The climatic conditions of Ukraine are ideal for the growth of many species of edible mushrooms. Many lovers prefer to collect them themselves, but mushroom hunting requires information not only about the species, but also about the places and time of their appearance in the country.
White mushrooms
Description. The cep has a remarkable feature in the porcini mushroom (boletus): it remains perfectly white when frying, stewing or drying. This is a tubular mushroom, the leg of which can reach up to 25 cm in height (on average 10-12 centimeters) and about 10 cm in thickness. It has the shape of a barrel. In the process of growth, it can acquire cylindrical (narrowed or widened) outlines, but the base always remains slightly thickened. The surface of the legs is white, sometimes with a brownish or reddish hue.
Growth time. The season of active appearance of ceps is extremely variable and dependent on the place of growth. Ceps begin to grow in May, and the abundant appearance of mushrooms ends in November (in the warm regions of Ukraine). In the northern regions, the porcini mushroom appears in June and until September, and mass collection begins in the second half of August.
Double - bile mushroom.
Oyster mushrooms
Description. Oyster mushroom - a mushroom quite massive, with a hat grayish-brown or gray in color, from 5 to 20 centimeters in diameter. The leg is very stiff and, due to its density, is mostly not consumed. This mushroom grows in a bunch, in which in some cases you can count up to 30 mushrooms with a total weight of up to three kilograms.
Growth time. From the end of September to the end of December, as this species does not tolerate high temperatures.
Doubles in Ukraine do not grow.
Wake
Description. The hat has a width of 1 to 10 cm, first convex, and then concave, but always with the edges wound inside. The whole hat of this mushroom is covered with thick hairs hanging from the ends in the form of rather long braids, which gives the mushroom a pretty look. However, by the age of the fungus, these cosmas become almost invisible. The color of the hat is pale pink, sometimes casting white, but more often yellow or grayish. The peduncle is also somewhat paler than the cap and, on the whole, more or less yellow. At the same time, it is dense, but smooth, in height reaches no more than 5 cm.
Growth time. A mushroom appears usually from late August to late September.
Doubles:
- pink thrush;
- white preload.
Talkers
Description. The talker has a matte red or pale yellow hat with a diameter of 5-22 cm. Sometimes it may have brown or rusty spots. The hat is fleshy, has a bell-shaped shape. A rigid leg, consisting of many fibers, can reach a height of up to 15 cm, has a cylindrical shape and becomes much narrower towards the base than from above. The color is basically the same as the hat, but it can be a bit lighter in color. At the base, the leg is darker.
Growth time. The mushroom begins to grow in early July and does not stop until mid-October.
Doubles:
- giant talker;
- whitish talker.
Gruzdy
Description. The breast has a hat with a diameter of 5-25 cm. Usually it is yellow, but can be brown or slightly golden, often with small scales. In young mushrooms, it has a slightly convex shape, then gradually straightens or becomes concave. The edges are usually folded. It is smooth to the touch, in wet weather it can be slippery and sticky. Its leg is 5-12 cm high with characteristic bright yellow pits or notches, sticky, very strong, but hollow.
Growth time. The best time for these representatives is July, August and September.
Doubles the breasts do not have due to the peculiarities of the structure.
Raincoats
Description. The fruit body is very large, spherical-flattened, 20-50 cm in diameter and weighing up to 10 kg. The outer shell is white, smooth, falling with age. The inner shell resembles paper, in mature mushrooms it is tan, which is destroyed by irregular fragments to release spores. The young pulp is white, elastic, with a very pleasant taste and smell. As it ripens, it is yellowish-olive and, finally, brownish brown.
Growth time. It grows from late May to early November.
Doubles in Ukraine not.
Duboviki
Description. The hat reaches up to 25 cm in diameter and can take on all shades of brown: from black brown to light olive. When pressed, dark spots sometimes remain. As a rule, it has the shape of a hemisphere, occasionally it can be practically spread. It is velvety to the touch, in wet weather or after rain - sticky and slippery.
The height of the legs can reach from 5 to 17 centimeters. As a rule, it is dark orange, red or brown in color. At the very base, there may be a small accumulation of greenish spots. The club-shaped shape of the leg simplifies the recognition process, and the characteristic tuberoid thickenings and mesh patterns along the entire length make the mushroom almost unique. The color of the pulp of the fungus is yellow and when interacting with air, the incision site turns blue.
Growth time. From the end of May until the beginning of September.
Doubles not.
Chanterelles
Description. A hat of chanterelle in diameter reaches about 10 centimeters. It has a yellow or orange tint and an irregular shape. It can be either concave or convex, in the form of a funnel or open. Leg - up to 10 cm high, solid and thick, usually grows together with a hat and has a color similar to it. Expands from bottom to top. The pulp of chanterelles is white, dense and very fleshy, sometimes it contains more fibers. Blushes a little when pressed.
Growth time. From the beginning of summer to the very end of autumn.
Double - false fox.
Meadow mushrooms
Description. Hat (diameter 3-9 cm) ocher, red-brown or yellowish. In dry weather, it fades to a light brown or cream color, in wet weather it becomes sticky and sticky. It has the shape of a hemisphere with a small central tubercle, which over time changes to a little convex or almost open. The edges are uneven and ribbed, almost transparent, paler than the center. The leg of these mushrooms is 4-11 cm high, thin and winding, has a cylindrical shape and tapers slightly from the bottom up.
Growth time. From late May to mid-October.
Doubles:
- young poisonous whitish talker;
- forest loving collibia.
May mushrooms
Description. May cap can reach 10 cm in diameter. Young mushrooms usually have a spherical hat, however, as the May mushroom grows, it opens, becoming flatter. The surface of the hat is usually painted white or shades of yellow. The leg of the mushroom is thick, relatively short. Reaches about 7 cm in height. The surface of the legs is smooth. Color varies from white to cream. The pulp in the leg is dense, white.
Growth time. From mid-May to the end of July.
Double - white row.
Butterflies
Description. The cap in young mushrooms has a hemispherical, sometimes conical shape. Growing up, it straightens and, as a rule, acquires a shape similar to a small pillow. The largest diameter of the cap is 15 cm. The pulp is firm, but soft. Its color is whitish or yellowish, at the cut of some species it can change - blush or turn blue. The foot of the oil has the shape of a cylinder. Its average size is a diameter of 1 to 3.5 cm and a height of 4 to 10 cm. The color is whitish with a dark bottom or matches the color of the hat.
Growth time. It happens that some species appear even in April, but mostly the first oil can be collected in June. The second stream coincides with the July flowering of linden. And the third begins in August and lasts until October-November.
According to popular belief, the appearance of oleagins coincides with the flowering of pine.
Double - pepper mushroom.
Flywheels
Description. Hat with a diameter of 4-12 cm, usually greenish-gray or olive, can be slightly brown. The shape is slightly convex, to the touch - velvety. The leg is 3-11 cm high, in the shape of a cylinder, expands from the bottom up, it can be with a brownish mesh. The pulp is white in color; it may turn slightly blue on the cut.
Growth time. From mid-May to early October.
Double - green-mottled flywheel.
Dummies
Description. The mushroom cap is as if covered with peculiar lace - this is the so-called fringe. The thin walls of the hat externally differ in a snow-white shade. Particular attention when collecting should be given to the inner plates of the cap. Their color should only be milky white. Even the slightest browning is a sign that the mushroom is old. And you can’t eat such mushrooms - this causes severe poisoning. The surface of the whole dung beetle is white, silky to the touch at a young age.
Growth time. July to October.
Double - death cap.
Cobwebs
Description. Hat - up to 10 cm in diameter. In young mushrooms, it is dark red, reddish brownish or ocher brown with an olive tint. The flesh is bluish, thick in the middle. Leg - up to 8 cm high, tuberous swelling below. The surface of the legs is white with a purple tint, with a whitish ring-shaped stripe.
Growth time. From August to the end of September.
Double - the cobweb is purple.
Boletus
Description. A cap of a birch bark in diameter is from 4 to 12 centimeters. Its color may be gray, brown or brownish, sometimes almost black. It resembles a swollen pillow in shape. A white or grayish leg rarely exceeds 3 cm in diameter, has scales, and tapers from the bottom up.
Growth time. From mid-summer to mid-autumn.
Double - bile mushroom.
Boletus
Description. A cap boletus hat with a diameter of 5 to 30 centimeters is brown with shades of red or orange. It resembles a hemisphere in shape and easily separates from the leg. The peel from the hat is removed with difficulty and exclusively with pieces of pulp. Leg up to 15 cm high, solid gray or off white. The pulp is fleshy and dense, elastic in the young mushroom, and soft and friable in the old one.
Growth time. Appears in June, and disappears in October.
Doubles not.
Polish mushrooms
Description. When describing a Polish mushroom, special attention should be paid to its hat. It is large (up to 20 cm in diameter), from dark or bright brown to chestnut brown, at first convex and with edges bent inward, then flat, bare, smooth, dry, in wet weather - mucous or sticky. Tubules and pores are monochromatic, dirty yellow with a greenish tint, turn blue when pressed. The pulp in young mushrooms is white and dense, in mature ones it is pale yellow, dense, fleshy.
Growth time. From mid July to late October.
Doubles the Polish mushroom in Ukraine does not.
Ginger
Description. Leg 3-8 cm high in the same color as the hat, very brittle, cylindrical in shape. In young mushrooms, it is continuous, with time it becomes almost hollow. The flesh is orange, but in the place of breaking and when interacting with air, like milky juice, it quickly changes color to red, and then to greenish. Tasteful with a fruity aroma.
Growth time. They appear in the middle of summer and do not cease to please until the very beginning of winter.
Double - milkman.
Ryadovki
Description. Hat with a diameter of 6-17 cm, yellow-red, with reddish scales, convex. Over time, changes shape to almost flat. To the touch velvety, dry. The leg of the yellow-red rowing is 5-12 cm high, hollow and curved, with fibrous scales along the entire length and a noticeable thickening at the very base. The color is similar to a hat.
Growth time. Mostly in the cold season, when there are no other mushrooms.
Double - mouse rowing.
Morels
Description. The hat reaches up to 8 cm in diameter, wide-bell-shaped, attached to the leg, as if worn on it. It has free edges, from above - longitudinally wrinkled, yellowish-brownish or ocher-brown, from below - smooth, whitish. The stem of a morel cap can reach a length of up to 15 cm, cylindrical and slightly expanded to the base. At the very top - white, below - yellowish, with scaly ring-shaped scales encircling the leg. The flesh of the cap is thin, waxy, without any special smell and taste.
Growth time. From mid-April to early summer.
Doubles -lines. How to distinguish morels from lines - read here.
Russula
Description. The diameter of the mushroom cap is 5-16 cm. The color of the caps of these mushrooms is of all colors of the rainbow. The shape of the cap changes depending on the mushroom's lifetime: in young specimens, in the form of a hemisphere, and in older ones, they are more widespread. Fleshy, often with many cracks. The peel of the mushrooms is rather dense and thick, practically does not separate from the pulp. Legs reach up to 12 cm in height.
Growth time. From mid-July to early September.
Doubles:
- greenish representatives of pale grebe;
- russula is black;
- powdery Russula;
- buffy russula.
Truffles
Description. The medium-sized truffle is almost identical to a nut, but some can be like large potato tubers and weigh more than 1 kg. Mushrooms themselves resemble potatoes. The peridium (outer layer) covering the truffles has a smooth surface. The presence of many microcracks or characteristic multifaceted warts is sometimes noted.
Truffles show a pronounced marble texture in a cross section. It was formed due to the alternation of light and dark "veins" on which the spore bags of various shapes are located. The pulp of mushrooms may vary in color: white, black, gray, brown. Truffles belong to a particular species.
Growth time. It is best to look for truffles in winter and summer.
Doubles in Ukraine do not grow.
Chagi
Description. On the trunk of the tree, outgrowths of black color and an irregular comb-shaped form are formed. Within the growths throughout the body of the fungus veins are observed (not completely stained). The color of Chaga is brown (dark). At the trunk the flesh is colored brown with a red tint.
Growth time. Chaga usually grows over several years, so it can be found in any season.
Doubles not.
Champignons
Description. The hat reaches up to 15 centimeters in diameter and has a white or light brown color. Externally, it has the shape of the hemisphere, but as the fungus grows and develops, it becomes prostrate. By tactile sensations it resembles velvet, small growths are occasionally noted. The champignon flesh is white, but at the place of the break and when interacting with air it becomes more pink.
Growth time. From late May to mid-October.
Doubles:
- yellow skin champignon;
- ploskoshlyapkovy champignon;
- red champignon.
Mushroom places of Ukraine
Depending on the region, here you can find the most diverse representatives of the mushroom kingdom.
Vinnitsa
It is famous for a huge number of chanterelles, porcini and Polish mushrooms. You can also collect mushrooms and mushrooms here.
Mushrooms grow in the area:
- Neighborhood Nemirova - the village of Vorobyovka, Dubmaslovka and other villages nearby;
- Black Forest near Kalinovka;
- surroundings of the village of Petrik.
Volhynia
Volhynia is the birthplace of ceps giant. But the region is also rich in Polish mushrooms, russula, boletus, and butter.
Here the mushrooms grow:
- in the Gorokhov district;
- near the Shatsky lakes;
- the village of Shtun, Maslovets, Vorchin.
Dnieper
In the Dnepropetrovsk region in the clearing in conifers you can find butter. There are mushrooms, birch trees. Ceps are also found, but much less frequently.
Here mushrooms grow in the area:
- rivers near Novomoskovsk - the village of Orlovschina and others;
- Gvardeiskoye village;
- Kirovsky, Shulgovka, Tsarichanka on the river Orel, Nikolaevka.
Zhytomyr
The region is rich in honey mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, russula, boletus, occasionally you can find ceps.Here they grow in the area of the villages of Slobodka, Vysokaya Pech, Perlyavka, Olievka.
Transcarpathia
If we are talking about Transcarpathia, then it is about porcini mushrooms, but sometimes you can also find boletus.
Here mushrooms grow in the area:
- the surroundings of Lake Synevyr;
- Lumshory villages;
- Dragovo village, HSE, Kolochava;
- Svaliava - villages Rodnikova Guta, Solochin;
- Mukachevo - villages Mikulintsy, Ilkovets, Happy, Covered.
In Transcarpathian forests you can even find truffle. The main thing is to be vigilant and be quicker than other mushroom pickers.
Carpathians
Among beech and coniferous forests, at least 50 species of mushrooms grow, and among them ceps, boletus, honey agarics and russula are abundant.
Mushrooms grow in the area:
- Beskid mountain ranges - an array between the Opir, Stryi and Mizunka rivers on the border of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions;
- the environs of the villages of Oriv, Tukhlya, Oryavchik and Grebennoye.
Kiev
Near Kiev, you can find many forests that give mushroom gifts from year to year. Chanterelles, Polish mushrooms, boletus and porcini mushrooms act as a crop.
Here they grow in the area of villages:
- Lower Dubecnya;
- Klavdievo;
- Nikolaevka;
- Fenevichi;
- Old.
Lviv
In the forests, boletus, boletus, honey agarics and porcini mushrooms are more common.
Mushrooms grow in Starosamborsky, Turkovsky and Skole districts. Most mushrooms grow around:
- the village of Dubina, Skhidnitsa and Slavske;
- Likhobora village near Mount Pikui.
Poltava
Mushroom pickers come to the Poltava region most often for oil.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- surroundings of Kremenchug - Sosnovka;
- the villages of Ternovshchina and Krotenki;
- Khorolsky district - Musievka and Radka;
- Komsomolsk - Svetlogorsk;
- Globinsky district - Velbovka, Lyutenka, Bobrik;
- Shishatsky district - the village of Yaresky;
- Poltava district - the vicinity of the village of Verkholy.
Smooth
In the Sarnensky region, porcini mushrooms, Polish mushrooms, Krasnogolovets grow.
It is also full of mushrooms in the vicinity of Nemovichi, Balashovka, Malynsk, Babin, Karachun.
Sumy
Honey mushrooms, porcini and Polish mushrooms, chanterelles, butterflies, and mushrooms grow here.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- Neighborhood Lebedin (Borovenki village), Krasnopolya, Trostyantsa;
- the district villages Mezhirich (Lebedinsky district), Volkovtsy and Tokari.
Ternopil
Here you can find:
- White mushrooms;
- honey mushrooms;
- boletus;
- birch trees;
- oily;
- mushrooms;
- boletus.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- Dybshche, Dzvinyachka, Litvinov - the best places for picking mushrooms;
- in the villages of the Monastic district - Krinitsa and Markova;
- in the villages of the Shumsky district - Ilovitsa and Stozhok;
- Mshanetsky forests of the Zborovsky region;
- Kremenets mountains.
Kharkiv
Kharkov region is famous for its ranks, saffron milk mushrooms, morels, chanterelles and the king of mushrooms - white. Occasionally here you can meet and butter.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- Mokhnach village;
- villages Vasishchevo, Andreevka, Sheludovka;
- pine forest from Merefa to Zmiev;
- surroundings of Russian Lozova;
- spruce forests near Box Farm.
Khmelnitsky
In the Khmelnitsky region grow hornbeam, oak and mixed forests, rich in chanterelles, boletus, honey agarics and butter.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- forests of Slavutsky, Shepetovsky, Letichevsky, Izyaslavsky and Dunaevsky regions;
- pine forests in the north of the region;
- the surroundings of the villages of Lysogorka and Savintsy.
Cherkasy
Porcini and Polish mushrooms, russula, honey agarics and butterfish are found in local forests.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- Buchatskoye lesnichestvo located near Kanev;
- forest near Kopan;
- young coniferous forests in the vicinity of the village of Mezhdurechye.
Chernihiv
In the Chernigov forests you can find Polish mushrooms, boletus, butterflies, russula, goats, umbrellas and porcini mushrooms.
The list of regions rich in mushroom places:
- the village of Evminka;
- surroundings of Radichev and Oleshni.
Chernivtsi
Ceps here are of incredible size.
Mushroom pickers go to the villages for them:
- Sergius;
- Vizhenka;
- Green
Mushroom seasons
The most fruitful season of mushrooms in Ukraine is autumn. But the poorest season for the harvest is not winter, contrary to expectations, but a turning point between the winter season and early spring.
Spring mushroom season:
- March is the month in which it is most difficult to find mushrooms in Ukraine. Things with mushrooms are tight.
- In April, the appearance of the first mushrooms begins. Morels and some other mushrooms open the first mushroom season of the year.
- May is rich in May mushrooms and boletus, and also depending on the temperature and humidity in the regions and other spring and summer mushrooms.
Summer mushroom season:
- In the second half of June, porcini mushrooms, aspen, boletus and boletus appear. From this month begins the second Ukrainian mushroom season.
- July is a diverse month for mushrooms, but not particularly plentiful in terms of yield.
- August is the beginning of the third mushroom layer. An ideal month to go to the Ukrainian hinterland for a harvest.
It is important to remember that mushrooms love heat and moisture. Therefore, their mass appearance depends not so much on the time of the year as on climatic conditions.
Autumn mushroom season:
- September is the peak of the third mushroom season. This month is a combination of still warm air from summer and already autumn rains.
- In October, many mushroom pickers close the season. Autumn mushrooms can still be easily found, but competition is already much less.
- November is a very interesting month in terms of species composition of mushrooms. In November, you can simultaneously meet mushrooms of all four seasons of the year.
Winter mushroom season:
- In December, the late remnants of autumn mushrooms, as well as oyster oyster mushrooms and winter mushrooms, peck.
- January is a great reason to look for a winter mushroom.
- Closing of the winter season takes place in February. Only one species of mushrooms can be found this month: winter mushrooms.
Ukraine is a country that is famous not only for its wheat, but also for the huge variety of mushrooms that can grow throughout the territory. It is important for the Ukrainian mushroom picker to know not only species, but also mushroom regions and seasons. However, one must be careful: false representatives of the mushroom kingdom, which cannot be eaten, also grow here.