Fruit hunting in the forest is a good way to have fun and prepare the collected forest gifts for the winter. Mushrooms grow abundantly in the Kaluga region. In different types of plantations, fruits are harvested, differing in quality and quantity. The collection should be approached responsibly: eating poisonous fruits is dangerous.
Types of mushrooms in the Kaluga region
Features of the region
The region belongs to the Eastern European part of the country. Meteorologists note a temperate climate suitable for the growth of crops. And the presence of forests allows picking mushrooms in the Kaluga region during the season and off-season. Forests occupy 45% of the territory, there are deciduous and coniferous plantations. There are moistened soils in the interfluve, favorable for the growth of fungi.
List of edible mushrooms
Edible mushrooms of the Kaluga region:
- boletus;
- mushrooms;
- white;
- boletus;
- aspen mushrooms;
- black hairs;
- chanterelles;
- boletus;
- camelina.
In season connoisseurs hunt for conditionally edible representatives of mushrooms, such as:
- milk mushrooms;
- pig;
- value;
- cobweb;
- wave.
The fruiting time of edible mushrooms is different. Harvesting begins in mid-July and continues until December. The peak is in August-September.
Mushrooms by seasons:
- Spring: white, champignon and mushrooms (early), morels and lines.
- Summer: boletus, white, mushrooms.
- Autumn: mushrooms, podgruzdki.
- Winter: rows, milk mushrooms, valui, late mushrooms.
Morel is a delicacy and a dream of any mushroom picker. Its edible (but less valuable) counterpart is the string. They have a similar structure, but the valuable morel has a hollow body in the cut, and at the line it is filled. Both types have decent palatability. However, the presence of the gyromitrin toxin was determined for the line.
Pets, stropharias, bruises also bear fruit in the forests, but they are ranked in the 4th category of edibility. They are not dangerous to human health after boiling, but the taste is poorly expressed, it can be enhanced with properly selected spices.
Irina Selyutina (Biologist):
Petsitsa mushrooms are small and bright, unusual in appearance, resemble bowls and with age, their fruit body flattens, turning into a saucer. Therefore, they are also called saucer mushrooms. In our understanding, the fungus does not have a cap, a young fruiting body (apothecia) resembling a bubble opens and the hymenium (the place of spore formation) is exposed to the environment. The flesh of these mushrooms is thin and brittle. There is no leg, there is a small formation, which is not characteristic of all species - a false leg. Pecice are cosmopolitan, because are found on almost all continents of the planet. According to the way of feeding, the saucers are saprophytes, they settle on rotten wood or earth.
Despite its diminutive size, the petsice has a high content of vitamin C, which makes it possible to recommend it for use during epidemics of viral infections and to strengthen immunity.
Honey mushrooms grow in the Kaluga Region more actively than other species. They are considered the hallmark of the region. Even at low temperatures, they do not freeze, but only stop growing. For the first harvest of these gifts, forests are sent after the thaws in late March-early April.
Inedible mushrooms
Dangerous types of mushrooms you need to know
Gathering mushrooms should be done carefully. During the "hunt" they stumble upon dangerous poisonous fruit bodies, which often look like the counterparts of edible species. The mushroom picker should have a list of dangerous species in his head.
Poisonous mushrooms in Kaluga:
- death cap;
- fly agaric;
- waxy talker;
- russula caustic;
- the pig is thin;
- the row is white;
- false foams are gray-yellow and brick-red.
Mushroom Sites Map
Mushroom places of the Kaluga region are located in the south of the region. But in other areas, in places, uncharacteristic species bear fruit. General guidelines for collection:
Visit the pine forests in autumn, there are few mushrooms in summer. Young and sparse forests are suitable for summer harvesting, preferably mixed.
- Boletus and aspen mushrooms are often found in self-planted birch forests.
- The plantations of young pines are rich in oils.
- Take a close look at the bark of deciduous trees - edible mushrooms are parasitizing on them.
- Ryzhiks are collected in clearings in coniferous forests. They also find milk mushrooms, mushrooms, and goats here.
- White mushroom grows in groups on the slopes of ravines, on the edges and under spruce trees.
The map suggests different mushroom spots in the Kaluga region. They go for mushrooms not far from the city - to the village of Leo Tolstoy (20 km) in the Obninsk region. Rich in honey agarics Kolyupansky forests and the town of Bolshiye Kozly. They also travel to Borovsk and Maloyaroslavets districts. A sure sign of the appearance of these mushrooms in the forest is a thick fog in September.
Porcini mushrooms are harvested in Borovsk district, and aspen mushrooms in early summer. On the railway they get to Diaghilevka - a generally recognized mushroom place in the region. The direction of movement is to the final station "Sukhinichi", and then get up at the "Diaghilevka" and walk along the young birch forests in the direction of abandoned gardens.
There are also mushroom spots in the vicinity of the Tikhonova Pustyn station. But to walk around to collect a basket, you will have from 10 to 20 km around. They also advise the suburb of the city of Balabanovo, but they say that there are not many mushrooms there every year.
In Slyadnevo (the railway station of the same name), mushrooms, chanterelles, boletus, boletus are found in the vicinity. There is a poisonous satanic mushroom in these places. Mixed forests grow in the area of the village of Zherelo, so all kinds of fruit bodies are collected here.
Some "hunt" along the Tula highway. But be careful and step back at least 500 m deep into the planting. Fruit bodies by the side of the road can be toxic due to settling exhaust gases. Along this road, they reach fertile places - Khotisin, Makarov.
Today the mushroom card has been replenished with several more places:
- the village of Ferzikovo;
- the village of Kostino;
- the area of the Blue Lakes.
For a novice mushroom picker, you need to know that picking mushrooms is not advised in Kaluga (within the city). They can cause poisoning. It is imperative for a mushroom picker-traveler to follow the rules of conduct during the "hunt" in remote places. It is especially important to follow the rule: "Enter the forest only during daylight hours and return before dark."
FOR MUSHROOMS IN KALUGA! Forest Tramps Club June 2019.
Mushroom paradise in the Kaluga region, mushroom picking. Huge meadows.
Forest tramps. Porcini mushrooms of the Kaluga region. Silent Hunt July 2019.
Conclusion
Honey mushrooms are considered the most prolific species in the Kaluga region. In the region there are many forests of various types, in which edible and conditionally edible mushrooms are collected. Delicious species such as morel and white come across. You can find many honey agarics in the village of Leo Tolstoy. And the most remote and deserted, but at the same time, a good place is Tikhonov Hermitage. Within the city limits, due to the unfavorable ecological situation, mushrooms can be toxic.