There are many varieties of mushrooms. The blackberry mushroom includes about 15 subspecies that differ in appearance and habitat. Some of them actively bear fruit in a temperate climate.
Using Blackberry Mushroom
Mushroom Characterization
A feature of the species is the appearance of the hymenophore. This is the part of the fetus on which the spore plates are located. In the species, it looks loose, in the form of pointed cones or spikes. It is this feature that made it possible to distinguish all subspecies into a separate family.
Blackberry mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible. This marker means that they are not poisonous, but they have low palatability, so they are limitedly used in cooking.
Range - mixed or coniferous forests. More often, the species is collected under the pines. Mushrooms prefer sandy soil, bear fruit in groups ("witch circle") from June to November.
Blackberry mushrooms are classified as conditionally edible
Varieties
The most common types are:
- comb;
- coral;
- motley;
- white;
- yellow.
Many subspecies of the family are not found in the nearest coniferous forest for 2 reasons:
- They are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book. Such fruits cannot be harvested so as not to reduce their population.
- They have a limited range: some grow only in the Far East, the Caucasus, China and the Crimea.
The description of the different species is different, because the color and shape of the fruit are affected by sunlight, soil features and weather conditions.
Comb mushroom
The appearance of the mushroom is a blackberry comb unusual. He has no legs, and the fruit body looks spherical. The hat is organized in the form of small cone-spikes with a length of 2 to 5 cm. The color of the fruit is yellowish-brown.
This is a wood-destroying fungus - it grows at the break points of branches or bark of deciduous trees. This species is listed in the Red Book.
Coral view
In science, a coral mushroom (or trellised blackberry) is a fruit that looks like a bush. It consists of coral processes. In diameter, the fruiting body reaches 20 cm, and the overgrown fruits are not suitable for eating.
The coral mushroom is harvested from late July to early September. This species is not easy to meet, because it is on the verge of extinction.
Motley subspecies
Mushroom blackberry motley (or tiled) was named, due to the color of the hat. Its diameter reaches 25 cm. It also has characteristic scaly growths. The leg is dense or hollow, of the same color with a hat or other shades.
Pulp Description:
- off-white or gray;
- spicy, pleasant smell in young plants;
- putrid odors in overripe fruits; their flesh is hard and dry to the touch.
Different types of blackberries differ in appearance
White blackberry
The white hedgehog has a strong dense leg up to 6 cm long. The fruit grows small, more often - up to 12 cm in diameter. As the hat grows, it bends inward along the edges. Its color and the color of the plates (in the form of cones) is white or light gray, yellowish. In a young fungus, the hymenophore in the form of thorns will be elastic and will not crumble.
Yellow mushroom
The subspecies is widespread in Russia and does not belong to endangered species. Selects saturated soil, it is easy to find on moistened meadows in low grass. Often grows in groups.
The hat is saturated red or yellow, sometimes fades in the sun until whitish. Her edges are uneven. The flesh is fleshy, darkens during cutting or during indentation. The young individual has a flesh with a pronounced fruity odor. And in the old one she gives a bitter aftertaste and smells unpleasant.
The leg of the fetus is in the form of a cylinder that expands to the bottom. It grows up to 8 cm long, can bend. Fruits yellow blackberry from mid-June to the end of October.
What is the fruit good for?
The pulp contains only 22 kcal per 100 g, so it is allowed to eat as a diet. In addition to proteins, fats (only 5%) and carbohydrates, the pulp contains a large list of trace elements and minerals. Useful properties are realized through an abundant amount of fiber, vitamin C, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
Caution is given to try mushrooms for children, people with diseases of the stomach and intestines, liver. They should be consumed in small quantities, because chitin in the pulp is digested for a long time.
Mushroom use
Blackberries are widely used in cooking and alternative medicine. Most of it is cooked in the East, they are also used as folk remedies for diseases there. In Russia, conditionally edible blackberries are often bypassed, ignoring their medicinal and nutritional properties.
Cookery
In Russia, conventionally edible fruits are used as a pickled or salty snack. To get rid of bitterness, they are left in cold water for several days. During the process, the fluid is changed a couple of times a day, then the fruits are quickly boiled.
The younger the fruits, the less they need to be processed. This family, especially the mottled appearance, is not consumed raw, because it causes severe poisoning. Due to the bitterness, some subspecies are not suitable for frying or drying. But yellow blackberries are fried after boiling and served with sour cream sauce.
Blackberry is widely used in cooking
The medicine
In traditional science, wild fruits are not used. They are used as part of skin ointments in cosmetology. Eastern peoples prepare infusions and decoctions of fruit bodies, legs. It is believed that the funds have a beneficial effect on:
- nervous system;
- blood vessels;
- heart;
- condition of skin, nails, hair;
- the work of the endocrine glands.
Before trying on the healing properties of traditional medicine, be sure to consult a doctor.
Cultivation methods
Representatives of a separate kingdom are easy to grow in their own area, if you make an effort to this. First of all, choose the right place. Do not plant them within a radius of 4 km from enterprises, roads and in country cooperatives.
Mycelium of fruits extends for kilometers underground and absorbs everything that enters the soil. Even edible mushrooms in such places are dangerous to human health.
To grow fruits in the country, it is recommended to create a mycelium. These are wooden fellings or containers with soil where dry or live material is planted. Blackberries love to grow in mixed forests - it is better to take the soil from there. Instead of land, it will turn out to use sawdust of the required wood species.
A harder method using logs. Method Description:
- On the log, holes are made with a drill with a depth of 4 cm and a diameter of 1 cm.
- They are staggered.
- Mushroom sticks are inserted into the holes, covered with a perforated cling film.
- The wood is cleaned in a warm and dark place, watered 2-3 times in 7 days.
When the legs start up the mycelium, the mycelium from the log is placed in water for 24 hours. Then the log is placed vertically (many types of blackberries grow on cuts of wood) and leave to grow.
Expect the harvest will have at least 6 months. In winter, they imitate hibernation: they remove the mycelium in the basement or cellar, covering it with sawdust or sprinkling it with leaves.
Conclusion
Blackberry is a common mushroom, but some of its subspecies are listed in the Red Book. It is grown in improvised mycelium in a summer house or cellar. In the coniferous or mixed forest, ordinary yellow, white blackberries are found. Comb and coral are on the verge of extinction. Blackberries are used in cooking and for preparing medicinal decoctions in traditional medicine.
