Mushrooms of the Tula region in 2019 are very diverse and delight with their abundance. To get to Tula, you need to be on the way for 1-3 hours by bus, depending on what kind of forest you need. Before the trip, it is advisable to make a note about the local forests and types of mushrooms.
Mushrooms of the Tula region in 2019
Aleksinsky district
Aleksinsky District is located in the northwestern part of the Tula Region, where both coniferous and deciduous forests are located. However, there are few mushrooms here, and it is worth looking for them mainly in birch plantings. Boletus, boletus, porcini mushrooms and aspen milk mushrooms are often found here. Most of them are located in places with high humidity.
Boletus
Boletus boletus is represented by a number of species: red, yellow-brown, white, oak, colored-legged, pine, etc. In addition to the color of the cap, the boletus are also classified depending on the time of their fruiting: spikelets, stubble stubs and deciduous trees. Spikelets bear fruit from June to August, stubble plants - from the second half of July to November, deciduous - from August to November.
All varieties of boletus boletus are characterized by a brightly colored hat, a thickened (but not swollen) leg in the lower part and dense flesh.
- The diameter of the cap reaches 27-30 cm, at a young age it is hemispherical.
- The structure of the skin is dry and velvety to the touch.
- The length of the leg is about 21-23 cm, characterized by the presence of dark brown or black scales.
Boletus
Typical species are inherent for boletus: common, marsh, harsh, multi-colored, etc. The brown cap of an ordinary boletus is 6 to 13 cm in diameter. The collection is carried out from July to September.
The white or gray boletus leg is covered with dark scales, expands downward, reaching a diameter of 4 cm. The boletus bears fruit from the second half of June to November, and is widely used in cooking.
A gall fungus belongs to the poisonous twins, which, in the damaged area (or on the cut), changes the color of the pulp to a darker one. The marsh boletus has a light brown or whitish cap that is dry to the touch. It is usually odorless or tasteless and does not discolor at the incision. They will appear from June to September.
White mushrooms
Porcini mushrooms, or boletus, have a delicate aroma and rich taste. The cap is usually brown-brown in color, grows in diameter from 5 to 31 cm, and under ideal conditions even up to 50 cm. The fleshy part is dense in structure, fleshy and juicy, white. By old age, it turns somewhat yellow and becomes fibrous. The leg is medium in size and reaches 12 cm in length, while in diameter - up to 9 cm. In a young porcini mushroom, the leg acquires a barrel or clavate shape, but in the process of aging it looks more and more like a cylinder. The color of the cap varies from whitish to deep brown.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
- Since porcini mushrooms, like other species, are capable of accumulating various compounds hazardous to human health in their fruit bodies, it is not worth collecting old specimens.
- Although the porcini mushroom grows slower than the others, in one day it can gain much more mass than other mushrooms.
- With representatives of tree species, boletus mushrooms form ectotrophic mycorrhiza, when the hyphae of the mycelium of the fungus form peculiar dense outer covers on the youngest roots of trees. Partly the hyphae go from them into the soil, and partly they penetrate into the root cortex, spreading along the intercellular spaces, but not through the cells. As a result, an interesting single-layer mushroom tissue is formed - the Gartig net.
- In order to see the spores of this representative of the boletus - put the mushroom cap on a sheet of thick white paper and after 1-2 days removing it, you will find spore powder and you can use a magnifying glass to examine the pattern of the arrangement of the tubes.
Ceps should be picked from July to August.
Milk mushrooms
In the mushroom places of the Tula region, milk mushrooms are common. The aspen mushroom has a fleshy cap with a diameter of 7 to 30 cm with a small depression in the middle. For young mushrooms, pubescence of the edges is typical. The skin is white or slightly creamy, sometimes pink pigmentation is also found, in wet weather it becomes sticky. The pulp is of the same color, dense in structure, has a light aroma and rich taste. It is characteristic that the milk mushroom secretes a white, bitter milky juice. The leg is short, up to 8 cm in height, strong and tapering downward. The plates are densely arranged, with a narrow gap between them. Spore powder of pink color.
Venevsky district
Venev forests are rich in mushroom places
On the map of the Venevsky district of the Tula region, deciduous forests are indicated, where there are many mushroom places. In addition to the previously described aspen mushrooms, boletus and porcini mushrooms, mushroom pickers here also meet pigs and morels.
Piggy
The pig mushroom has about 35 varieties, among them there are thin, alder, felt or thick, panus-shaped tapinella and others. The pig has a thin brown-olive upper part, which, with age, changes color to brownish-rusty with gray splashes. The hat reaches from 13 to 20 cm in diameter. The fleshy part is dense in structure, of a light yellow hue, visibly loosens and darkens in old age. The stem of the mushroom is short, cylindrical. The collection takes place from June to October.
The alder pig species is a poisonous mushroom. Its cap, no more than 9 cm in diameter, has a funnel-shaped, pubescent edges. The pig is characterized by a yellow or reddish brown color with various shades. The skin of the fungus is dry and scaly. The fleshy part is odorless, dense at a young age, loosens with aging. The leg tapers significantly towards the base. Mushrooms bear fruit from July to October. In a thick pig, the cap is much larger and grows up to 20 cm in diameter, has a disproportionate shape. The upper part is brownish-olive, somewhat velvety to the touch, and cracks over time. The pulp is watery, slightly yellowish and does not have a pronounced aroma.
The panus-shaped tapinella, or ear-shaped pig, is characterized by a hard cap up to 12 cm in size. The leg is almost absent. The upper part of the mushroom is shaped like a fan or a shell. The edge is serrated or wavy. The hat is velvety at a young age. Its color ranges from brownish yellow to brownish red. The pulp is dense and slightly rubbery, light shades, with a rich pine scent. This mushroom is slightly poisonous, characterized by the presence of special compounds - lectins, therefore it is not suitable for human consumption.
Morel
Morel is one of the first spring mushrooms, found in both coniferous and deciduous forests. This mushroom is difficult to confuse with any other, as it has a number of characteristic features. Its cap is egg-shaped, with depressions, fits tightly on the leg. The upper part is brown, brown-black or just black. This mushroom is small, the length of the leg rarely even reaches 4 cm.
Morels usually grow singly, less often in groups. Unlike other mushrooms, the places of spore formation - asci (special bags), are located not under the cap, but on its surface in special recesses. Lines are considered their dangerous counterparts.
Morel is widely used in cooking: it is dried, boiled, fried, even consumed raw.
Leninsky district
Many of the described mushrooms are found on the territory of the Leninsky District, among which there are also boletus and chanterelles, typical for mushroom places.
Chanterelle
The common chanterelle is considered an edible mushroom, the color of which varies within the yellow range. The size of the upper part is from 4 to 13 cm. The flesh is usually fleshy, colored with yellow pigment at the edges, while in the middle it is white. The covering tissue is poorly separated from the flesh. The stem is short and usually does not exceed 8 cm. The spore powder is also colored with a yellowish pigment. Spores develop on the surface of rather thick folds - pseudoplates. The main advantage of the chanterelle is that it does not contain worms and larvae, since it contains hinomannose, which harms them.
The size of the cap of the gray chanterelle is 7-8 cm, the length of the leg is 9 cm, its thickness is 2 cm. This variety is characterized by a wavy ash-colored edge of the cap and a funnel in the central part. The fleshy part is dense, gray-brown in color. The taste is weak, there is no smell.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
In appearance, the gray chanterelle is very often confused with the black chanterelle (black funnel). The gray chanterelle grows in the same large groups as the black one and is quite similar in color to it. To distinguish, you need to look under the hat - the gray chanterelle has false or pseudo-plates, which are rather thick folds (like a real chanterelle), but they are absent in the black funnel.
The cinnabar-red chanterelle is remarkable, it has a small cap up to 5 cm in diameter with curved edges, a leg up to 4 cm long. Spore powder of creamy pink color. They are harvested in summer and autumn.
Oil
Butterlets are small mushrooms. Their upper, hemispherical cap rarely grows up to 15 cm. The thin skin of the oil is a distinctive feature, because in all weather conditions it is shiny and oily in young specimens. The peel is fairly loosely separated from the pulp, and the color varies from light to brown, depending on the place of growth. They prefer light young pine forests.
Conclusion
In many districts of the Tula region there are mushrooms that deserve the attention of both beginners and experienced mushroom pickers. It must be remembered that there are also many poisonous forms.