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What is dung beetle mushroom?

What is a dung beetle mushroom, a photo and a description, what medicinal properties it has, how to use it in cooking, all this is of great interest to those who lead a healthy lifestyle, monitor their health, and are interested in folk methods of treatment, including with the help of mushrooms. So we will try to answer these questions in the following article.

So:

Dung, or Koprinus (Latin Coprinus) is a genus of mushrooms of the Champignon family (Agaricaceae).

Fruiting bodies of cap-pectorals, with a central stalk, predominantly small and medium-sized, in some species to large ones.

The cap is bell-shaped, conical or convex, rarely opening flat. The surface can be bare, often covered with scales, flakes.

The flesh of the cap is thin-fleshy, sometimes practically absent, the legs are fibrous.

The stem is smooth, cylindrical, elongated, usually hollow.

The hymenophore is lamellar, the plates are thin, frequent, young fruiting bodies can be white or light, turn black when ripe.

The remains of the bedspreads can appear as a plaque on the cap in the form of flakes or scales, sometimes very small, or absent. Sometimes there is a rapidly falling narrow filmy ring on the leg, rarely small remnants of a volva are visible on its base.

Black spore powder.

Most species are characterized by autolysis of the plates and the entire cap after spore maturation.

Wikipedia.

Description of folded dung

In youth, the cap is yellowish, with age it opens. The flesh of the cap is thin, and the plates protrude, due to which the mushroom resembles a half-open umbrella. Most often, the caps never fully open, remaining half-open. In young specimens, the color is yellowish, while in older specimens it becomes lighter. The center is darker. The surface of the cap is folded. The diameter of the cap does not exceed 1.5-3 centimeters.

The plates are rare, they grow to the collarium (a kind of collar). With age, the plates become darker. But unlike other representatives of the genus, the folded dung beetle does not autolysis, that is, its plates do not turn into "ink". Black spore powder.

The leg of the folded dung beetle is thin, its length is 5-10 centimeters, while it is very thin - no more than 1-2 millimeters wide. Her color is white. The ring is not available. The leg is very fragile, most often after 10-12 hours, after the dung beetle is on the surface, its leg breaks and it falls.

Distribution of folded dung beetles

These mushrooms grow everywhere, they are found in meadows and along roads. Folded dung beetles bear fruit from May to October. Due to the fact that these mushrooms have a very short life cycle, they are hardly noticeable.

Similar species

Young folded dung beetle can be confused with golden bolbitius, but the difference becomes noticeable after a few hours.

In addition, there are several representatives of the genus that have an external resemblance to folded dung beetles.

Other mushrooms of the genus

Flickering dung is a conditionally edible mushroom. The shape of its cap is at first ovoid, and then it becomes bell-shaped, it almost never fully unfolds. Its diameter does not exceed 4 centimeters. The color of the cap is yellow-brown. The surface is grooved from the plates. The mushroom was called shimmering because its cap is strewn with a large number of shiny scales that can be washed off by rain. The stem is long and relatively thick, dense, white, without a ring.

Dung beetles grow, shimmering on rotting trees. Most often found in large clusters. Fruiting time is spring-autumn.

The hairy dung is an inedible mushroom.The shape of the cap at a young age is fusiform-elliptical, during the day it opens and becomes bell-shaped, and over time it becomes almost flat. The hat is no more than 1-2 centimeters in diameter. The surface of the cap is covered with the remains of a bedspread, between which an olive-brown color is noticeable. The height of the leg reaches 8 centimeters, and the diameter does not exceed 0.5 centimeters. The leg is often curved. Its surface is white with light scales.

Hairy dung beetles bear fruit in summer and autumn. They grow in various places, on the decayed remains of deciduous trees. Sometimes they can settle on manured soil. Fruiting bodies develop very quickly.

Nutritional value and taste

100 g of edible mushroom pulp contains about 20-22 kcal. For every 100 g of product, there are 3.09 g of protein, 0.34 g of fat, 3.26 g of carbohydrates and 1.0 g of fiber. For all its consumer and gustatory characteristics, as well as nutritional value, almost all types of dung mushrooms belong to the category of conditionally edible mushrooms of the fourth category.

Also read: What boletus mushrooms look like and where do they grow

The reason for this classification is the excessive fragility indicators, the not too large size of the fruiting body, as well as the similarity to inedible and poisonous mushrooms. As before, and now, dung beetles are not popular with domestic mushroom pickers.

Taxonomy

The genus is described by H. Person and attributed by him to the family of lamellar, or agaric mushrooms (Agaricaceae

). In the first half of the 20th centuryCoprinus became a type genus of the Dung family (Coprinaceae ), which included several more genera, similar in some features of the structure of fruit bodies and ecology. Phylogenetic studies at the end of the 20th century revealed the heterogeneity of dung beetles, and the genera included in this family were distributed among other families. Most species of the genusCoprinus were transferred to childbirth Dung (Coprinellus ),Coprinopsis andParasola families Psatirella (Psathyrellaceae ), the rest are considered to belong to the Agaric family, according to Person. The composition of the genus is being actively revised. In the 10th edition of the Ainsworth and Bisbee Dictionary of Mushrooms (2008), the number of species is indicated at about 10; according to the 2010 checklist, the number of species is about 25.

Collection and application

There are several rules regarding the timing of harvesting koprinus and how to prepare them.

But it is important to take into account that dung beetles, like other representatives of the mushroom world, have both many useful properties and contraindications to use.

How to collect and distinguish from inedible mushrooms

In order to know when to collect the dung beetle, you need to familiarize yourself with its appearance at different stages of ripening. From the beginning of May to the end of October, the fruiting period lasts under suitable conditions.

Collection of dung beetles

At a young age, a small semicircular formation first appears, which resembles a white egg. The mushroom grows quickly enough and after 48 hours turns into a ball, which in shape resembles a bell with light fragile plates. In rare cases, the stem can grow up to 35 cm. The cap can open up to 10 cm in diameter. On a pile of manure, you can often see a tall koprinus with a dense hat and dark scales of light or gray color.

Common dung

It is during this period that it is necessary to collect mushrooms while it has light, clean plates and the cap has not yet unfolded. In the following days, the hat unfolds and the plates turn pink. Thus, the coprinus shows that it is no longer possible to collect it. After that, the dung beet turns black and turns into ink.

Important: Koprinus have no counterparts and cannot be confused. But at the same time, it is important to follow the rules of collection and not lose vigilance, because if you collect old fruits, you can get poisoning

Useful properties and restrictions to use

The beneficial properties of dung beetles are due to their high content:

• vitamins (C, B, D, E);
• essential amino acids, trace elements (iron, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, selenium, calcium, magnesium, copper);
• proteins, fats, as well as antioxidants.

In the composition, as already mentioned, there is a special substance - koprin, which is incompatible with alcoholic beverages. Therefore, in the old days, dung beetle served as an excellent remedy for the treatment of alcoholism.

Recipes and cooking features

Dung beetles should be eaten only after quick processing and only when young. After the young mushrooms have been collected, they need to be urgently processed within the first 2 hours, or they will turn into mucus. They must be sorted out and the fruits should be left exclusively with light plates, and with pink ones they should be thrown away. When processing, it is necessary to remove the film and clean the leg. They are fried, boiled and pickled.

Here are some delicious dishes made from these mushrooms:

1. It can be cooked in sour cream, after boiling the mushrooms in salted water for 30 minutes and then stewing in sour cream over low heat. For this recipe, you need to take 300 g of dung beetles, 6 tbsp. l. sour cream, 2 onions, 2 tbsp. l. sunflower oil, salt and black pepper to taste. Mushrooms in sour cream

   First you need to chop the onion finely, and the mushrooms into slices. Fry the onions in sunflower oil until golden, and then add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. You need to fry for 15 minutes, put sour cream and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

2. The soup made from dung beetles is the same as from boletus. To prepare it, you will need: 300 g of mushrooms, 100 g of noodles, 3 potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 50 g of butter, sour cream, salt and black pepper to taste. First you need to pour 1 liter of water into a saucepan and put it on the stove. When the water boils, add the mushrooms. Dung beet soup

   Grate the carrots on a coarse grater and finely chop the onion. Melt butter in a frying pan, add onions, carrots and fry for 10 minutes. Next, we take out the mushrooms and put them in a skillet with vegetables. We simmer everything for 10 minutes. Cut the potatoes into cubes. If necessary, add boiling water to the broth. Add potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes. Then add all the vegetables and noodles, cook for 5 minutes. Add sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.

External signs of a domestic dung beetle

The height of the cap of a domestic dung beetle is 3-4 centimeters, while the diameter is practically the same, it is 3-5 centimeters.

The shape of the cap is ellipsoidal or ovoid, after which it becomes bell-shaped and remains so for a long time, only later it transforms into half-open. When unfolded, the diameter of the cap is 3-6 centimeters. A tubercle is visible in the center of the cap. The hat is cracking, radially ribbed, with a fine granular bloom. The general background of the cap is pale brown, ocher brown or gray brown. The central part of the cap is darker in color.

The plates are thin, frequent, adherent, wide. They are light at first, but eventually turn purplish brown, brownish brown or dark brown. Light specks are visible on the surface of the plates, and their edges are dark.

The flesh is thin, in the cap the flesh is elastic, and in the stem it becomes fibrous. The color of the pulp is white, there is no smell. The leg is usually of medium length - 3-5 centimeters, but sometimes it reaches 10 centimeters, and the diameter of the leg is mainly 0.5 centimeters, and only rarely - 1 centimeter. The stem is straight, cylindrical, with a small tuberous base. The leg is hollow inside.

The surface of the leg is light, whitish. The structure of the leg is hard-fibrous. Sometimes there is a plaque on the pedicle, and mycelial processes are visible at the base.

Places of fruiting of domestic dung beetles

Domestic dung bears bear fruit from May to September. The places where these mushrooms grow are dead, decaying deciduous wood. Most often they are found on aspen and birch, or next to these trees.

Often, domestic dung beetles can be seen nearby with wooden buildings.They grow singly, rarely come across in small communities. These mushrooms are rare in nature.

Medicinal properties:

The fungus has anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal and antidiabetic activities. Extract from fresh mushrooms showed complete suppression of sarcoma-180 and Ehrlich's carcinoma. Compounds have been identified that stop the growth of breast cancer cell culture and kill both ER + and ER- cancer cells. Ethyl extract, even in small doses, kills ovarian cancer cells, and ethanol extract has an antiandrogenic effect (selectively inhibits the multiplication of LNCaP cells and stops prostate cancer).

The antibiotic coprinin contained in white dung beetle is active against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Esherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Bacillus.

The enzymatically obtained coprinol is active against many types of gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to most modern drugs. Data have been obtained that white dung beetle polysaccharides promote the work of the lysozyme enzyme produced by the body, which damages the bacterial cell wall.

Studies over the past decade have shown that vanadium-rich dung beetle preparations can lower blood sugar levels and therefore can be used as anti-diabetic drugs. Mushroom extract with vanadium reduces glucose levels (including adrenaline), stabilizes glycohemoglobin and increases overall glucose tolerance.

The isolated polysaccharide comatin also increases overall glucose resistance and lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Aqueous extract of mycelial culture of white dung beetle showed high antioxidant activity. This is due to the presence of ergothionine, one of the mushroom amino acids.

Characteristic features of the dung beetle mushroom

The dung beetle is rare, grows from late May to mid-September, both singly and in small groups. It belongs to edible mushrooms at a young age. The pulp is fragile, odorless, white, which darkens over time.

Koprinus belongs to the 4th category of edibility. For the preparation of dishes from edible dung beetles, only the caps of those that have recently grown are used. Heat treatment should be carried out quickly enough, since taste and aroma are quickly lost. Bears fruit all year round except for winter.

Description of the mushroom and photo

The dung beetle is white and gray and has an egg-shaped cap, which becomes bell-shaped with age. The color of the white hat is white with a dark tubercle at the top, in the gray species it is gray-brown. With age, it unfolds slightly in the white, and more in the gray. The leg is dry, smooth, hollow; in the white variety - with a ring, in the gray - without. Photos and descriptions indicate that the species are quite unconventional.

Morphology

All Koprinus are mostly small to medium in size, and only rare species can be large. The hat has the shape of a bell, a cone, and may be wavy. The flesh of the cap is fleshy, the legs are fibrous. The leg itself is straight, shaped like an elongated cylinder, usually empty.

The plates are thin, multiple, light in young representatives, turn black in adulthood. There are matte scales on the cap. The color of the spores is black. After their maturation, the caps and plates undergo autolysis.

Place of distribution

Can be found in fertile soil, vegetable gardens, well-fertilized orchards, and trash heaps. Koprinuses grow in multiple bunches near stumps, as well as near deciduous trees. They can often be found in the forest in areas with an abundant amount of fallen wet leaves.

Dung beetle white

On the territory of Russia, it grows everywhere, except for the Far North, it is especially often found in the middle lane. Fruiting from May to October.

Edible or inedible

Whether edible mushroom or not depends not only on the species, but also from age... White and gray koprinus belong to the fourth category of conditionally edible mushrooms.They should be consumed at a young age when they have light and clean caps.

At old age, the caps darken and become unusable. Also, when combined with alcoholic beverages, you can get poisoning, because the mushroom contains a substance called coprin, which prevents alcohol from being absorbed by the body and causes severe digestive upset.

Answers to common questions

Can a dung beetle that has changed color be eaten? It is not recommended to use coprinus, which has changed color, as it has already aged and accumulated toxic substances in itself. And this can cause an eating disorder and poisoning. Are all dung beetles edible or not? No, not all dung beetles are edible. For example, white and gray species are classified as conditionally edible. You can not use old ones that have darkened and changed color. They can cause poisoning. Is it true that drunkenness was treated with dung beetle? Yes, truth. Coprin, which is found in these mushrooms, does not allow alcohol molecules to bind, thereby causing severe alcohol intoxication. Further disgusting.

The dung mushroom is edible only after heat treatment, has its own nuances in storage and preparation. It develops quickly, several hours are enough for full maturation. It is quite rare. Collectable all year round, except during cold periods.

Dung beetles are often confused with toadstools and other poisonous mushrooms. In fact, they are considered inedible because of their thinness, and food poisoning is caused only if consumed simultaneously with alcohol.

Dung beetle mushroom from alcoholism:

The substance coprin has been isolated, on the basis of which synthetic analogs have been created for the production of anti-alcohol drugs. Coprin (the international name for synthetics is disulfiram, the commercial name is antabuse) is an inhibitor of the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. By suppressing the production of this enzyme in the liver, it stops the process of decay of ethyl alcohol to carbon dioxide and water at the stage of acetaldehyde (acetaldehyde), which is a tissue poison. As a result of the accumulation of acetaldehyde in the body of a person who has consumed alcohol while taking the drug, acute intoxication occurs, which is accompanied by unpleasant painful sensations, such as "flushing" of blood to the face, nausea, vomiting, general malaise, tachycardia, and a decrease in blood pressure. As a result, a conditioned reflex reaction of aversion to the taste and smell of alcohol is developed.

The duration of action of oral tablets is 48 hours. Application in the form of implants creates a constant concentration of the drug in the body.

Dung beetles gray and sparkling

Gray dung beetle (Coprinus atramentarius) is a well-known but little favorite in the villages of Russia. He is little loved for a simple reason - it causes poisoning (small, but unpleasant), if combined with alcohol. Therefore, in central Russia, it is called the mother-in-law mushroom. He also has other names - coprinus (Coprinus atramentarius), ink mushroom, blagusa, stove, sozhok.

The generic name of these mushrooms - koprinus - comes from the Greek word copros, which means manure. Hence the second very common name of this genus - dung beetles. Mushrooms that settle on manure are called coprophiles. Many koprinus also belong to this ecological group of fungi. In total, the genus includes about two hundred species. They are cosmopolitan and are found almost all over the globe. Species of this genus settle on the manure of herbivores, well-fertilized soil, on decaying stumps and other plant debris.

Therefore, they are often found in gardens, vegetable gardens, on garbage heaps, near livestock farms, in meadows where livestock graze. These mushrooms also settle in cities (they are abundant in parks, on the lawns of public gardens). They are also found in the forest, especially on the edges, where cattle enter when grazing.Smaller species (eg Coprinus dissiminatus) abundantly cover half-decayed tree stumps.

Among the mushrooms, they are ephemeral. They grow and ripen so quickly that no mushroom can compete with them. The life of small species is extremely short. Seen in the evening, having lived only one night, they disappear by morning. Larger species such as white dung beetle (Coprinus comatus) develop slightly longer. But even in him, already 48 hours after the formation of the fruiting body, the cap turns black and spreads into a black liquid mass containing numerous spores. This phenomenon is called autolysis.

Hat. Diameter 5-10 cm, in young mushrooms ovoid, later bell-shaped, quickly opens. The edges of the cap are ribbed; when ripe, they break and spread in the form of ink. The color is from light gray to brownish, the tone is darker in the center. The cap of the gray dung beetle mushroom is sprinkled with glossy scales. The plates are free, at first grayish, flaky-pubescent, when the mushroom ripens, they quickly turn black. The pulp is light, without a special smell, the taste is sweetish.

Leg. Height 8-20 cm, diameter 1-2 cm, cylindrical, naked, with whitish or grayish flesh, with a silky sheen.

Spore powder. Black.

Habitat. In gardens, parks, along old forest roads, by the stumps of deciduous trees. It grows in bunches.

Season. From April to autumn. The authors found the mushroom even in March.

Similarity. According to the description, this dung beetle mushroom is similar to other species of coprinus, in particular, it is similar to the magpie dung beetle, or woodpecker (Coprinus picaceus), which has a variegated black and white color. This mushroom is found in the autumn in the forest and is considered inedible or slightly poisonous.

Use. It is tasty fried, but only young specimens can be used for food. It is necessary to avoid the use of alcoholic beverages at the same time as mushrooms, as well as the day before and during the day after eating the mushrooms. The dung contains a substance similar to antabuse used for the treatment of alcoholism, which prevents the oxidation of alcohol. Previously, gray dung beetle was used in the manufacture of ink used for writing especially important papers, since the spores of the fungus formed a unique pattern that could not be faked.

Medicinal properties. There are reports of Czech scientists about the use of dung beetle in the treatment of alcoholism.

Sparkling dung beetle, red (Coprinus micaceus) has a cap 2–4.5 cm in diameter and 2–3.5 cm high. The cap is bell-shaped or cone-shaped, yellow-brown, darker in the center, radially ribbed, folded, blurs when ripe. On young specimens, a light granular bloom is clearly visible, which disappears with age. The plates are whitish at first, then yellowish-brown, eventually turn black. Leg 3-11 × 0.3-0.7 cm, cylindrical, hollow, smooth, whitish. The pulp is pale yellow.

Growth. Grows in forests, gardens, parks on decaying wood or humus soil.

Fruiting. Forms fruiting bodies in May - November.

Usage. Consumed fresh at a young age, with alcohol it can cause poisoning.

Here you can see photos of dung beetles, the description of which is given on this page:

Dung beetle in the photo

Magpie dung in the photo

Red dung in the photo

White

Appearance. The cap has an elongated ovoid shape at the initial stage, and an elongated domed one after maturation. Height varies within 5-20 cm, diameter - from 5 to 10 cm. Painted in white or grayish color, dark scales of small size are visible on the surface of the skin. The top of the cap may be light brown. The pulp is white and has no perceptible taste or smell. The plates of young mushrooms are pure white, wide, located freely. When ripe, they first turn pink, and then completely blacken during self-digestion.
Coprinus comatus
The real length of the leg is from 10 to 35 cm, but the visible part does not exceed 10 cm in length, since 2/3 of the legs are hidden under the dome of the cap. White, hollow inside.The base of the leg, which is in the ground, has a thickening.

Where it grows. It is found everywhere in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Prefers humus-rich soils, and grows in large quantities on pastures and near farms. It is difficult to meet white dung beetles in the forest, while they can appear in landfills and garbage dumps

It is important for the fungus that the substrate is rich in plant or animal debris. Seasonality and edibility

White dung beetles appear in March and disappear from the fields in late or mid-autumn (depending on the region). Mushrooms are collected only on clean soils, away from landfills and various enterprises. The collection is carried out after the rain, since the fruit body must be young so that it can be eaten without fear.

In autumn, you can pick edible mushrooms such as porcini mushroom, oyster mushroom, milk mushrooms, umbrella, goatling, chanterelle, butter dish, flywheel, honey mushroom, boletus, boletus, mushroom, ryadovka.

Usage rules. Remember that this mushroom is completely edible only until the fruiting body is ripe. After ripening, it is dangerous to eat dung beetle. The species is characterized by the fact that after maturation, it begins to digest itself, releasing special substances. As a result, old mushrooms can be considered rotten, and a rotten product cannot be safe.

Despite the edibility, it is recommended to boil the fruit bodies before eating. After that, you can fry, stew, salt or pickle. Immediately after collection, the fruit bodies must be processed as soon as possible, since the self-digestion process does not stop even at negative temperatures. It is also worth remembering that you cannot store and store dung beetles with other mushrooms, otherwise they will also start to rot.

Important! Old sources indicate that white dung beetle can cause poisoning when consumed with alcohol. This is a misconception

False doubles

Gray dung beetle is easy to confuse with other members of this family. Some are edible and some are not. Fortunately, knowing the characteristics of these mushrooms makes it easy to tell them apart. Look at the photo.

The common dung beetle has no false counterparts. It is possible to mention only a few poisonous mushrooms that have some similarity with him, and even then very distant (see photo).