Mushroom caplets. How to eat mushrooms?

How diverse is the world of mushrooms, these creatures of nature, endowed with certain properties of both plants and animals! Not so long ago, in 1970, scientists identified them in a special kingdom (in the beginning many fungi were considered to be plants). A science that describes the life activity of various species of fungi, began to be called mycology (the section of botany).

Great Kingdom

You already know that it's not only white, brown-billed, buttered, honey-mushrooms and other mushrooms that we meet in the forest, collecting them for cooking. And not only those champignons and oyster mushrooms, with which the supermarket counters are dotted. The kingdom of mushrooms is the most numerous group of organisms inhabiting the planet Earth: from the simplest and invisible to the naked eye threads to the giant mushrooms, which can give shelter, as in a fairy tale, small animals and insects. And hat mushrooms are only a small, but undoubtedly important, segment of this numerous community. About them something will be discussed today.

General characteristics

These include, in the first place, all known forest mushrooms: white and boletus, poderezinoiki and mushrooms, russules and fly agarics, honey agarics and mushrooms and many others. They grow in forests - deciduous and coniferous, in swamps, in meadows, near water. And in the city they can be found in parks, in public gardens, and in gardens. It is about them that some fairy tales of the peoples of the world are composed, that they are used mostly for food, since many of these creatures of nature are edible and useful to humans.

Mushrooms and people

Mushroom caplets play a very important role in people's lives. First of all, especially in ancient times, this is one of the sources of food. In mushrooms a lot of protein, microelements and vitamins, which allows them to occupy a worthy place in the human food chain and at the present time. Mushroom caplets can be prepared in various culinary ways. And with their participation in the world kitchen practice, hundreds of delicious dishes exist for different peoples of the Earth.

Symbiosis

Mushrooms are of great importance for higher plants. Most of them are saprotrophs and live only in interrelation with trees (by the way, this is reflected in some names: podberezovik, boletus, for example). How to eat mushrooms? Mycelium tightly wraps the sponges of roots, performing a kind of function of the root hairs, contributing to the full supply and saturation of the trunk with nutrients, minerals and water. And from the trees, the hatched mushrooms get the finished organics, which are processed into inorganic compounds, acting as a food for higher plants. Thus, there is a symbiosis of these several species, a mutually beneficial cooperation, called mycorrhiza.

Fruit body

Actually, what we used to call a fungus is only an integral part of the whole organism, its fruit body. The other (and main) part - the mycelium - is hidden from view in a land rich in humus, or in rotten wood. In most of the species of fungi, mycelium-mycelium consists of numerous hyphae. Of these, under favorable circumstances (rain, warm weather), and formed the fruit bodies of the mushrooms hatching, climbing to the surface. Usually they consist of a hat and a leg (but there are also monovariants: only a hat).

Tubular and lamellar

Perhaps you already know what kind of mushrooms are in nature? They are divided into tubular and lamellar. In the first - spores, intended for reproduction, can form in the narrow tubules of the cap, having a tubular shape. The second - the spores are located in the plates of the cap.

Plate

Their hats are rather fleshy, sometimes resilient, leathery and membranous. The most famous are russula, freckles, mushrooms, mushrooms, honey agarics, and many other kinds of mushrooms. There are about 300 species of russules! Many of them are edible and traditionally used by man for food in salted, boiled, fried form. Some have a rather caustic taste, which disappears when soaking and boiling. Especially popular were honey mushrooms, which also have many species, most of which are edible. Champignons, also related to lamellar fungi, often grow in nature on land and manure, on meadows and pastures. Often form circular settlements, which are popularly called "witch rings".

Tubular

In nature, they number slightly less than 250 species. They are found everywhere in the temperate latitudes of various countries of the planet. They have a pillow-shaped head, round and fleshy. The tubular layer of the cap is easy to peel off. It is known that many tubulars enter into symbiosis with higher plants - trees of a certain type. Almost all tubulars are edible. The most famous are: white, boletus, birch bark, mosses, butter. Some of the tubulars also contain antibiotics that can kill pathogens.

Artificial cultivation

In terms of cultivation and artificial cultivation of fungi: for many tubulars this seems not very possible. Since they exist only in symbiosis with certain trees. Thus, for breeding, for example, a birch tree on an industrial scale will require planting a whole birch grove. But the cultivation of some lamellar is not only possible, but has also been successfully used by people for several centuries. Thus, the experience of breeding champignons is up to 300 years. And the popular oyster is now grown in damp basements with great success.

Trutoviki

Trutovik is a mushroom parasite, settling on trees and capable of destroying their wood. Tertiary specimens of 10 kilograms are known. They are located, as a rule, on the trunks of trees. And after the death of the tree, the tindermill can continue to live for a long time, utilizing the wood and eating the rotting remains of the tree.

Poisonous Mushrooms

A particular danger to humans is the poisonous hat mushrooms, which can cause severe poisoning. Of these, the pestid grebe is considered to be the most poisonous . If it is eaten (even if cooked in advance), it can lead to death.

Amanita, mushrooms, bile and Satanic mushrooms are also dangerous for humans. In no case should they be eaten. As a rule, these fungi also have edible twins, similar in appearance. This further increases the danger of collecting mushrooms. And before going on a mushroom hunting, you need to clearly learn to understand the types of mushrooms, so as not to become a victim of food poisoning. And some hats are conditionally edible. They include: swine, morels and stitches. In them, harmful substances are removed by repeated boiling and changing water. We must also remember the beginning mushroom pickers, that some mushrooms, even considered edible, can turn out to be poisonous if collected along a railway or a highway. This is because fungi tend to absorb the harmful substances released by locomotives and cars. So, following the mushrooms, it's best to go further into the forest.

The materials of this article can be used to conduct a biology lesson on the topic "Hats" (Grade 5).