarin toxin poisoning, which is found in the flesh of poisonous mushrooms, occur within 3 hours. They are expressed in the following:
- gastrointestinal dysfunction, severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps in the stomach and intestines - the main signs;
- failures in the cardiovascular system, they are accompanied by a sharp decrease in blood pressure, sinus bradycardia;
- excessive sweating;
- increased salivation;
- difficulty breathing, bronchospasm and asthma.
The most dangerous mushroom from the family of talkers is considered to be a waxy talker. Its flesh has a deceptively pleasant taste and aroma. Often the symptoms of poisoning do not appear in any way. However, on the fifth day, a person dies from acute renal failure.
Mushroom benefits
Talkers are quite useful mushrooms. They have the following qualities:
- increase human immunity;
- beneficial effect on the digestive system, as they contain components for enzymes. However, mushroom dishes should not be carried away;
- used in the treatment of diseases of the respiratory system and bladder;
- destroy cholesterol plaques;
- antibacterial ointments are prepared from them, which lubricate the wounds;
- hats of young representatives are rich in numerous micro and macro elements;
- pulp helps to remove accumulated toxins;
- a decoction of talkers is used to stop the manifestations of tuberculosis.
Mushroom harm
Edible talkers are harmless to humans. They are contraindicated only to people who have an allergic reaction to them. Do not give them to children and the elderly. They absorb toxins and harmful substances from the environment, so they must be collected in ecologically clean areas.
How to collect talkers?
Talkers are not such popular mushrooms, as they have poisonous doubles. They are mainly collected by experienced mushroom pickers. It is difficult for beginners to distinguish from this large family of edible representatives.
The most common on the territory of Russia are govorushchiki funnel and reddish, they can be found in shrubs, among trees, in glades. They grow in even rows, sometimes forming “witch circles”.
Is it possible to grow this type of mushroom yourself?
This is an unassuming mushroom. Therefore, they are grown in open ground on a site with young trees. Pretty quickly, the fungi form mycorrhiza with them.
Mycelium is planted in late spring - early summer, when the time of frost has passed. Three holes are dug near each tree - 20 cm deep and 15 cm in diameter. Half of them are filled with soil, you can use universal soil for indoor plants, which is purchased in a store. The mycelium is distributed evenly over the soil and covered with soil, well packed. Top pits are covered with needles, twigs, leaves. Gently water the planting with water.
However, it will be possible to enjoy the first harvest only after a year, the mycelium in one place bears fruit up to 5 years.
Talkers are a tasty and healthy mushroom with a strong pleasant aroma. But because of the toxic doubles, it is rarely collected and used for food and harvested for future use. In addition, the fungus plays a huge role in the life of the forest, actively participating in the process of humus formation.