Satanic mushroom (lat. Boletus satanas) is not in vain received such a sonorous and ominous name. His insidiousness lies in the rare ability to imitate his edible relatives. It is difficult for an experienced mushroom picker to confuse the “damn mushroom” with the edible boletus, popularly known as the “white mushroom”. A mimicry lover can be distinguished from the “king of mushrooms” by the reddish color of the leg.
Poisonous boletus
Outwardly, this pretender does not at all look like a poisonous mushroom. Inexperienced mushroom pickers often mistake him for edible prey. The mushroom is large, thick, in appearance - mushroom, why not put it in a basket? It belongs to the galaxy of red-colored boletus from the Boletaceae family. These mushrooms are poorly understood. In addition to the satanic mushroom, there are a great many of them. His no less poisonous relatives-boletus:
- felt;
- pink-skinned
- purple;
- beautiful;
- Frost
- Burroughs et al.
Felt poisonous mushroom boletus
Pink-skinned poisonous mushroom
Purple Poisonous Mushroom
Fine Poisonous Mushroom
Frost Poisonous Mushroom
Burroughs is a poisonous species of boletus
Features of the satanic mushroom
A typical representative of the mushroom family. His external data:
- The hat. Differs in massiveness. Reaches a diameter of 20-30 cm. The color of the hat is dull, not bright. The shape is pillow-shaped. The hat has damage and roughness. The hat, covered with a velvety dense skin, can be gray, olive, beige, cream.
- Tubular part. Its thickness does not exceed 2 cm. It differs in rich colors. Tubules from yellow, turn to blood red, and then become olive. If damaged, they turn blue.
- Disputes. Color changes from green to olive brown. Size: 10-16x5-7 microns. They have a fusiform ellipsoidal shape.
- Leg. Like the hat, it is quite massive. The average length of a mature specimen is 15-17 cm. Width is 10 cm. The shape of the legs is an oval, or almost a sphere. There is a specific narrowing in the area of connection with the cap. Color can be very bright - red, beetroot, orange-crimson. A characteristic feature is the grid pattern.
- Pulp. The fault has a yellow, cream, beige color. On a break slowly turns blue. It has a watery structure. Color depends on living conditions. In specimens grown in the shade, dark and dull shades predominate. Those who grew up in the sun have a brighter and richer palette.
In the video presented, an experienced mushroom picker will show how the satanic boletus looks, and how it differs from an edible porcini mushroom:
Special signs
This representative of the mushroom family, aging, acquires a characteristic odor that resembles the stench of carrion or sour foods. But young growth smells much nicer - pleasant mushroom and spicy notes are mixed in their plume.
This variety of boletus is characterized by its amazing ability to adapt, mutate and mimic. He can imitate a variety of brothers - edible and conditionally edible. Just because this pretender is rarely found in our forests, they are sporadic poisonings.
Where is it growing?
The mushroom prefers light deciduous forests. Likes to grow in thickets of hazel, under hornbeams and beeches, among lindens and chestnuts. Distributed in southern Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East, in southern Europe. It grows from the beginning of summer until October. Favorite soil is limestone.
In the Russian forests, fortunately, a satanic battle is a rare inhabitant. This is confirmed by the absence of numerous names. Frequently occurring species, as a rule, have dozens of names invented by the people. Among the few names of this mushroom is the satanic fly. From Latin “bolet” is translated as “boletus”.
How to distinguish from edible oaks?
Experienced mushroom pickers will never confuse a forest line with a real edible boletus, but with its variety - an olive-brown oak, easily.
Differences by which two similar mushrooms can be distinguished. Olive brown oak:
- Hat. Velvety. Color - dark olive or yellowish brown.
- Pulp. Lemon color. At the kink, it immediately turns blue, and not gradually, like the satanic boletus.
Dubovik is edible, but consumed raw, can cause dyspepsia. And in combination with alcohol it becomes poisonous.
Edible or not?
In Russia, mushroom pickers consider the “forest trait” uniquely poisonous, and they don’t take it to the basket. But in Europe they do not disdain. According to the mushroom classification of the last century, it is conditionally edible. So, after a certain processing, it can be eaten.
To neutralize poisons, ten-hour soaking is necessary. After so long lying in the water, the mushroom flesh becomes tasteless. But if you do not soak it in cold water, a person will have a toxic lesion:
- liver
- nervous system;
- spleen.
It is strictly forbidden to try the raw flesh of a satanic mushroom - serious poisoning is possible. To neutralize toxins, you need to boil the mushroom for at least 10 hours.
In a number of Central European countries, extreme gourmets consider the forest line not only digestible food, but also “damn” delicious. But it is better to listen to mycologists - scientists studying the mushroom kingdom. They claim that if this mushroom, similar to boletus, is not fatal, then it is extremely toxic. Resuscitators, whose experience is worth listening to, echo them.
In the Czech Republic and France, the collection of this dangerous representative of the mushroom kingdom is practiced. But the debate about the toxicity of this fungus is not over.
Signs of Poisoning
Eating a satanic mushroom raw ends in severe poisoning. Symptoms
- confused consciousness;
- constant urge to vomit;
- diarrhea with blood;
- paralysis;
- hepatic colic;
- spasms in the calf muscles;
- Strong headache.
Along with the main symptoms, a poisoned person can also:
- impaired vision;
- drop pressure;
- profuse lacrimation is observed;
- blush face.
WHO concluded that 10 grams of raw pulp of Boletus satanas is enough to stop a person’s heart or paralysis of the nervous system leading to respiratory arrest.
The fungus is poorly understood, but it is known that it contains muscarine and glycoprotein - they can cause a toxic effect. Mycologists ask mushroom pickers, despite conditional edibility, not to eat the forest line. How poisonous a particular instance is at home cannot be determined. And how his eating will end is also incomprehensible.
How to provide first aid?
If in time to take a set of simple measures, serious consequences from the use of poisonous satanic mushroom can be avoided:
- Call a doctor. Do not, overcoming yourself, go to the hospital. Lie down and wait for the doctors to arrive. Relax and don't get out of bed.
- Drink activated charcoal while doctors are traveling.
- Drink more cold liquid - filtered water and strong tea.
Waiting for medical help, you can rinse the stomach with soda solution. 2 teaspoons of soda are taken per liter of water.
When performing all first aid measures and competent treatment, in a day you will be put on your feet. The degree of poisoning depends on the toxicity of a particular specimen - if a lot of poison enters the body, treatment can drag on for weeks.
Practical benefit
Satanic boletus, growing under the "favorite" trees, forms a special tissue - fungus root. In science, it is called mycorrhiza. A certain form of mycorrhiza is able to braid the root system of trees, forming a kind of cover. Poisonous boletus, entangling tree roots, penetrates the internal structure of wood. The fly is able to merge with the tree, it develops and grows inside the roots.
Mycorrhiza is of economic importance. Scientists have learned to isolate microbiological inoculants from it. They are used in agriculture - to increase productivity. Thanks to mycorrhiza, plants receive maximum useful substances and moisture from the soil.
In our country, the relation to the satanic mushroom is unequivocal - it is poisonous, and therefore it cannot be harvested, much less cultivated. Its application at the level of microbiology is limited by the scope of laboratories and is not widespread.