Content
The mushroom season in the Urals begins in spring and ends in mid-autumn. Honey mushrooms in the Urals are one of the types of mushrooms popular among mushroom pickers. The ecological system of the region allows for large harvests; for local residents, mushroom is not only a product of winter harvesting, but also brings a good income from the sale.
Types of edible honey agarics in the Urals
The territory of the Urals is a land rich in forests. Mixed and coniferous forests are found here. The continental climate with short but warm summers and frequent autumn rains is a favorable environment for abundant growth of honey agarics of different fruiting periods.
The Urals is a raw material base for the woodworking industry. After the felling of commercial timber, illiquid assets remain, which are a necessary medium for the spread of saprophytic fungi. The main species that are in demand among the local population are summer and autumn mushrooms. In the mountain forests in the southern Urals, spring honey agaric grows - the forest-loving colliery.
In terms of nutritional value, the species is inferior to autumn representatives, but is no less popular. Fruit bodies with a dark brown hygrophane cap are suitable for any processing method. Grow in colonies on the remains of deciduous wood.
Summer kyuneromyces volatile is a popular mushroom used for commercial cultivation.
Summer mushrooms form large groups on rotting stumps, trunks and branches of birch, less often linden. This is the most delicious representative of the genus, but with a short fruiting period, it grows within three weeks.
The mass harvest falls in the autumn, when the honey fungus begins to grow. The mushroom is unpretentious to the tree species, it can be found on coniferous dead wood. It settles on oak remains, near the root of hazel, aspen or birch.
Fruiting is long, in warm autumn with periodic precipitation, the last specimens can be found in early November.
Autumn representatives include thick-legged honey agaric - an equally popular species in the Urals.
Outwardly, it differs from ordinary mushroom with a thick leg and a scaly surface of the cap. The fungus grows only in forests on old stumps or trunks of cedars and pines.
The winter species includes velvety-footed flammulina.
The fungus prefers to grow on the trunk of a poplar or willow far from the soil surface. The fruit body is orange with an oily cap. It is characterized by a high gastronomic value.
No less popular is meadow mushroom growing in meadows, pastures, near low-growing bushes. Fruiting occurs from spring to autumn in warm weather after heavy rains.
It grows in long rows or in a semicircle.
Where honey mushrooms grow in the Urals
The varieties are found in all forests of the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. If we consider the southern part of the Urals, the mushrooms are followed by:
- To Lake Arakul, located between Verkhniy Ufaley and Vishnevogorodskiy in the northern direction.
- Northwest of Chelyabinsk. Representatives of the mushroom kingdom grow in the forests adjacent to Lake Kremenkul.
- To the Ilmensky Reserve, where all kinds of trees are found. This is a popular gathering place for fatfoot honey agarics.
- To the area of the Taganay National Park.
Mushroom places famous throughout the Urals in massifs near settlements:
- Kasli;
- Norkino;
- Tomino;
- Kyshtym-Ozersk;
- Troitsk;
- New keys.
In the Sverdlovsk Region, the following areas are popular with mushroom pickers:
- Krasnoufimsky;
- Serovsky.
- Kamensky;
- Nizhneserginsky;
- Krasnouralsky.
When honey agarics grow in the Urals
Each species begins to bear fruit at a certain period. Dates can fluctuate within 10 days, depending on the temperature and the amount of precipitation. Varieties grow in the following periods:
- The first colonies of the forest-loving colibia begin to appear after the daytime temperature reaches +10 0C, and will not drop to zero at night. In the Urals (approximately in May) there are spring rains, immediately after them you can harvest. The second fruiting of the species occurs in the autumn months with the same temperature regime.
- Kyuneromyces changeable grows only in a humid environment at a temperature not higher than +200 Fruiting abundantly, forms large colonies on aspen or birch fallen trees from mid-June to early July.
- Autumn species begin to appear at the end of August, the peak yield is in mid-September, mushrooms are collected in the region where there are mixed or coniferous trees.
- Flammulina is the last representative of the mushroom season. The formation of fruiting bodies begins at sub-zero temperatures. It grows even at -15 0C, then the growing season stops at the first thaws, for the Urals it is the end or mid-February.
Collection rules
Harvest far from industrial cities, since fruiting bodies accumulate carcinogenic substances and heavy metals, so edible species can cause poisoning. For this reason, mushrooms are not taken near the highway or city dump. Overripe specimens are not suitable for processing. It is not recommended to go to an unfamiliar forest alone without a means of communication and a supply of food. It is best to go accompanied by an experienced mushroom picker or with a compass.
How to find out if mushrooms have gone to the Urals
It is possible to determine when mushrooms will go to the Urals by the temperature regime. Each species begins to grow at certain rates. Autumn harvest begins after the temperature drops to + 15-17 0C and heavy rains. Fruit bodies are formed within a few days, the main fruiting is recorded a week after precipitation. Locals know mushroom places, many are engaged in the sale of the harvested crop. The appearance of mushroom products on local markets can also be considered the beginning of the season.
Conclusion
Honey mushrooms in the Urals grow in all massifs, in mountain and lakeside meadows. Each species forms fruiting bodies at a specific time. Harvesting continues throughout the year. The season opens with spring mushrooms, and ends with winter ones. The climatic conditions and ecological system of the Urals allows for a bountiful harvest, especially in autumn.
