Mushrooms are a generous gift of nature, a forest miracle. People have been collecting and eating mushrooms for a long time. Scientists are studying the beneficial properties of our forest "friends". And cooks invent new recipes for their preparation. Mushrooms in Belarus today are divided into two groups: edible and inedible. Now in the republic there are 200 species of mushrooms that can be eaten. Let's take a closer look at them in the article below.
First mushrooms of the year
The mushroom picking season in Belarus starts early: already in April-May. The first rays of the gentle spring sun begin to warm, the trunks of birches are poured with juice. It is at this time that the first harvest of mushrooms can be harvested. What mushrooms grow in Belarus in early spring? These are morels and lines. When birch buds swell and turn red, and aspen earrings fluff up, you can safely look for “snowdrop” mushrooms in the forest. They grow on the slopes of ravines, forest clearings and clearings, old burnt areas and abandoned forest roads. The lines are brownsoft, velvety to the touch.
Their smell is pleasant. Their shape is squat, the top of the cap is folded. Morels have an olive-brown color, their hats are sharp in shape. Mushrooms of Belarus of the early period have such forms for a reason. The design helps absorb more heat and the first sunlight.
What mushrooms can you pick in May and early June?
The next season of mushroom hunting in the republic falls on the end of May - the beginning of June. At this time, rowan blossoms and rye begins to ear. There are few mushrooms at this time, but you can find them.
Mushrooms in Belarus at the beginning of summer grow on the brightest places in the forest: forest edges, clearings, in young forests where dense vegetation has not yet formed. There is no need to wait for a plentiful harvest at this time, since there is still not enough heat, although there is plenty of moisture in the ground. Mushrooms at the beginning of summer are usually called "scouts": they crawl out of the ground to check whether it is warm in the forest, whether it is already possible to grow en masse. This time of mushroom growth is short, it lasts about two weeks. What types of mushrooms are relevant in Belarus at this time? Butterfish, russula, mossiness mushrooms, you can also find porcini mushrooms.
What mushrooms are harvested during rye flowering?
Mid-June is a good time to harvest. During the flowering of rye, mushrooms can be found in the forest. After the flowering of lilies of the valley, it is time to collect chanterelles. They are unpretentious: they grow on any soil, in mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests. The main thing is that there is enough moisture in the soil. Also in June, aspen mushrooms, pigs and champignons appear. When the rye fades and the time comes for the harvest of strawberries, spikelets appear. They grow along country roads, under birches and oaks.
In birch forests they grow in whole families. When the first crop of spikelets departs, they move from the hot rays of the summer that is coming into force to the lowlands. They also grow closer to the swamps, hiding in their tall grass and moist soil. After thunderstorms and rains, the time of flywheels and colored russula comes. There are a lot of these mushrooms in the forests, they do not hide and are always visible to the naked eye. Their hats are bright: yellow, green, orange. That's what pleases the eye of a true mushroom picker!
Edible mushrooms of Belarus in the second decade of July
When the hot season of haymaking is left behind, linden begins to bloom, the second season of picking butter, boletus, boletus and porcini mushrooms comes. The species diversity of mushrooms at this moment is high, but the yield is small. This is due to weather conditions. In order for mushrooms to grow massively in the second decade of July, a certain air temperature and light rains are necessary. The rainfall must not be exceeded. For about two weeks, mushroom pickers can walk through the forest in search of a crop, then they will again be calm. But the last summer month really pleases mushroom pickers! This is the golden harvest time. In August, quiet hunters will find the largest and most diverse mushroom harvest. During the summer, the earth warmed up, the mycelium gained strength and grew. The fogs of August are a clear signal for the start of the season of the presentcollection.
Mushroom picking in August is the golden time
Foliage mushrooms - this is the third harvest season. Pigs, boletus, boletus are found in large quantities in the forests of Belarus. But there are also new types of mushrooms that are not found until the August pores. These are such edible mushrooms of Belarus as mushrooms, volushki. Mushroom pickers are very pleased with such gifts from the forest.
Aspen mushrooms usually appear first in August. The white leg and red cap are visible from afar, because these mushrooms do not hide. The red cap is found in a fungus growing under an aspen or in well-moistened soil. If he grew up in a clearing or forest road, his cap will be dark, and his leg will be thick. If it appeared in a birch forest, where spruce and pine are also found, its cap will have a yellow-red tint, and its thick leg will have scales. And, finally, the boletus, grown in a pine-birch forest with high soil moisture, will have a white hat.
Where do mushrooms grow?
Boroviks are recognized kings of the forest. They can grow in any forest in groups or alone. Particularly fond of mushrooms in the forests of Belarus are places where there are blueberries, lingonberries, fly agarics. They love mushrooms and many anthills. If the boletus grew in a spruce forest, then it is a strong brown mushroom with light spots.
In a pine forest it is different - dark, sometimes the hat even has a purple tint. Mushrooms grow under birches and oaks with a long stem, strong flesh and a light brown cap. Their legs are longerthan other mushrooms.
What to collect in Belarus by the end of August?
Boletus appear in the forests of the republic at the end of August. Depending on the place of growth, the appearance of the fungus also changes. In damp places of the forest, the boletus will be with a white leg and a dark gray hat. If mushroom picking in Belarus takes place in dry forests, then the specimens found are usually velvety. If you collect boletus in a clearing, the color of their cap will be almost black, and the leg will be thick. Such a boletus even resembles a porcini mushroom. Near the swamps and in damp birch forests, an obabok grows, which has a greenish or white leg. This mushroom is also known as the marsh boletus. In August, late butterflies growing in deciduous and coniferous forests also ripen.
Mushrooms of Belarus, growing with the onset of the first cold weather
As soon as the nights get colder and the trees dress up in colorful autumn attire, real mushrooms begin to grow. They surround the stump and climb it. People joke that they are cold on the ground, and they try to climb onto the still warm stumps. Often a huge number of mushrooms can be found on the trunks of weak trees, or even just on bare ground. The second season of real mushrooms goes from September until the frost.
Mushroom picking in September
The most beautiful month of the year in the republic is September. Fallen yellow and red leaves, adorning the ground with a fabulous carpet, make it difficult for mushroom pickers to find trophies. Mushrooms of Belarus, massively going in September, are volnushki, svinushki, milk mushrooms. By the way, waves, subject to warm weather, can massively go in October, inIndian summer period.
In September, mushrooms again move from the lowlands to high places, because the heat has again become insufficient. They appear at glades, in clearings, roads, hide in moss. For a very long time there is a collection of butterflies in birch forests, until the last leaves from the birches fall. From the second decade of September, oyster mushrooms appear in the forest. Their collection takes a long time, until October. Most often they can be found on stumps. Oyster mushrooms and mushrooms can grow until the first snow. At the same time, during the thaw, these mushrooms resume growth, remaining just as tasty.
What mushrooms should not be picked?
Unfortunately, poisonous mushrooms also grow in Belarus, however, as elsewhere. They contain harmful substances that do not disappear during heat treatment. It is very important to know which mushrooms are inedible, because eating them can cause severe poisoning and even death. Mushrooms that are similar to edible ones are especially dangerous - their "twins":
- Bile mushroom - very similar to white. Its second name is false boletus. If you cannot understand what kind of mushroom is in front of you, cut its hat. If the flesh turns pink before the eyes, then the mushroom is inedible.
- Pale grebe is an agaric mushroom with a hemispherical hat of light green, olive or slightly gray color. The stem is cylindrical, slightly thickened at the bottom. It happens that mushroom pickers confuse toadstool with champignon. If you see lamellar thickenings on a mushroom, it is poisonous.
- False frond - grows on rotten trunks,stumps and near them. Its main difference from edible honey agaric is the color of the plates. The edible mushroom has olive or whitish plates, while they are dark in the false mushroom.
- Pepper mushroom is the poisonous counterpart of butterdish. His hat is brown, rounded-convex. When the weather is wet or it rains in the forest, the hat becomes covered with slime, which should not happen with a true butter dish. The flesh of the mushroom turns red when broken.
- False chanterelle - grows in coniferous forests on stumps and tree trunks. Can grow in families and singly. The cap plates are brighter in color than the body. This sign distinguishes a poisonous mushroom from an edible one.
Mushrooms in Belarus today delight "quiet" hunters with their quantity and species diversity. Each mushroom season of the year brings something special and unique. The article describes the sequence of appearance of mushrooms in the Republic of Belarus from the earliest spring to the first frost. But do not forget that the weather often makes its own adjustments to the mushroom calendar. In cool weather, mushrooms grow more slowly; in warm, but not hot, their crops are plentiful. And after good rainfall, with a decrease in temperature in the forest, mushrooms will begin to reach for light and warmth. Keep this in mind when you go for a walk in the forest with a basket in your hands.
