Pigs are mushrooms that cause a lot of controversy. Previously, they were eaten and considered safe, but today mycologists are calling for mushroom pickers to refuse to collect them. This mushroom is dangerous and toxic, capable of accumulating harmful chemical compounds and heavy metals that threaten health, so it should be avoided.
Pig mushrooms: photo and description
Pigs are small mushrooms that look a little like a lump in appearance. The thick and fleshy head of the pig has a rounded or elongated-rounded shape. On average, its sizes vary from 120 to 150 mm, however, there are mushrooms in which the diameter of the cap reaches 200 mm. In a young mushroom, its upper surface is slightly convex, but as it matures, it flattens and becomes concave, with a wavy edge tucked down.
The color of the pig's cap can be olive, yellowish-brown, reddish-brownish, or gray-brown. Its tone and intensity changes with age, moving from lighter tones to darker ones. The underside of the cap is grayish-white with a slight yellow or reddish-brown tint. The pulp is dense, pale yellow in color, darkening at a break or cut. The surface of the cap is rough and dry, however, it becomes sticky after prolonged rains.
The stem of the mushroom is small, its length rarely exceeds 9 cm, and its diameter is 2 cm. The color of the stem practically does not differ from the color of the cap. Usually pig mushrooms grow in small groups.
general characteristics
The pig mushroom visually resembles a lump. He has a very thick round or elongated hat. The diameter is from 12 to 15 cm, but in some cases it can reach 20 cm. If the mushroom is still young, then the cap turns out to be slightly convex, but the older it becomes, the more it sags inward, and the edges rise.
The shade of the fungus is usually brown, olive or yellowish brown. Here again there is a dependence on age, because the older, the darker the color becomes. The pulp is pale yellow, gradually darkening on contact with air.
The hat is initially rough to the touch, but becomes sticky after rains.
Piggies grow in groups, not far from each other. Most of all they like the temperate climate, deciduous and mixed forests. Often they find themselves in the area of the roots of a large tree, which appeared outside after a strong wind.
Where do pigs grow?
Pig mushrooms are widespread in all countries with temperate climates. This mushroom is easily found in deciduous, mixed, or coniferous forests. Most often, pigs are found on forest edges and clearings, as well as on the outskirts of bogs. Often, small groups of pigs take a fancy to the rhizomes of trees, turned up after strong winds. The pig is characterized by a long fruiting period, it can be found from July to early October. The pig, like all mushrooms, reproduces by spores.
Distribution and collection
It is ubiquitous in the temperate climatic zone of Eurasia, and can settle in both deciduous and coniferous forests. Prefers young birch and oak groves, can grow in bushes, on forest edges, near swamps.
Fruiting begins in June and lasts until early October.
Fat pig
Types of pigs, photos and names
The genus pig has been fairly well studied, it includes 35 species of mushrooms. Below are the common varieties of pigs:
- The pig is thin (Paxillus involutus)
It grows in the countries of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe, as well as in Russia. This fungus can be found near ravines, on the outskirts of swamps, in the roots of fallen trees, as well as in young forests with oaks and birches.
The olive-brown cap of the young mushroom becomes rusty-brown with aging, with a noticeable gray tint. Its diameter ranges from 12 to 20 cm. The dense flesh of the pig is pale yellow, with time it becomes friable, yellowish-brown in color. The stem is cylindrical and rather short, rarely reaching a height of 6 cm. A decrease in its diameter from the cap to the ground is often noted. Its smooth surface is painted in almost the same way as the hat, but in lighter colors. Wide and sparse plates on the lower surface of the cap often have a cellular structure due to the numerous bridges connecting them. The spores of the pig are of a thin ellipsoidal shape, with a smooth surface.
The slender pig bears fruit from the beginning of June to the first ten days of October.
- Alder pig (Paxillus filamentosus)
A poisonous mushroom that grows in deciduous and mixed forests of the European territory of Russia, Germany, France, Poland, Romania, Italy, Spain, Belarus and other European countries. Forms a symbiosis with alder and aspen.
The cap with a weakly expressed funnel-shaped shape and a slightly lowered wavy edge can reach a diameter of 8 cm. The color of the pig's cap is yellowish-brown or reddish-brown with ocher tinge. The surface of the cap is dry, covered with pronounced scaly cracks. The yellowish pulp of a dense consistency without a pronounced odor, becomes friable with aging. Often located ocher-yellowish plates are scattered along the stem, at the base they often form cellular weaves. The alder pig's leg is low, rarely exceeding 5 cm in length with a maximum diameter of about 1.5 cm. It has a pronounced narrowing in the direction from the cap to the surface of the earth.
Alder pig mushrooms bear fruit from late June to mid-September.
- Pig fat (felted) (Tapinella atrotomentosa)
Quite a rare species of pigs, found in European countries with a temperate climate. It grows mainly in coniferous forests on upturned roots, old stumps or fallen needles.
The hat is large enough, with edges tucking inward, and can reach 20 cm in diameter. As the fungus grows, its shape can take on a disproportionate shape, resembling an elongated tongue. The surface of the cap, colored brown or olive-brown, is slightly velvety, drying out and cracking with age. The pulp of a thick pig of a watery consistency, without a pronounced odor, yellowish. The plates are light yellow; when pressed, they change color to dark brown. The short, olive-brown or brown, shaggy-coated stem has a dense fleshy consistency and is often displaced towards the edge of the cap.
- Tapinella panus-shaped, or ear-shaped pig (Tapinella panuoides)
The fruiting body of the fungus consists of a hard cap, reaching 12 cm in size, and a small leg, which is sometimes practically absent, growing and merging with the cap. The cap of the mushroom is fan-shaped, less often there is an ear-shaped pig with a shell-shaped cap. The edge of the cap is uneven, with frequent teeth or waves. The surface is slightly velvety in young specimens, in old mushrooms it becomes absolutely smooth. The color of the cap is from yellowish brown to ocher. The ear-shaped pig has a rather dense, slightly rubbery flesh of a yellowish-cream or light brown color, when pressed, the flesh does not change color, has a pronounced resinous-coniferous aroma.
Pig ear-shaped is widespread in the coniferous forests of Russia and Kazakhstan, grows in groups or singly, preferring to settle on fallen needles or on dead coniferous wood. Often, the pig chooses the walls of wooden buildings as a habitat, which causes them to rot.
The ear-shaped pig is a slightly poisonous mushroom that is not eaten due to the presence in its fruiting body of toxins that provoke a violation of hematopoiesis.
- Pigs Paxillus ammoniavirescens
Poisonous mushrooms that grow in Italy, Portugal, Germany, France, Spain, England, Sweden and some countries in North Africa. This mushroom is common in city parks and gardens at the foot of deciduous and coniferous trees, although it is found in forests at the edges and along the banks of small rivers.
The mushroom is low (up to 10 cm in height) with a fleshy dense cap, painted in beige-brown tones with a barely noticeable olive tint and no more than 12 cm in diameter. Appears en masse in autumn. The spores of the pig are rather large, reaching 6 microns in size, and brown in color.
- Pigs Paxillus obscurisporus
From early spring to late autumn, they are found in coniferous forests, on the edges of oak and linden groves, as well as open pastures. The hat, colored light brown or golden brown, has a slightly wavy, raised edge. Its diameter ranges from 4 to 13 cm. White pulp with a brown tint has a pleasant mild aroma. The height of the leg, slightly widening from the surface of the ground to the cap, does not exceed 8 cm, and its color varies from gray to yellowish. The plates on the underside of the cap are golden brown or reddish in color.
Paxillus obscurisporus mushrooms bear fruit from early summer to autumn.
- Piggy Paxillus rubicundulus
It has a characteristic funnel-shaped cap with a diameter of up to 15 cm, with a smooth or velvety surface. The color of the pig's cap can be brown, yellowish-brown, gray-brown, rusty-ocher with a reddish tint. The color of the pig's flesh varies from white to yellow-brown; when cut, it changes to red-brown. Leg up to 8 cm high, cylindrical, yellowish in color becomes reddish-brown with age. The plates are frequent, thin, yellowish-red or yellow-brown in color, turn dark brown at the point of contact.
This type of pig is widespread throughout Europe. It prefers moist lands along the river banks, as well as light forests, in which it forms a symbiosis with alder.
- Pig mushrooms Paxillus vernalis
They grow in the mountain forests of North America, in which they form symbiotic bonds with aspen and birch. Also found in Estonia, Denmark and Great Britain. The mushroom bears fruit from late summer to mid-autumn.
The hat is fleshy, convex, with a smooth or slightly rough surface, colored in various shades of yellow-brown. The yellowish dense flesh of the pig does not have a pronounced odor; it acquires a reddish-brown color on the cut. The height of the leg can reach 9 cm, and the maximum diameter is 2-2.5 cm. The color of the leg matches the color of the cap. The plates are yellowish or pale olive, often fused together.
What does a piggy look like?
The mushroom, which is also called dunka, pork ear, pig and cowshed, can be recognized by its wide fleshy cap, reaching 15 cm wide in adulthood. A photo and description of a slender pig report that in young slender pigs, the cap is slightly convex, but gradually becomes flat and acquires a funnel-shaped depressed depression in the center. The edges of the cap are velvety, tightly wrapped. The color of a slender pig depends on age - young specimens are usually olive-brown and slightly pubescent, and adults have a reddish, rusty, ocher color.In adult specimens, the cap is shiny and without edges; as it ages, the color begins to fade.
The underside of the cap is covered with wide thin plates going down the stem. The plates are quite rare, they can close together, forming a mesh, and are ocher-yellow in color. The leg of a slender pig can rise up to 9 cm above the ground, and in diameter reaches 1.5 cm. In shape, the leg is usually cylindrical with a slight narrowing in the lower part, with a dense structure.
The flesh on the cut is loose and soft, of a yellowish tint, it turns brown quickly in the air. A fresh thin pig does not have a specific smell and taste, which is why many mushroom pickers mistakenly perceive it as a completely safe forest species.
Is the pig a poisonous or edible mushroom?
Until 1981, pigs were considered conditionally edible mushrooms. Since 1993, all pigs are officially considered inedible and poisonous mushrooms.
For the first time, they started talking about the toxic properties of pigs in October 1944, when the German mycologist Julius Scheffer ate these mushrooms. After that he felt unwell, vomiting, diarrhea and high fever appeared. He died 17 days later of acute renal failure.
Here's what is important to know about pigs:
The pigs contain special toxins (lectins) that do not lose their properties even after repeated heat treatment. A slender pig is capable of synthesizing a very dangerous poison called muscarine, which is equivalent in toxicity to the poison of a red fly agaric.
Studies have found that pigs contain a special antigen that binds to the structures of cell membranes. The human body recognizes these cells as hostile and attacks its own cells, in which the pig antigens are located. As a result of this process in the human body, red blood cells are damaged, this leads to hemolytic anemia, and then to the development of nephropathy and renal failure. Antibodies are produced over time, so liver damage may not be immediately apparent.
Pig mushrooms accumulate large amounts of heavy metals, as well as radioactive isotopes of copper and cesium, which in themselves can cause severe poisoning of the body.
Also, the use of pig in food threatens a person with allergic reactions.
Pig Poisoning Symptoms
Symptoms of pig poisoning do not always appear and do not necessarily appear immediately after eating the mushrooms. The sensitivity of people to fungal toxins is different, the most sensitive category is children.
Signs of pig poisoning include the following:
- vomiting
- pain in the abdomen
- diarrhea,
- yellowness of the skin,
- a sharp decrease in the volume of daily urine excretion,
- an increase in the level of hemoglobin in the urine,
- oligoanuria (in severe cases).
To eat or not to eat?
Everyone decides for himself. Experts have long given an unequivocal answer to this. But mushroom pickers collect pigs for years, cook them and never experience any discomfort.
