Russula is ocher, also known as lemon. Central Russia Russula: description and photo of mushrooms. What does Russula look like?

21.02.2024

External description

The ocher russula has a cap from six to ten centimeters. At first it looks like a hemisphere, slightly convex, and has curved edges. Then it becomes a little prostrate and presses in a little. The edge of the cap of this mushroom is smooth or ribbed. The cap is matte, dry, and in wet weather it is a little slimy. The usual color of such a hat is yellowish-ocher. The peel can be easily removed only from the edges of the cap.

Russula ocherous has frequent, thin plates. Mostly they have a white, cream, sometimes yellowish tint. Spore powder is light, sometimes ocher in color.

The stem of Russula ocher is thin, up to seven centimeters long, and dense. May be a little wrinkled. The color is white, sometimes yellow.

The flesh of the mushroom is dense, white, easily broken, with a slightly yellowish tint under the skin. It becomes darker at the incision site. The pulp has no smell, the taste is quite pungent.

Spreading

The ocher russula lives in our forests from late August to October. Favorite forests are coniferous, especially spruce and broad-leaved with a sufficient level of moisture. Grows on mosses and forest floors. In the southern regions of the country it is quite rare.

Edibility

Similar species

The ocher russula is similar to the brown russula (Russula mustelina). Its fruit body is dense and its taste is softer. Lives mainly in mountainous areas.

Russula ocher belongs to the large Russula family. It is also called lemon russula, pale ocher, ocher-yellow, ocher-white and pale yellow. This is a conditionally edible mushroom.

The Latin name of the mushroom is Russula ochroleuca.

At first, the shape of its cap resembles a hemisphere with curved edges, over time it becomes spread out, and even later becomes slightly depressed. The diameter of its cap is 6-10 centimeters. The edges of the cap can be smooth or ribbed. The surface of the cap is dry, matte, and in humid times it becomes a little slimy. The color of the cap is most often yellowish-ocher. The skin from the edges is easily removed.

Under the cap of the lemon russula there are thin, dense plates. Mostly the color of the plates is white or cream, and sometimes it can be yellowish. Ocher-colored spore powder.

The leg is thin, hollow inside. Its length reaches 7 centimeters. The surface of the stem may be slightly wrinkled. The color of the legs is white, sometimes yellow.

The pulp of the ocher russula is dense, but at the same time breaks easily. The color of the pulp is whitish, and under the skin there is a slight yellow tint. At the break, the flesh becomes darker. The taste of the pulp is quite pungent, and it has no smell.

Places where lemon russula grows.

This is the most famous type of russula, these mushrooms are ubiquitous, they grow in many forests of the temperate zone. Lemon russula bear fruit from August to October. Their favorite places to grow are coniferous forests, especially spruce forests. They also grow in deciduous forests with good humidity levels. These mushrooms settle on forest floors and mosses. In the southern regions of Russia they are rare.

Evaluation of the edibility of ocher russula.

Ocher russulas are assigned the third category. These are conditionally edible mushrooms, but some researchers consider them poisonous. Before eating, this type of russula must first be boiled.

Rules for collecting and processing russula.

Russulas are best collected from August to September. It is recommended to do this early in the morning. It is advisable to cut the mushrooms with a knife so that the tip of the stem remains in the ground and the mycelium remains unharmed. Before placing the lemon russula in the basket, it should be cleared of forest debris.

Collected mushrooms must be processed immediately upon arrival from the forest. They are sorted, cleaned, damaged areas are cut off and washed. Young, not overripe fruiting bodies are best suited for processing.

The most popular way to process russula is salting. They were called russula because they can be consumed just a couple of days after salting. The nutritional value of russula is reduced due to excessive fragility.

Ocher russula should be boiled for about 15 minutes before cooking, as they are conditionally edible. The broth must be drained; it cannot be consumed, since harmful substances remain in it.

Related species.

The marsh russula is a fairly well-known species. Her hat has a convex shape. Its surface is dry, most often dark red in color, with lighter edges. The leg is pink or white. The pulp has a slight fruity smell, but it has no taste. The color of the pulp is white.

Swamp russula grow in mixed forests. The fruiting period occurs in summer and autumn. Swamp russula is edible.

Green russula is no less famous representative of the family than the previous two species. Its cap can be from convex to concave. The color scheme of the cap varies from dirty yellow to green. The surface of the cap is shiny. The pulp tastes sweet. The color of the pulp is yellow or white.

Green russula grow in mixed and deciduous forests. Fruiting occurs in summer and autumn. There is a risk of confusing this type of russula with pale toadstools.

Russulas are fungi of the basidiomycetes department, class Agaricomycetes, order Russula (Russula, Russula), family Russula, genus Russula (lat. Russula).

Mushrooms received their Russian name due to the fact that many of them can be eaten after daily pickling. Some russula can be eaten raw, but there are also bitter-tasting types that it is advisable to soak before cooking to remove the bitterness. The Latin name of the genus arose from one of the colors of their cap: the word “russulus” translates as “reddish”.

Russula: description and photo of mushrooms. What does russula look like?

hat

The fruiting body of russula consists of a cap and a stalk. The shape of the cap changes as it grows and develops. In young russula it is semicircular, almost spherical, hemispherical; then it becomes convex or convex-prostrate, and in old mushrooms it becomes flat with a concave center or funnel-shaped.

The edges of the cap of different types of russula can be ribbed, wavy-curved, tuberous or smooth, changing with age. Some species have straight edges, while others have lowered or raised edges. Cap sizes vary from 2 to 15 cm.

The skin covering the cap, even for mushrooms of the same species, can be:

or smooth, damp and sticky;
or dry, matte, gently velvety.

The adhesive surface can dry out over time, and sometimes it is dry to begin with.

The skin separates from the flesh of the cap in different ways:

easily (in birch russula (lat. Russula betularum);
up to half (for sunny russula (lat. Russula solaris);
only along the edge (in golden russula (lat. Russula aurea).

The color of the russula cap includes almost all shades of the solar spectrum: red, yellow, green, purple, bluish, brown. The color is not always uniform: sometimes it has uneven spots and various color transitions, as if fading in the sun.

1. Golden russula (lat. Russula aurea), photo author: archenzo, CC BY-SA 3.0; 2. Turkish russula (lat. Russula turci), photo by: Maja Dumat, CC BY 2.0; 3. Green russula (lat. Russula aeruginea), photo by: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 3.0; 4. Light yellow russula (lat. Russula claroflava), photo author: Jerzy Opioła, CC BY-SA 4.0; 5. Stinging russula (lat. Russula emetica), photo by: Dohduhdah, Public Domain; 6. Black podgruzdok (lat. Russula adusta), photo author: Igor Lebedinsky, CC BY 3.0.

Hymenophore

The russula hymenophore, or the lower surface of the cap, consists of widely or narrowly adherent plates of varying length, thickness, frequency and color. Russula plates can be white, light yellow, light cream, slightly pinkish, ocher, lemon yellow.

Leg

More often there are russulas with cylindrical, regular shaped legs, less often - with spindle-shaped ones (olive russula (lat. R. olivacea), club-shaped (golden russula (lat. R. aurea), cylindrical, but narrowed towards the base (food russula, or edible (lat. R. vesca). The stem is attached to the middle of the cap. Its pulp changes with age; in young mushrooms it can be full, that is, loose, cotton wool-like or dense. As it ages, it develops cavities and becomes spongy and brittle. The color of the leg can be either light: white, yellowish, cream, pinkish, or dark: gray or brown. At its base there may be rusty spots, as, for example, in green russula (lat. R. aeruginea). The surface of the leg is smooth, bare, silky or velvety, and may become slightly wrinkled with age.

Pulp

The flesh of the cap is mainly white or very light shades; thick or thin; odorless or having a weak aroma and a different taste. When the fruiting body of the russula is broken, the milky juice is not released.

The plates, pulp and legs of russula are very fragile. The fragility and fragility of these mushrooms are given by spherocysts - special groups of vesicular cells that are located in the fruiting body.

Spore powder

Russula spore powder also has different colors: whitish, cream, light cream, yellow, light ocher.

Where and when do russula mushrooms grow?

Russulas are one of the most common mushrooms. They grow in Europe, Russia, Asia and America: from the Arctic to the tropics, but the vast majority are inhabitants of mid-latitudes. Some species are even found in Africa.

Russulas live in symbiosis, i.e. mutually beneficial partnership, with many types of trees (depending on the type of fungus) (beech, hornbeam, poplar, linden, alder, aspen), and in some cases with shrubs and herbaceous plants, and therefore are widespread in all types of forests: coniferous, deciduous, mixed. Different species prefer different soils: moist, sandy, marshy. Mushrooms bear fruit from spring to autumn, but the main season for russula is August-September, since at this time they appear most actively.

What are the types of russula: types, names, photos

Among the existing variety of russula, the number of which, according to various sources, ranges from 275 to 750, it is quite difficult to determine a specific species. An ordinary mushroom picker can recognize only 2-3 dozen species; in other cases, it is necessary to contact a specialist and even use chemical analysis. Externally, russula can be distinguished by the shape of the cap and stem, the structure of the subcap layer, as well as the color of the skin and pulp of the cap and stem, plates and spore powder. Russulas have great fragility, and from laticifers similar to them with this quality (lat. Lactarius) differ in that when cut and pressed they do not release milky juice.

Mushrooms of the genus Russula are divided into:

edible;
conditionally edible;
inedible.

Below are some varieties of russula that fall into each of these categories.

Edible russula

Edible russula are quite tasty mushrooms. They can be eaten fried, salted, pickled, and some even raw. The main thing is to know what they look like.

Green russula(lat.Russula aeruginea ) - edible russula. It has a pungent taste that disappears when boiled. The shape of the cap is initially hemispherical, then convex-spread, and then flat, with a sunken center, 4-9 cm in diameter. The cap is light at the edges and dark in the middle, has a green, olive-green, yellowish-green color, often with rusty-brown spots. The same spots cover the leg, the height of which is 4-7 cm, and the diameter is from 1 to 2.5 cm. The plates are white or cream-colored. The spores are creamy. The skin is sticky and comes off easily in some places. The pulp of this russula is white and does not change color when cut. The mushroom has no special smell. Green russula grows in forests of any type from June to October.

Russula yellow (light yellow, pale yellow, bright yellow) (lat. Russula claroflava) got its name from the color of its cap, which has a convex shape at the beginning and a flat shape as it grows. The diameter of the cap reaches 8 centimeters. The leg is cylindrical or barrel-shaped, changing color from white to gray with age. The white plates become grayish-black as the mushroom ages. The light flesh of russula turns gray when cut. It has a mild or astringent taste, but is odorless. Spore powder is light ocher in color. The peel is partially removed.

The mushroom grows in small groups on moist, mossy soils, under poplars, birches or alders. This russula is not very tasty, but quite edible.

Food russula (lat.Russula vesca ) – one of the most common types of mushrooms. Its cap, up to 10 cm in diameter, is dry, sometimes finely wrinkled, with a smooth or slightly ribbed edge, with undetectable or slightly peelable skin. The peel often does not reach the edge of the cap by 1-2 mm. It is pink, white-pink or burgundy-red, with most mushrooms having large white spots. The plates are frequent, branched near the stem, white or yellowish-white. The leg is pink, cylindrical, thinning downwards. The pulp is quite strong and white. This edible russula is boiled, fried and salted.

Russula is brownish, aromatic, purple, or herring (lat. Russula xerampelina) - an edible mushroom that fully justifies the name “russula”, since it can be eaten raw. The cap, with a diameter of 6 to 15 centimeters, is at first convex, then flat-depressed and straight. The color of the cap, depending on the tree under which this russula grows, varies.
- Under coniferous trees it is red with burgundy, carmine, brown or purple hues.
- Under oak trees - red-brown, pink or olive.
- Under the birches - yellow, yellowish-green, with purple edges.

The skin of the cap is initially slimy, then velvety, with half of the flesh behind it. The pulp is white, becomes brown with age, and in reaction with ferrous sulfate becomes green. The leg is brownish-reddish, with a pink tint, turning brown with age, 4-8 centimeters high. The spores are yellowish-cream. The taste of young russula is a little sharp, later inexpressive. The smell, on the contrary, is barely noticeable at first, but over time it becomes like herring. Russulas that turn brown grow from August to November in coniferous and deciduous forests.

Marsh Russula (lat. Russula paludosa) , popular name is float. This is the largest mushroom of the russula genus, with a cap diameter of up to 16 cm, a stem 10-15 cm high and 1-3 cm in diameter. It has a convex orange-red cap with a slightly depressed yellowish center. The fruit body is covered with a dry skin that becomes slightly sticky in humid weather. The plates of marsh russula are white, yellowish or light golden. Its flesh is pink, turning gray with age, and has a pleasant taste. Edible marsh russula grow in large groups on the sandy soil of coniferous forests.

Russula greenish, or scaly (lat. Russula virescens) – an edible mushroom, one of the best species for eating in the Russula family. The mushroom cap is large, up to 14 cm in diameter, with a velvety skin that quickly cracks into scales. Its shape, like that of many russula, changes with age. In young mushrooms it is spherical, in large russula its middle becomes concave. The color of the cap is a mixture of green, yellow, blue, ocher, copper and olive shades. The leg is white, with brown scales below. The plates are white. The mushroom is fleshy, with a sweetish nutty taste and odorless. Its flesh is dense and brittle; when cut, it turns from white to rusty. Greenish russula grow singly or in groups, preferring space under oaks, beeches and birches in deciduous and mixed forests.

Russula blue, or azure (lat. Russula azurea) - a species growing under coniferous trees, often under spruce trees. The diameter of the mushroom cap is from 3 to 10 cm. It is convex at an early age and flat with a concave center by the time the spores mature. The hat is colored in various shades of purple with a bluish admixture. The leg is whitish, velvety. The skin has a bluish coating and can be easily removed. Spore powder is white. Blue russulas are edible mushrooms with a pleasant taste.

Frequent plate loader, or nigella algae (lat.Russula densifolia ) - a mushroom of the russula genus. The diameter of its cap is less than 20 cm. When cut, the whitish flesh first turns red and then turns brown and black. The plates are light. As the mushroom ages, the outer color of the mushroom changes from grayish to olive, brown and brown. Loading is growing in the southern regions in deciduous and coniferous forests. The extract of this russula is used in medicine.

Russula gray (lat. Russula grisea ) - the earliest of the russulas. Grows in large groups in light pine or broad-leaved forests, in fresh, sandy soils, from June to August. Its cap is from 5 to 12 cm in diameter, of a traditional shape for russula: convex in young mushrooms and flat, funnel-shaped in old ones. Its color is bluish, gray, dirty gray or dirty lilac-blue, lighter towards the edges and dark in the middle. The leg is light. The peel is removed up to half the cap. The pulp of russula is dense, white, odorless, fresh or slightly pungent.

Loader white, or dry mushroom (lat. R u ssula d e lica ) . Synonyms: cracker, russula, pleasant, excellent. White podgrudki are often found in coniferous and deciduous forests in the northern part of the forest zone of Russia. They grow from July to October. The cap, up to 20 cm in diameter, is at first flat-convex with a curved edge and a depression in the middle, then funnel-shaped with a straightening edge, pure white, sometimes with brownish-yellow spots (scorching), first thin felt, then bare. White loading is characterized by the presence of adherent soil particles in the center of the cap.

The stem of the mushroom is up to 5 cm long, smooth, at first solid, then hollow, white, thin felt. The pulp is white, does not change when broken, is not pungent in the tissue of the cap, and bitter in the blades. The plates are descending, narrow, clean, sometimes forked towards the outer edge, bifurcated, white. The spores are colorless, ovoid-round. Usually this mushroom is salted. Salty podgrudok tastes good and has a pleasant white color.

Conditionally edible russula

Conditionally edible russula can be eaten only after heat treatment and in no case should it be eaten raw. This group includes:

Black russula, black podgrudok, or nigella (lat. Russula adusta) has a dirty white-gray cap when young and brown when mature. Its legs are lighter. The plates are dirty gray, the spores are colorless. The flesh first turns pink and then turns gray when cut, and on the stem it turns black when pressed. The cap of a young mushroom is convex and outstretched, then with a funnel in the center. The diameter of the cap is from 5 to 15 cm. The taste of the mushroom is mild, the smell is unpleasant. Black russula grow mainly in pine forests from July to October.

Russula ocher (lat. Russula ochroleuca) has many similar species epithets: pale ocher, pale yellow, lemon, ocher-yellow, ocher-white, ocher-yellow. The color of the cap corresponds to the name, its diameter is 5-12 cm. Hemispherical at first, then it becomes convex. The skin of this type of mushroom comes off easily in strips. Their stem is white with a brown tint, height from 3 to 8, diameter from 1 to 2.5 cm. The plates and spores are white or creamy. Ocher russulas are conditionally edible mushrooms that are often found in European forests of all types.

Russula is pink, beautiful, or rose-shaped (lat. Russula rosea) – conditionally edible mushroom. Named for the color of the cap, although it is not actually pink, but has shades of red to pinkish and can change with the weather to a pale lemon color. The diameter of the cap is from 4 to 12 cm. Its shape is semicircular, eventually becoming flat-spread with a concave center. The skin does not separate from the flesh of the cap. The height of the leg is from 3 to 8 cm, the diameter is from 1 to 3 cm, its color is white or pinkish, approximately like the cap. The plates are pinkish or creamy, sometimes reddish closer to the stem. The pulp is white with a sweetish odor, dense but brittle. Spore powder has light shades of ocher or cream color. Rose russula grow singly or in groups, from July to October, mainly in broad-leaved, but sometimes in coniferous forests, in well-drained soil.

Russula birch (caustic birch) (lat.Russula betularum ) – a conditionally edible mushroom that has a flat cap from 2 to 5 cm in diameter. Its color is very diverse: from dark red to white with a yellowish center. The peel comes off easily. The leg is brittle, with cavities, soaked from dampness, wrinkled on top, light in color. The pulp of russula is white, grayish when wet, practically odorless, and has a pungent taste. The spores are white.

According to their name, these mushrooms grow under birch trees in deciduous and mixed forests. They love damp or swampy places. Birch russula are edible after preliminary boiling.

Valuy (lat.Russula foetens ) – conditionally edible mushroom. Other names for the mushroom: plakun, goby, svinur, kulbir, uryupka, kubar, undertopolnik, kulak, cowshed. Grows in the forest zone of North America and Eurasia. Found in mountain, spruce, and deciduous forests. It is most abundant in oak forests and birch forests. Valui is collected from July to October. The mushroom cap is yellow-brown or ocher. Its maximum diameter is 15 cm. At first it is spherical, adjacent to the leg. Later it becomes flat, depressed in the center. The edge of the cap is thin and ribbed, with peeling skin. The mushroom is covered with mucus, especially in wet weather, for which it is nicknamed the crybaby. The leg of the value is cylindrical, 6-12 cm high and up to 3 cm thick. Light, may be covered with brown spots at the base. Bloated, empty inside. Its flesh is initially white and dense, becoming brown when cut. It tastes pungent and pungent and has an unpleasant smell of dampness. In dry and hot weather the smell disappears completely. The plates of the valuu are located frequently, they are adherent, initially white, later yellow. Drops of liquid are released along the edges of the plates, drying in the air and leaving brown spots. Its spores are round, colorless at the time of appearance and light ocher, spiny at the time of ripening. Mushrooms are suitable for pickling. To do this, it is better to collect valui with a cap up to 6 cm. Their legs are cut to the base and blanched before salting. Cooked this way they taste good. Valui is also used to make mushroom caviar.

The loader is turning black, or Russula blackening (lat.Russula nigricans ) - a large conditionally edible mushroom, initially with a convex, then with a flat-spread cap and a slightly depressed middle. The color of the cap varies from whitish to sooty brown. Its maximum diameter is 20 cm. The flesh is white, first turning red when cut, and then turning black. The mushroom stem is short, strong, covered with veins. The plates are not typical for russula: thick, different in length, sparse, at first yellowish, later dark and even black. The load grows from July to October, mainly in coniferous forests.

Russula reddening false (lat. Russula fuscorubroides) . The mushroom grows singly or in small groups in pine and spruce forests from June to August. It has a smooth lilac-purple or black cap, convex-flat in young specimens and depressed in the middle with fringed edges in mature ones. Its diameter is from 4 to 14 cm. The leg is 4-9 cm high and 7-15 mm thick, purple, with blood-red longitudinal grooves, cylindrical, tapering upward. The plates are adherent, narrow, arched, ocher-white in color. The spores are also ocher-white. Because of its pungent taste, russula is used to prepare spicy seasonings. It can be eaten after preliminary boiling in two or three waters.

- this is not just a territory that unites several central regions of the country: Vladimir, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, Yaroslavl.

is a land of picturesque and truly Russian nature: coniferous and deciduous forests, clean lakes and rivers, fresh air and a harmonious climate familiar to us since childhood.

- These are slow-flowing rivers with wide floodplains, occupied by water meadows. Thick, dark, overgrown with moss, like enchanted spruce trees. Magnificent broad-leaved forests consisting of huge oaks, ash trees, maples. These are sunny pine forests and cheerful, pleasing birch forests. Dense thickets of hazel on a carpet of tall ferns.

And beautiful clearings, strewn with flowers emitting intoxicating odors, are replaced by huge islands of impenetrable thickets, where tall fluffy spruces and pines live their measured, centuries-old life. They seem like incredible giants who slowly make way for uninvited guests.

In the thicket you can see old dried driftwood everywhere, so intricately curved that it seemed like there was a goblin lurking behind the hillock, and a pretty kikimora was peacefully dozing near the stone.

And endless fields, going either into the forest or into the sky. And all around - only the singing of birds and the chirping of grasshoppers.

This is where the largest rivers of the Russian Plain: Volga, Dnieper, Don, Oka, Western Dvina. The source of the Volga is a legend of Russia, the pilgrimage to which never stops.

IN middle lane more than a thousand lakes. The most beautiful and popular of them is Lake Seliger. Even the densely populated Moscow region is rich in beautiful lakes and rivers, sometimes even intact cottages and high fences.

The nature of the middle zone, glorified by artists, poets and writers, fills a person with peace of mind and opens his eyes to the amazing beauty of his native land.

It is famous not only for its literally fabulous nature, but also for its historical monuments. This - the face of the Russian province, in some places, in spite of everything, even preserving the architectural appearance of the 18th-19th centuries.

In the middle zone there are most of the cities of the world famous Golden Ring of Russia - Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov Veliky, Uglich, Sergiev Posad and others, ancient landowner estates, monasteries and temples, architectural monuments. Their beauty cannot be described; you have to see it with your own eyes and, as they say, feel the breath of deep antiquity.

But the most fruitful and happy thing for me was my acquaintance with central Russia... It captured me immediately and forever... Since then, I have not known anything closer to me than our simple Russian people, and nothing more beautiful than our land. I will not exchange Central Russia for the most famous and stunning beauties of the globe. Now I remember with an indulgent smile my youthful dreams of yew forests and tropical thunderstorms. I would give all the elegance of the Gulf of Naples with its feast of colors for a willow bush wet from the rain on the sandy bank of the Oka or for the winding Taruska River - on its modest banks I now often live for a long time.

Wrote by K.G. Paustovsky.

Or you can just climb into some remote village and enjoy nature far from civilization. The people here are very welcoming and friendly.