Meadow mushrooms (Marasmius oreades) are often called non-fungi, marasmius, meadowsweet or clove mushrooms. After adding water to the dried mushrooms, they come to life again and can produce spores. Many mushroom pickers have seen the picture when, after the rain, dry mushrooms 'come to life' again and continue to bear fruit.
Below you can familiarize yourself with the photos and descriptions of meadow mushrooms, find out how they look and when to pick these mushrooms.
What meadow mushrooms look like
Category: edible.
The hat (diameter 3-9 cm) is ocher, red-brown or yellowish. In dry weather, the cap of the meadow honey fungus fades to a light brown or cream color, in wet weather it becomes sticky and sticky. It has the shape of a hemisphere with a small central tubercle, which over time changes to a slightly convex or almost prostrate. The edges are rough and ribbed, almost transparent, paler than the center.
The photo shows what meadow mushrooms look like: the leg of these mushrooms 4-11 cm high is thin and winding, has a cylindrical shape and tapers slightly from bottom to top. It is velvety to the touch, with a slight mealy bloom. The color rarely differs from the cap.
Plates: ocher or light cream. Young mushrooms grow tightly to the stem, while old ones, on the contrary, are free.
Flesh: thin, white or yellowish in color, which does not change when cut and exposed to air. The scent is reminiscent of bitter almonds or cloves.
Twins of the meadow honey fungus: a young poisonous whitish talker (Clitocybe dealbata) and a wood-loving colibia (Collybia dryophila). But talkers do not have a tubercle on the cap and the smell of pulp is mealy. And the colibia has very frequent records and an extremely unpleasant smell.
When to collect meadow mushrooms and their use
Meadow mushrooms can be harvested when the weather is stable, from late May to mid-October. These mushrooms grow in the countries of Eurasia, North Africa and America. On the territory of Russia – in the North Caucasus and in Primorye.
Where can you find it: exclusively in open spaces – meadows, pastures, fields and forest edges.
When using meadow mushrooms in food, cooks use only hats, since the legs are very hard.
The use of meadow honey mushrooms in folk medicine (the data have not been confirmed and have not undergone clinical studies!): The meadow mushroom tincture contains a large amount of marasmic acid, effective in the fight against many bacteria, in particular Staphylococcus aureus.
