The most common edible mushrooms are known even to novice mushroom pickers. But there are species that are known only to experienced lovers of "silent hunting." White rowan is one of the popular mushrooms and is often found in the forest. How it looks and whether its use in food is possible is considered in this article.
Where does mushroom grow and what does mushroom look like?
This is an ordinary lamellar mushroom of the family Ordinary has a Latin name Tricholoma album. Its appearance often baffles inexperienced mushroom pickers. It has similarities with some deadly poisonous mushrooms such as pale toadstools or white mushrooms, from which it is difficult to distinguish both in the photo and in the forest.
The species grows throughout Europe in colonies or rows, justifying its name. You can find whole strips of rows, which are located under the canopy of dense deciduous or mixed forest.
Important! The “plantation” of white rowing can be recognized by the cracked legs of old mushrooms.
The description of this type of tricholoma is as follows:
| Hat | A large white hat (diameter up to 12 cm) sometimes cracks at the edges. The surface is always dry, slightly rough, in small specimens it is slightly turned down. In the middle of the cap is a tubercle. With age, this part turns brown, after which the whole hat loses its white color. |
| Hat plates | The spore-bearing part of any fungus is called the hymenophore. In leaf mushrooms, these are the plates that are on the underside of the cap. In young Trichol, the color of the plates is white, in the old - yellowish. The plates grow to the leg and go down a little on it - by 1-2 mm |
| Leg | Powerful and elastic, its diameter reaches 2 cm, reliably holds a hat of rather big sizes. In young mushrooms, this part is snow-white, but with age becomes brown or even black. |
| Pulp | White, dense and fleshy, with fibers. At the fracture point, it changes color to pink over time. A distinctive feature of this type of rowing is the unpleasant smell of its pulp, - mushroom pickers note that it looks like fresh mold, a sweetheart cut of a radish or miasma during bowel movements. The smell is so strong that the colony can be “sniffed” with Tricholum for several tens of meters. |
| Disputes | They are on plates and have an oblong shape. Spore powder is white and fairly dense. |
Edible or not white rowing
This species is not edible and is included in the group of weakly poisonous mushrooms.. It has an unpleasant odor, and the taste of its pulp is pungent and burning. When used in food, it can cause intestinal upset, diarrhea and discomfort in the abdominal cavity.
Did you know? In England, edible types of rowing are equal in status to truffles and morels. The British call it the St. George mushroom.
Chemical composition
The rowers are characterized by a high content of such useful substances:
- cellulose;
- carbohydrates;
- proteins;
- B vitamins;
- copper;
- potassium;
- zinc;
- manganese;
- phosphorus;
- iron.
In insignificant quantities, there are many other useful micro and macro elements.
Useful properties of the mushroom
Given the fact that this fungus is not edible, it should be treated with extreme caution. For many centuries, traditional medicine has identified some qualities that can help in the treatment of a number of diseases, helping the main course of treatment. With the help of rowing, it is possible to destroy pathogenic microorganisms, reduce the influence of inflammatory processes and strengthen immunity.
Cooking Application
Conditional toxicity of the species allows its use in the smallest quantities for various dishes - mainly baked. But this is a dubious event, as white rowovka has such an unpleasant smell that it can spoil even the most delicious dish. It is better to simply abandon the idea of its application, and make a choice in favor of other ingredients.
Important! It is worth remembering that with any method of processing mushrooms, toxins do not disappear, and, in some cases, only accumulate.
Medical use
Despite the negative nutritional properties, the rowing is white, like other mushrooms of this species, it is used in medicine. It is part of antidiabetic drugs, antibiotics, as well as drugs that lower the activity of cancers.
Traditional medicine also uses this type for the manufacture of tinctures, ointments and lotions for skin diseases. In cosmetology, dried mushroom powder is used in a lotion to cleanse the face.
Possible harm from mushrooms
As mentioned above - white rowan is an inedible species.
- Therefore, it can cause such disorders in the activity of the body:
- general malaise;
- increased salivation;
- gastric colic;
- nausea
- vomiting
- diarrhea.
Did you know? Colonies of rows are able to form the most bizarre figures in nature. Often they can grow in the form of the so-called "witch circle".
White row is better to just admire - it is a very beautiful mushroom, especially when it forms large colonies. The benefit from it for the human body is minimal, and harm can overshadow all possible therapeutic or gastronomic effects. For food or treatment, it is better to use edible species.
