What is a flammulina mushroom growing on a tree and can it be eaten?

In early November, a neighbor asked me: are the mushrooms that grow on trees edible? I told her it depended on the type. She then took me into her yard and showed me these mushrooms. This is what they look like:

As it turns out, they're called Flammulina (because they're from that genus), belong to the family Ryadkovye, and are part of the group of winter mushrooms. This is a perfectly edible member of the mushroom kingdom, which can be boiled, fried, pickled, and canned. dry and freezeYes and keep It can be done in different ways.

It's impossible to confuse them with other mushrooms. This is due to their seasonal growth. Specifically, they grow and bear fruit from November to March, hence their name, winter mushrooms. Simply put, they appear when other mushroom species have already disappeared.

Where can they be found?

Winter honey fungi grow primarily on old trees, stumps, and dead wood. They prefer poplars, willows, and other deciduous trees. They are found in gardens, parks, alleys, near bodies of water, and in forests.

Fruiting occurs exclusively in groups, and mushrooms often grow together.

Brief description of winter honey fungus

This mushroom is quite attractive in appearance. Its characteristic features are:

• Hat. At the beginning of the growing season, the cap is hemispherical in shape, but later it becomes spreading. The color is honey-colored, yellow-brown, and depends largely on the specific tree on which it grows. The diameter varies from 2 to 10 cm, depending on the age.
• Surface. In dry weather, it's dry, but in wet weather, it becomes covered in slime. If the mushroom is mature, brownish spots will form on it due to increased humidity.
• Pulp. It is slightly watery, creamy in color, but has a pleasant mushroom aroma and flavor.
• Fruiting body. It is of the hat-stem type, located centrally or eccentrically.
• Records. They are not very closely spaced. They are fused and cream-colored. The older the mushroom, the darker the gills.
• Leg. It grows from 2 to 7 cm in length and from 3 to 10 mm in diameter. The stem is tubular and dense, cylindrical in shape, and similar in color to the cap, but slightly darker at the base. The stem is tough, so it's best to cut it off immediately rather than cook it. Even prolonged boiling doesn't help.

The spore powder is light-colored, and there's never any residue left. The mushrooms in our photo are identical to the description, so I'm not mistaken about the mushroom. I don't know if my neighbor made something from them, but I've even grown them before. I've already described how to do it in this article. article.