Gall mushroom - description of appearance, seasonality, taste + 69 photos

Sometimes in the common people or in everyday life you can hear a whole collection of names - bitter, bitter, hare mushroom, false white or false boletus - but this does not mean that acquaintances talk about several completely different mushrooms, but vice versa.

Its official name is gall fungus (lat. tylopilus felleus), known for its belonging to the family of bolets. It is predominantly distributed on the territory of the regions of central Russia and is not popular among foresters due to its dubious reputation, because even with numerous processing recipes at hand, you cannot use the gall fungus.

Bile mushroom. Appearance description

And yet the object of our attention received the name of false white for a reason. Possessing the most similar appearance, bittersweet has a massive and strong leg, the diameter of which often reaches 7 cm, and even more in length - up to 9 cm.

The base is expanded, outside the characteristic fibrous mesh layer, predominantly brown or brown. At the break points, the color palette instantly changes, acquiring all the shades of the pink palette.

As for the cap, it is many times larger than the stem itself, takes the form of a hemisphere, painted in light brown.

But with age, the gall fungus changes its shade to chestnut, and the cap stretches and is even more convex.

The more years the fungus has, the more the hemisphere is exposed to cracks and fractures, it resembles a pillow. Changes also apply to color - the older the gall fungus, the brighter the yellow-brown hue.

A distinctive feature is the amazing inviolability of the false boletus - not a single chip or dent. This is due to the fact that insects purposefully avoid the mushroom, not daring to taste it. Which is not recommended for humans.

Attention! Do not forget to check the appearance with the foresters of your region, due to the wide variety of color palette - representatives of the species can have a “headdress” of both reddish and gray shades.

Where and when does gall fungus grow?

You can see a collection of gall mushrooms in the forest from August until the cold days of October, especially low temperatures significantly shorten the period until September. False boletus in most cases prefers exclusively coniferous soils, which are in abundance among the growth of spruces and pines.

Sometimes you can see a representative of the species under a birch, which happens extremely rarely. But bitterness does not like to grow in the wilderness, choosing the outskirts and clinging to the roots of trees (especially a lot near rotten trunks and stumps).

Most often, a single representative or a group in a modest amount is found in one place; it is not possible to see the concentration of bile copies in one sector.

It is for this reason that the gall fungus often ends up in the basket along with the rest, only an experienced specialist can distinguish the substitution.

Bile mushroom. The difference between gall fungus and boletus

And first of all, it is worth mentioning - the resettlement of useful mushrooms differs markedly from the preferences of the mustard, the same boletus cannot be found near a rotten tree, rhizome or hemp.

The similarity of white and gall mushrooms is undeniable, but even here there are some nuances. For example, pay attention to the color scheme of the "headwear" - the cap of the porcini mushroom has a dark tint on top and a greenish yellow on the inside, while the false white is known for its pink interior.

The leg should also be of interest to the inveterate forester - in the porcini mushroom it has a pronounced light shade than in the mustard. A distinctive feature is the dullness of the mesh on the original representatives, a bitter one cannot boast of this.

And, as mentioned earlier, the gall fungus is never eaten by insects, which cannot be said about the boletus or white mushroom. As can be seen, even such an exact identity has differences.

But, in order to avoid a mistake in the choice, the specialist is advised to look at the photo of the gall fungus before going hunting. So it will be much easier to distinguish the substitution and choose a healthy product for future dishes.

Bile mushroom. Edible or not? Taste qualities

The representative of the species fully justifies the name - just lick the cap of the mushroom, after which bitterness will instantly be felt, and as a result, a burning sensation.

The bitterness that is produced by the gall fungus is not destroyed under the influence of high temperatures, neither boiling nor frying will help - from all this the amount of bitter substance only increases. Moreover, one piece of gall fungus is enough to “infect” the entire dish.

A softening effect is exerted by marinade or vinegar, which make it possible not to notice bitterness in food. But it is still not recommended to use it in order to avoid further health problems.