These mushrooms are not very common among mushroom hunters. There are several reasons: a dissonant name, appearance (completely unlike usual forms) and a small amount of information. Meanwhile, in other countries, these mushrooms are very famous and consumed. Want to know more about dung beetles? Then read on.
Coprinus white (Coprinus comatus)
How to recognize a white dung beetle - signs and habitats
Probably everyone saw this mushroom. To do this, do not go to the thicket. Dung beetles grow in large numbers even in cities. It happens that they crawl out even on flower beds. As their name implies, they grow in well-fertilized soils. These can be compost heaps, decomposed garbage dumps (of organic origin), pastures of cattle and poultry, in the forest near decayed trees, in parks on decayed foliage. The first mushrooms appear with the beginning of summer and grow until autumn frosts.
The appearance of the mushroom is elongated elongated with a bell-shaped hat. In height, it can reach fifteen centimeters. The leg is straight, hollow inside, at the base has a thickening. Above has a film ring. Hat is ovoid, with scales, bell. The color is white, at the top of the hat has an ocher hue. The mushroom does not worm.
How to correctly determine the dung beetle - see the video plot. The mushroom picker clearly shows where and how the mushroom grows and how edible it is:
Varieties of dung beetles
In nature, there are more than twenty species of this fungus that grow around the globe. Among them are both edible and inedible (but not causing poisoning). There are several poisonous species.
White dung beetle is used for food. He is different from his brothers, so it is impossible to confuse him. This is the most common mushroom among this species and it is most often used in cooking.
Coprinus gray
Its appearance is slightly different: the hat is smooth, gray, the scales are at the very top. The base under the hat is brownish. This mushroom is also used for food, but much less often and is used with great care. Dung beetle is more often used for medical purposes (although it is also possible to cook it). It is found in manure heaps, landfills, in gardens and vegetable gardens, among deciduous trees. It grows from late May to October.
Inedible dung beetles include scattered, folded, woodpecker and others. These species are completely unlike edible dung beetles; their appearance is more reminiscent of toadstools. And although some of them are considered conditionally edible mushrooms, there is no certainty that they will not cause food poisoning or allergies. Do not risk your health, and if necessary, rinse your stomach and consult an allergist or infectious disease specialist.
Scattered
It has a beige egg-shaped hat, a surface with shallow grooves with small grains. Diameter no more than two centimeters. The leg is thin up to five centimeters high, inside is hollow, grayish in color.
It grows from July to October on stumps, rotten wood.
Folded
The hat is bluish-gray in the shape of a bell, then opens with an umbrella with folds. Diameter is 2-3 centimeters. The plates are fawn, gradually turning black. Leg 4-6 centimeters high, thin. It grows along roads, in gardens, meadows.
Fruits from spring to late autumn.
Woodpecker spotted (mottled or magpie)
At a young age, the hat is covered with white scales, which darken with the growth of the fungus and acquire a bird (magpie) color. The diameter of the cap is up to ten centimeters, the height of the legs is up to twenty-five centimeters. The thickness of the legs and a half centimeters.
It occurs from September to the end of October among deciduous trees.
This type of dung beetle is considered slightly poisonous. There are no statistics on fatal cases of poisoning by this fungus. But in order to avoid intoxication it is better not to touch it.
Coprinus white - inedible
It grows throughout the summer and warm to the extent of rainy autumn. It is found on dunks, rotting grass.
Shallow, height not more than eight centimeters. The leg is thin, with a diameter of not more than two millimeters. The hat is ovoid, with a bell, gradually opens, the edges are unbent. The diameter of the cap is two to three centimeters.
Some consider the mushroom to be conditionally edible if cut off as soon as it emerges from the soil.
Fluffy invertebrate (borefoot) - inedible
It occurs from the beginning of summer until the beginning of autumn on well-stocked soil.
A distinctive feature of this dung beetle is a “fluffy” hat, covered with small scales similar to villi. The pulp is fragile. The shape of the hat, like all dung beetles, is an ellipse, a bell. The mushroom is small. The height of the legs is 4-5 centimeters, the diameter of the cap is no more than two.
Coprinus homey - inedible
It is found on decaying hardwood of buildings from mid-May to September. It grows in colonies.
The hat is ovoid, opening up to a bell with a diameter of four centimeters, a height of five centimeters. Color - grayish-brown, in the center the hat is darker with a tubercle. Thin light plates with a dark edge.
The leg is short (up to 10 cm), thin (about one centimeter). The pulp is thin, odorless, white.
Inaugural flickering
It grows from spring to late autumn on rotting trees in large clusters. Only very young specimens are allowed to eat. It is not famous for its special tastes.
The shape of the cap, like other dung beetles (ovoid, bell). The color is yellowish-brown, there are small grooves and shiny scales.
The leg is long, smooth, white. Inside is hollow. The mushroom ring is missing.
Hay dung
It grows from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn. Prefers fertile moist soil. It can grow both in groups, and in one instance.
It has a long thin curved leg, up to eight centimeters high. The surface is smooth, inside is hollow, round.
The hat is gray-brown in color, bell-shaped, diameter up to one and a half centimeters. Inside is lamellar.
It is considered an inedible mushroom.
Coptus Romanesi
It grows on stumps, fallen or decayed trees, on fertile soil. Fruiting time from spring to autumn, especially a lot of mushrooms happen in the cool summer.
A hat in the shape of a large bell with a diameter of up to five to six centimeters. Leg long up to ten centimeters, hollow, slightly pubescent.
It is similar to dung beetle gray. But unlike his gray brother, the hat is generously decorated with brown scales. With age, Romanesi blackens and turns into black mucus.
Conditionally edible at a young age, until it began to blacken. But in order to avoid various types of intoxications, it is better to refrain from eating.
Coprinus fluffy (hairy-legged, borefoot)
It grows from spring to autumn in well-fertilized and imported places, humus.
A short-lived mushroom that decomposes very quickly, literally after several hours of life.
The hat is initially bell-shaped, gradually opens, the gray plates quickly turn black and turn into black mucus.
The leg is white hollow, after the hat is decomposed, it remains to stand with a feather, smeared with blue-black ink.
Value, calorie content and composition
White dung beetle is an edible and tasty mushroom. It belongs to the fourth category of mushrooms. This means that only amateurs collect such a mushroom, and the mushroom itself does not have great value. But in fact, there are enough useful substances and vitamins in the dung beetle.
Like any mushroom, the main value of white dung beetle is a high content of vegetable protein and low calorie content. There are a little more than twenty calories in it (in one hundred grams), practically no fats. But it contains a lot (except for proteins): phosphorus, selenium, zinc, sodium, potassium, manganese, calcium, glucose, B vitamins, amino acids.
Contraindications and restrictions on use
There are few restrictions on the use of this mushroom. First of all, this is individual intolerance and allergic reactions. Children under 14 years old are better off not using mushrooms for food, as they are difficult to digest. The same applies to people suffering from gastric diseases.
But the main limitation to use is the incompatibility of this mushroom with alcohol. This does not apply to all dung beetles, but only to the gray species.
The toxin contained in dung beetles does not dissolve in water (during cooking), but it is very soluble in alcohol. This toxin is rapidly absorbed in the intestine, enters the bloodstream and within an hour causes all the symptoms of poisoning:
- indigestion, vomiting;
- increased heart rate, fever;
- intense thirst;
- the skin of the body and face become purple-purple.
Such symptoms last for several hours. If the next time a person again uses dishes from dung beetles as a snack for alcohol, then the reaction will be similar.
How to grow a dung beetle yourself?
Growing dung beetle is similar to growing champignons. It can grow both in open ground and in enclosed spaces such as basements. His good survival rate is evidenced by the fact that the dung beet grows as a “weed” even on beds with mushrooms.
Unlike his “cultural” relative, he is more prolific, less susceptible to various diseases and pests. The only thing that loses is in the duration of storage. It needs to be processed as soon as possible, within a few hours, which is impossible on an industrial scale. But it is much easier to do at home.
To grow dung in your own area, you must carefully select the right place. The bed, flooded with sun, is absolutely not suitable here. Coprinus cannot stand the sun. If you do not have the opportunity to provide the fungus with constant coolness and shadow, you will have to grow it in the basement. There is only one trick here - the dung beetle is demanding on fresh air, so it will be necessary to arrange good supply and exhaust ventilation.
The soil for dung be must be rich in calcium. More calcium carbonate should be added to the substrate for growing champignons. The thickness of the ground layer must be at least twenty centimeters.
A dung beet is grown through spores or mycelium. You can buy mycelium for propagation in gardener stores or online. It happens in a liquid form or in the form of a powder (as well as dry balls or cubes). Prepared mushrooms are poured or poured onto a bed prepared for mushrooms, and then covered with a substrate. Then it should be poured and covered with burlap, covered with sawdust or film.
Usually, planting is carried out in May, when the soil warms up well. The land on which the mushrooms are planted must be constantly moist and warm. Two months later, you can shoot the first crop of mushrooms. There will be five to six such crops with an interval of two to three weeks.
Coprinus can be grown as champignon in the cellars. The requirements are the same as in the garden, with the difference that fresh air must be present. With superheated air, the mycelium can die.
Another enemies of the dung bearer in the basement are mice. They are very attracted to wheat grain, which is often sold as a mycelium infected with spores of this fungus.
In the cellars, dung beet grows no worse than in the garden and gives a good harvest.
What is grown for?
This type of mushroom is grown not only for eating. This mushroom has received wide medical fame. He is able to deal with such an ailment as alcoholism. This quality has only gray dung beetle.
The substance koprin isolated from such a fungus formed the basis of anti-alcohol drugs. In medicine, not only natural substances from the fungus began to be used, but also its artificial analogues were made.
Therefore, the grown mushrooms can not only be sold on the grocery market, but still actively traded in the pharmaceutical raw materials market.
Processing and storage
For the correct and safe preparation of dishes from dung beet, you need to adhere to several rules:
- Use medium-sized mushrooms (not quite small - at least three centimeters in height) and not overgrown. Better if the hats are undisclosed.
- They need to be cleaned and cooked quickly, since after this the hats will darken, become slimy and unsuitable for food.
- Mushrooms should be washed very quickly. A sink is more needed for cleaning mushrooms from forest debris than for thorough cleaning. Be sure to remove the remaining water, as the mushrooms themselves are quite watery during cooking.
- For long-term storage (for example, in the freezer), the mushrooms must be pre-boiled, fried (subjected to heat treatment).
- When cooking, use one type of dung beetle (preferably white), so a combination of different species can provoke intoxication.
Although the name and appearance may not make this mushroom so common, dung beetle is valuable in composition and very tasty mushroom. It is very difficult to make a mistake and confuse it with any other mushrooms. Collect dung beetles, prepare delicious dishes from them, and grow them on your own site.