Mushroom meadows located near highways and factory dumpsters, although they are within walking distance, are absolutely unsuitable for picking mushrooms. Mushrooms of the Leningrad Region appear in large numbers in the forests located near St. Petersburg.
Mushrooms in the Leningrad Region
Mushroom places
Mushrooms in the Leningrad region are now dangerous to collect because of the large number of roads and many factories that dump their waste into rivers. Under the influence of toxins, mushrooms accumulate hallucinogenic substances that negatively affect the nervous system, therefore, places for collection are selected with great care.
Coordinates of mushroom places:
- Sosnovy Bor: Priozersky District in the direction of the Vyborg highway.
- Pine massif: the village of Sosnovo, where an electric train from St. Petersburg runs from the Finsky railway station.
- In Scandinavia, turning to the village of Kirillovskoye, you will find excellent woodlands full of mushrooms. The train goes there.
- After passing the Vsevolozhsky district, you will find Sosnovy Bor. The distance between settlements is only 118 km. A more precise location will help to determine the atlas with the names of the villages.
- In the south of the lake Luga region there is a forest. It is easy to find it on the map.
- An electric train runs to the settlement of Zakhodskoye. This place is ideal for picking edible mushrooms.
Mushroom places in the Leningrad Region are represented by territories of pine and mixed forests. The soil here is peaty and sandy. Many mushrooms appear in the Leningrad region in autumn (September), in spring and summer there are fewer of them. The cleanest pine forests are located near Lake Zerkalnoye. More detailed descriptions with the coordinates of mushroom places in the Leningrad Region can be found by visiting the St. Petersburg mushroom pickers club.
If mushrooms have begun to grow in the Leningrad Region, you should be especially careful not to mistake poisonous counterparts for edible representatives.
Description of the region's mushrooms
Mushroom pickers in the Leningrad region collect the following types of edible mushrooms: morel, porcini mushroom, truffles, oyster mushrooms, veselka, chanterelles, boletus, aspen mushrooms, honey mushrooms.
Inedible hallucinogenic species are also found in the forests: psilocybin varieties, toadstools, false mushrooms, fly agarics, yellowing champignon, stitching.
Morel
The first spring edible mushrooms are morels. Appear in mixed forests in April-May. The mushroom cap is conical in shape, wrinkled.
Leg length up to 10 cm. White color. In terms of taste, it is second only to porcini mushrooms and aspen mushrooms. The mushroom is used to prepare various culinary delights.
White mushroom
Porcini mushrooms in the Leningrad region are harvested from July to September. They grow in a pine forest, on sandstones. The shape of the cap is round. The color is gray, the leg is dense, thick.
You can determine the edibility of a mushroom by its pleasant aroma. The false porcini mushroom or toadstool has a sulfuric-sour smell. Porcini mushrooms are suitable for cooking any culinary dishes, salting, pickling, but they are especially good when dried, when the aroma reaches its climax and just dizzy.
Truffles
Truffles grow at a depth of 15 cm
The Leningrad Region is one of the few regions in Russia where white truffles grow. You will need a trained pig or dog to collect it.
Collecting truffles is complicated by their underground origins. They grow at a depth of 15 cm, so it's difficult to find them. Always remember the place where the truffles were dug, the next year they will grow back there, if you are careful when collecting and do not damage the mycelium hyphae. Knowledgeable mushroom pickers keep the places of distribution of this species a secret, since a bag of underground mushrooms can bring income equal to the average monthly salary.
In appearance, the truffle resembles a shriveled apple or white quince. The ball has a dense structure.
Oyster mushrooms
The oyster mushroom picking season begins in September and lasts until the very frost. Edible mushrooms have been praised for their low calorie content. The cap is bent at the edges, resembles a shell in shape, its diameter in an adult specimen reaches 25 cm. The color is from milky to purple. The leg is thin, 2-3 cm high.
The pulp is juicy, dense in structure. Grows on dead trees and stumps. Suitable for preparing appetizers, first courses and side dishes.
Veselka
Grows singly in mixed and coniferous forests. The peak of fruiting occurs in August. The mycelium has not formed in one place for several years.
It is used to make medicines for a wide variety of diseases. They find it by its putrid smell. The cap and leg are covered with mucus. The most valuable is the mushroom in the "egg" stage, filled with a jelly-like liquid from the inside.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Although it is possible to collect an ordinary veselka, or a shameful one, from May to October, August is considered the best time. It was at this time that the peak of mycelium activity is observed in terms of the formation of young fruiting bodies. This means that it will be easier to find them.
For searches, you should choose sunny weather, but do not forget that the "damn egg", like other mushrooms, loves rain and it is after them that they will grow in wet weather.
When collecting "eggs" you need to carefully dig out with your hands or a small spatula (you can confiscate a child's scoop). If the mushroom has just begun to "hatch" - cut or pluck. However, in spite of the same spectrum of action, preference is usually given to the underground "egg". It is better to collect them in a wide container lined with a soft cloth so as not to be damaged during transport.
According to the way of nutrition, Veselka belongs to the group of soil saprophytes-gasteromycetes. There is an assumption that, depending on the growing conditions, veselka can also be a mycorrhizal forming agent with beech, oak and some shrubs, under which it is most often found, as well as a parasite of vines and rose bushes.
Chanterelles
Delicacy edible mushrooms. The surface of the cap is concave, reminiscent of a funnel, along the edges of the waves, curled towards the leg. The older the specimen, the more the shape of the cap begins to resemble a funnel. The pulp is compacted, not brittle. Possesses pleasant aroma and high taste.
Representatives of this species love pine forests. Fruiting bodies are formed in early summer, growing until mid-October. It is worth looking for them in open areas, under grass and leaves. Used for the preparation of pickles, various culinary dishes. The main advantage that mushroom pickers appreciate in chanterelles is that they do not become wormy. This is due to the presence in their pulp of a special natural compound - quinomannose.
Oil
Mushrooms are common in mixed and coniferous forests. If you find one, it means that there is a whole group somewhere nearby. The cap of the mushroom is semi-conical, about 15 cm in diameter. Covered with an oily brown skin.
The leg is dense, about 8 cm. It is painted white. The pulp is dense, spongy. Has a pleasant aroma of pine needles. Use the product for frying, cooking, salting and drying. The fruiting season begins in May-June and ends in September-October.
Boletus
Boletus is versatile in use
The name itself speaks of the habitat of the fungus. The hat is hemispherical, bright orange-brown color. In adult specimens, its diameter can reach 30 cm. In the village of Sosnovo, Priozersky district, 10-20 kg of aspen mushrooms can be collected in one trip.
The leg is dense, large, covered with small brown scales. The pulp is fibrous. Refers to universal products in terms of use. When fried it tastes like meat.
Honey mushrooms
They have a pleasant taste and aroma. They settle on stumps. The cap is convex; with age, its edge becomes wavy. Average size 12 cm.
The stem has a fibrous structure. Thin, long - 10 cm, widened in the upper part. The pulp is white, fibrous. Autumn boletus actively bear fruit throughout September.
The color of the cap depends on the type of wood on which the mushroom has settled. Acacia or poplar give honey-yellow tones. The oak is red, and the coniferous deadwood is brown-red.
Poisonous mushrooms
The genus Psilocybe of the Strophariaceae family has about 150 species. Its representatives are poisonous mushrooms that have a hallucinogenic effect. At the first use, no obvious consequences are observed. Long-term systematic consumption of these mushrooms causes persistent mental disorders.
They grow on and near stumps. The cap is conical, the leg is thin. Painted gray. Toadstools appear first. If you want to collect many mushrooms, focus on their location, edible species will definitely grow nearby. The cap of the toadstool is cone-shaped, pink.
Amanita muscaria live in forests of any type, poisonous. They cannot be confused with anything. White dots are clearly visible on red hats. The leg is high white. The place of settlement of poisonous mushrooms is similar to edible brethren. Legs are thin, hollow, bright-colored caps. The skin is smooth.
Yellowing champignons - poisonous mushrooms. The cap is white, turns bright yellow when squeezed. The use of this variety leads to serious poisoning. If dizziness, vomiting, loss of consciousness occurs after eating mushrooms, an immediate appointment with a doctor is required.
The lines are poisonous counterparts of morels. Their cap is shapeless, wrinkled, adherent to the stem along its entire length. The pulp is light, fragile, without a pronounced odor.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
The lines have a number of features, thanks to which it is easy to learn to distinguish them from edible morels, especially if you also look at the picture depicting their appearance:
- Hat: its surface resembles the kernel of a walnut or human brain.
- Hat shape: looks like a crumpled wad of paper, wrong.
- Leg: goes into the ground or forest floor, wide, can be hidden by a hat.
- Apothecia cavity: filled with sinuous pulp.
- Smell: very weak.
The high fruiting season begins in parallel with the morels.
Conclusion
Mushroom picking in the Leningrad Region begins in spring. To make your mushroom picking trip a success, get yourself a reference book with the names of edible and inedible species, and also consider all the tips above.