Spotted hygrophorus (Hygrophorus pustulatus)
Systematics:
- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
- Family: Hygrophoraceae (Hygrophoric)
- Genus: Hygrophorus (Gigrofor)
- Species: Hygrophorus pustulatus (Gigroforus spotted)
Other names:
-
Gigrofor pimpled
-
Bubble hygrophor
Cap of spotted hygrophor: 2-5 cm in diameter, convex in young mushrooms, later prostrate, usually with a turned-up edge, slightly concave in the center. The surface of the grayish cap (lighter at the edges than in the center) is densely covered with small scales. In wet weather, the surface of the cap becomes slimy, the scales are not so noticeable, from which the mushroom as a whole may look lighter. The flesh of the cap is white, thin, fragile, without any special smell or taste.
Blades: Sparse, deeply descending on the peduncle, white.
Spore powder: White.
The leg of the spotted hygrophor: Height – 4-8 cm, thickness – about 0.5 cm, white, covered with noticeable dark scales, which in itself is a good distinguishing feature of the spotted hygrophor. The flesh of the leg is fibrous, not as fragile as in the cap.
Distribution: Spotted Gigrofor occurs from mid-September to late October in coniferous or mixed forests, forming mycorrhiza with spruce; in good seasons it bears fruit in very large groups, although the general inconspicuousness prevents this worthy hygrophor from gaining fame.
Similar views: Wrong formulation of the question. There are a lot of hygrophors, similar to each other, like two drops of water. The value of Hygrophorus pustulatus is that it is different. In particular, noticeable pimpled scales on the stem and cap, as well as large-scale fruiting. Edible: Edible, like the vast majority of hygrophors; however, it is difficult to say how much. It is considered a little-known edible mushroom with a delicate sweetish taste; it is used fresh (boiling for about 5 minutes), in soups and main dishes.
Remarks Gigroforos themselves are very interesting mushrooms, with their own inner meaning. Just like Lao Tzu said that a noble man should be like a crooked dry tree growing the devil knows where (so that no one cares about him), so hygrophors – Small nondescript mushrooms growing on poor soils, forming mycorrhiza with poor herbs and timid trees, they do not pretend to anything special, but they stand firmly on their feet. The same spotted hygrophor, say, could compete in popularity with some kind of honey fungus and chanterelle. However, he does not argue. He doesn't need to be collected. He lives for himself in harmony with his surroundings, somehow avoiding greedy human attention, and not even hiding (hiding, as we know from the example of a truffle, does not help either), but just somehow. True Tao cannot be expressed in words, but it can be expressed by mushrooms. It's all.
