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Scaly mushroom is not the most popular species among mushroom pickers. It is ubiquitous, very bright and noticeable, but not everyone knows about its edibility. Although the genus Scalychatka includes conditionally edible and inedible species, some of them are rated higher by gourmets than honey mushrooms. To distinguish in the forest and safely try an unusual mushroom, you should study the features of the family.
General description of scales
Scale (Pholiota), foliota, royal honey fungus, willow - different names of the same genus from the family of saprophytes, parasitizing trees, their roots, stumps. Moreover, different species prefer living, dry, almost decomposed and even burnt wood.
The genus of flakes has more than 100 varieties. Mushrooms can differ greatly in appearance, taste and even smell, but they have similar features, by which they are easily recognizable in any locality. The fruiting body of any of the scales consists of a cap and a leg. Sizes range from large (18 cm in diameter and more than 15 cm in height) to very small specimens (up to 3 cm). The plates under the mushroom cap are thin, frequent, light beige or brownish, becoming brown as they grow older.
The bedspread envelops the youngest specimens. With age, it breaks, leaving a hanging fringe and sometimes a ring on the leg. The hat, round, hemispherical in young growth, unfolds into a flat or slightly rounded shape, sometimes growing to the size of an adult's palm.
The stem of the fungus is cylindrical, fibrous or hollow. It can be slightly narrowed or widened towards the base. Depending on the growing conditions, it remains short or stretches up to almost 20 cm.
A distinctive feature of the genus is the presence of frequent, well-distinguishable scales on the cap and stalk. Sometimes they clearly stand out, in other species they fit tightly to the surface, but always differ in color from the fruiting body. In some species, the scales become almost invisible on old mushrooms.
Foliot hats are almost always colored in shades of yellow. All representatives of the genus are distinguished by the presence of a shade of ocher even in the palest specimens, which sharply distinguishes the mushrooms against the background of forest litter and trunks. There are types of scales with bright orange, golden, brown, pale yellow colors.
The flesh of the cap is fleshy, creamy, white or yellowish. The stem is stiff, fibrous or hollow and therefore not used for food. In edible specimens, the flesh on the break does not change color. The foliot does not have a pronounced mushroom smell. Different types have their own specific shades of taste or are completely devoid of it. Scale spores are brown, orange or yellow.
Types of scales
On the territory of Russia there are about 30 types of foliots. The collection of such mushrooms and their culinary use have been gaining popularity only in recent years. Not all mushroom pickers know the distinctive features of different species. Before using unusual mushrooms, it is worth examining the flake from the photo with descriptions.
- Common scaly - the most famous type, also called fleecy or dry. The diameter of the cap is from 5 to 10 cm, the color is beige or pale yellow with brightly colored (to brown) protruding scales. The edges of the opened adult cap are often "decorated" with a fringe made of scraps of the integumentary membrane.The pulp of the mushroom is conditionally edible, white or yellowish, has a pungent taste and a sharp radish smell.
- Scale golden - the largest foliot: the cap can grow up to 20 cm in diameter, the leg up to 25 cm in height. The fruit body is bright, yellow, with a golden or orange tint. Scales are sparse, appressed, bright reddish or brown. The pulp has no smell, no pronounced taste, but is highly valued among mushroom lovers for its pleasant marmalade consistency after cooking.
Advice! Golden flakes are edible, and experienced mushroom pickers call them "royal honey" and are collected along with other valuable species. Be sure to start cooking mushrooms with boiling for 30 minutes. - Flame scale - an inedible variety of foliot. Mushrooms of this type are smaller (up to 7 cm in diameter), and the caps have a copper or red tint, thickening towards the center. The scales are large, patterned, sometimes tucked up, lighter in shade than the cap and legs. The pulp is dense, yellow, turning brown at the break, with an unpleasant odor and an astringent bitter taste. Flame scales are ranked among inedible types of mushrooms due to their low culinary qualities.
- Scaly sticky It is little known as an edible mushroom due to the poor quality of the pulp and unpleasant stickiness on the surface of the cap. The scales are pressed and hardly noticeable; they disappear as the mushroom matures. The cap is medium (up to 8 cm in diameter), the stem is thin, tapering towards the top, can stretch up to 10 cm. The creamy pulp is edible, has a slight mushroom smell.
- Scaly mucosa it is distinguished by a bright brown or yellow cap covered with abundant mucus. The scales are light, along the edge of the cap there are scraps of a filmy bedspread. In hot weather, the surface of the mushroom dries up, and mucus appears when the air humidity is high. The pulp of the mushroom is thick, yellow, with a bitter taste, has no pronounced smell.
- Destructive scales found on dry, weakened poplars, its second name is poplar foliot (poplar). The vital activity of fungi actively destroys the wood of the host plant. The caps grow up to 20 cm, their surface is light brown or yellow, the scales are light. The pulp is inedible, but only in terms of taste, there are no toxic or poisonous substances in the flake.
- Edible flakes (honey agaric hint) is the only cultivated species grown on an industrial scale in China and Japan. For successful cultivation, it requires humidity above 90%, therefore it grows indoors. The mushrooms are small, the diameter of the cap is up to 2 cm. Fruit bodies are pale brown or orange, completely covered with jelly-like mucus. They resemble honey mushrooms in taste, as well as in appearance.
- Boron flakes - an edible mushroom growing in pine, mixed forests, clearings, among dead wood. The diameter of an adult prostrate cap is about 8 cm, young fruiting bodies are hemispherical. Regardless of the main color (yellow or red), the cap becomes greenish to the edge. The surface is smooth, the scales are frequent, yellow, acquire a rusty hue over time. The leg is round in cross section, thin (about 1 cm in diameter), hollow, densely scaly. The light color at the cap turns to rusty towards the base. The pulp is odorless, except for specimens growing on pine. Such mushrooms acquire a specific aroma, but remain edible.
- Scale yellow-greenish has a second name - gum-bearing and refers to conditionally edible species. Most often it grows on stumps or fallen trunks of deciduous trees, sometimes it is found in open glades with sparse grass. The cap of a young mushroom is bell-shaped, in an adult it is prostrate, slightly convex, with a diameter of about 5 cm. The plates under the cap are lemon-green, the color of the body of the mushroom is pale yellow or creamy green, the flesh is thin, edible, odorless.
- Alder flakes (moth) looks more like mushrooms than relatives due to the fact that the scales on it are poorly distinguishable. The similarity is dangerous due to the presence of toxins in the composition.This is the only flake, the use of which poses a serious threat to health. As you can see in the photo, the poisonous scaly has a lemon shade of the entire fruiting body, the remnants of the ring from the veil on the leg are noticeable, the cap does not grow more than 6 cm in diameter. The fungus prefers to settle on alder or birch wood, but can appear on a wide variety of deciduous species. The moth does not grow on conifers.
- Protruding scaly - a type of flake, which is not dangerous to confuse with mushrooms. Both mushrooms are edible and also similar in preparation. Young caps are rounded, adults are flat or domed, often more than 15 cm in diameter. The mushrooms are dry and light to the touch. Color - from straw to red or brown. Scales are frequent, clearly expressed, to the edge of the cap are long, curved.
Important! The scaly scales, according to the photo and description, are similar to fiery ones, recognized as inedible, differs from it in a weak rare aroma and a slight pungent aftertaste. No repulsive odor is observed in the pulp.
- Cinder (coal-loving) flake always sprinkled with soot and ash, because the mushroom grows in the places of old fireplaces or forest fires. The hat is sticky, so it quickly takes on a dirty brown tint. Scales on a low stalk are reddish. The pulp is yellow, rough, tasteless, odorless, therefore it is not of value for culinary use.
When, where and how scales grow
Fungi from the genus Scalychia grow and develop well on live or rotten trunks of deciduous trees, on conifers, in forests, parks, on free standing trees. Less common are specimens located on forest floor or open soil.
The distribution area of flakes is temperate latitudes with high air humidity. Mushrooms are widespread in North America, Australia, Europe, China, Japan, Russia. It is especially common to find flakes in dead forests. Most species require dense shade to grow.
How to collect correctly
There are no false flakes that are hazardous to health that can be confused with them when collected. The characteristic roughness, easily found in most species, always distinguishes mushrooms from poisonous "imitators". Another feature that distinguishes flakes is bright colors with an admixture of ocher.
Mushrooms are collected according to the general rules: they are carefully cut with a knife, leaving the mycelium in place. After a few weeks in the same place, you can collect the scales again. Most often, mushrooms appear in the middle of summer, sometimes the first families of foliots are found in May. Harvesting continues until late autumn, mushrooms can withstand even small frosts.
An unpleasant smell or bitter taste warns of the inedibility of the mushroom. Toxic types of scales are distinguished by a broken cap or leg. The pulp in the air changes color, becoming brown. Conditionally edible species are rather pungent in smell and taste, there is no real bitterness in them.
Chemical composition and value of flake
Foliota pulp is low in calories and contains many valuable substances. Its nutritional value and chemical composition differ slightly depending on the place or growing conditions. So flakes growing in polluted places absorb toxins, becoming unsuitable for food.
Nutritional value of foliot per 100 g of edible part:
- total calorie content - 22 kcal;
- proteins - 2.2 g;
- fats - 1.2 g;
- carbohydrates - 0.5 g;
- dietary fiber - 5.1 g
Flake pulp in significant quantities contains vitamins and minerals that are valuable for the human body.The vitamin composition includes: B1, B2, E, nicotinic and ascorbic acids. The mineral composition is distinguished by a high content of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, and iron compounds.
Useful properties of flakes
The pulp of mushrooms, after proper processing, can serve as a source of almost all essential amino acids, and in terms of the content of calcium and phosphorus, flake competes with fish fillets.
Even mucus that envelops the fruit bodies of some types of mushrooms has beneficial properties. Golden scales and a hint of a jelly-like substance exhibit the following properties:
- enhance the body's immune defenses;
- normalize cerebral circulation;
- tone up, relieve fatigue.
Due to the presence of potassium, magnesium, iron, hematopoiesis improves, the work of the heart muscle increases, and the passage of impulses along the nerve endings is normalized. The low calorie content allows the use of mushrooms in the diet for patients with diabetes mellitus. A large amount of fiber in the product prevents constipation and has a beneficial effect on bowel function.
What harm can mushrooms do
Only a few of the described species can harm the human body, others are rejected due to their low taste. But even edible flake has its own limitations for admission.
Absolute contraindications and risk factors:
- Childhood, pregnancy or lactation completely exclude the intake of flakes inside.
- Simultaneous use with alcoholic beverages of any strength causes severe intoxication (disulfiram-like syndrome).
- With cholecystitis, pancreatitis, gastritis, the reception of flakes, most often, provokes an exacerbation.
- It is forbidden to use overripe, wormy specimens or mushrooms collected in places with a dubious ecological situation (including soil pollution with household waste, the proximity of cattle burial grounds, chemical industries) for food.
- All edible types of flakes must be boiled before use. The meconic acid in raw mushrooms can cause mental health problems.
Sometimes there is an individual intolerance or an allergic reaction to edible types of flakes.
The use of flakes in traditional medicine
The unique properties are given to foliots by the presence of squarrozidine. The substance, entering the human body, reduces the crystallization and deposition of uric acid. This action relieves the condition of patients with gout. The properties of an inhibitor with the same composition are used by official medicine in traditional therapy of the disease. The property of some compounds in the composition of fungi of the genus scale is studied to stop the spread of cancer cells.
Decoctions or tinctures are prepared from edible foliot for the treatment of such diseases of the heart and vascular bed:
- arterial hypertension;
- phlebeurysm;
- thrombophlebitis;
- atherosclerosis.
Medicinal compositions based on flake increase hemoglobin, help with anemia, thyroid disorders. Means from the alder moth in folk medicine are used as a strong laxative and emetic.
Cooking applications
In the list of edible and inedible mushrooms, flake takes the place of conditionally edible, which means their culinary use after preliminary boiling (at least ½ hour). In terms of nutritional value, foliot pulp is assigned to the fourth category. The flakes have a mediocre taste, but can be prepared using the usual recipes for mushrooms.
Culinary uses of foliot:
- For soups, main courses, sauces, fillings in baked goods, caps of adult scales or young, whole round mushrooms are collected.
- For salting, marinades, the fruit body is completely suitable, excluding the hollow legs.
- If the pulp is bitter, it is recommended to soak it overnight, boil it, and then pickle it with spices.
Fresh mushrooms are boiled, the first water is drained, and then canned, fried or added to soups. For flakes, any recipes for honey mushrooms are applicable. After cooking, the pulp acquires a beautiful bronze color and an almost transparent consistency of dense marmalade.
Conclusion
The scaly mushroom is gaining popularity due to its prevalence and unpretentiousness to weather conditions. Of the types of foliots that grow in deciduous forests, one should distinguish the most suitable for eating types of golden, common, gum-bearing scales. Moderate consumption of these mushrooms in food can significantly improve the body, charging it with energy and supplying rare, essential substances.
