Pointed line

Interesting Facts

Mycologist, author of books on mushrooms, Mikhail Vishevsky, expresses the opinion that the toxicity of the lines depends on the places where they grow, since their chemical composition differs in different areas, and, therefore, toxicity. Thus, he considers mushrooms growing in Western Europe to be poisonous and unsuitable for food, and those growing to the east, including in Russia, are insufficiently poisonous and suitable for food.

The sale of stitches is prohibited in Italy.

Mushroom pickers need to be careful when handling ordinary stitching. These gifts of the forest require careful culinary processing, and only after it can they be eaten. If you are not sure whether the line is in front of you or some other mushroom, it is better not to risk it and not take a suspicious specimen to the basket.

Edibility

There is no unequivocal opinion about the edibility of the giant line. Western literature insists that this mushroom is poisonous. In Italy, for example, it is forbidden to sell them. In the CIS countries, it is believed that there is no reliable information about their toxicity. However, raw mushrooms contain a toxin that, if improperly processed, can lead to severe and sometimes fatal poisoning. It affects the nervous system, digestive and hematopoietic systems.

Since toxins were found in mushrooms, the site administration identified this mushroom as poisonous, although some resources and publications consider the mushroom conditionally edible.

For those who nevertheless decide to try giant lines or collect and prepare them regularly:

There are some rules to follow before using these mushrooms:

1. Before eating this mushroom, you need to carry out the "detoxification" procedure. Namely: to begin with, soak in cold water, because between the grooves of the caps, forest debris is often found, as well as various insects (small and not so) and even earthworms.
2. Then they need to be boiled for 30 minutes, the broth must be poured out, and the mushrooms themselves must be squeezed out, and then rinsed thoroughly in running water.
3. For added safety, it is better to boil them twice. It is believed that this way you can get rid of the poison by 95%.
4. The best way to get rid of toxins is considered to be long-term drying at a high temperature, or, alternatively, drying in the fresh air for six months.

Well, after such procedures, you can already cook mushroom dishes from a giant line, as well as fry, marinate, or dry them. By the way, it is recommended to fry them in butter - it is so tastier and more tender.

Stitch mushrooms - are they edible in modern encyclopedias?

In 2014, a voluminous book "Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems" was published. The book was created by an international team of authors. In the chapter "Food Toxicology" it is indicated that the fungus Gyromitra esculenta (aka the common morel) contains the poison gyromitrin. This mushroom is also called false morel in the book.

The encyclopedia indicates that the negative consequences of mushroom poisoning with lines occur 6-12 hours after they are consumed. And symptoms include:

• Bloating.
• Nausea, vomiting.
• Watery or bloody diarrhea.
• Abdominal pain.
• Muscle spasms, fainting and atoxia (impaired perception and coordination).

What are morels?

Everything would be easier if the lines and morels existed in the same form, but these mushrooms have several varieties that differ in appearance. Having studied the signs of the most common lines and morels, you can easily identify the mushrooms found in our forests.

Morel common

Morchella esculenta. His cap and leg merge into a single mushroom body. Distinctive features of common morel:

• Hat. Cellular, ovoid. Hollow inside.
• Leg.Long, whitish in color. Stretches up to 10 cm. The color of the hat is from yellowish to brown.

Slugs and snails hide in the morel cap, therefore, before use, morels are washed vigorously.

Morel conical

Morchella conica. The leg and the hat grow together into a single fruiting body. The conical morel can be distinguished by the following features:

• Hat. Hollow and honeycomb. It differs from the common morel in a pointed hat. Its height - 3-9 cm - is 2/3 of the total length of the morel. Color - from yellow-brown to black-brown.
• Leg. Cylindrical, hollow inside. Height - 2-4.5 cm, thickness - 1.5-3 cm. The surface of the leg is velvety due to the longitudinal grooves. Color - from white to yellowish.

Morel high

Morchella elata. It is very similar to the conical morel. But his hat is darker and the fruiting body is larger. The mushroom grows to a height of 25-30 cm.

• Hat. A long mushroom with a conical hat is 4-10 cm high and 3-5 cm wide. The hat is covered with triangular cells and olive brown. As they mature, the cells acquire a brown or black-brown color. The partitions are of an olive-ocher color.
• Leg. It grows to a height of 15 cm, at first it is white, and over time it acquires ocher shades.

Steppe morel

Morchella steppicola. This is the largest morel among those that can be found on the territory of Russia. His hat is extremely sinuous.

• Hat. Spherical. This is the main difference, the rest of the brethren have oblong hats. Color - gray-brown. The diameter of the cap is 2-10 cm, the height is 2-10 cm.The maximum diameter is 15 cm.
• Leg. White color. Differs in small length - only 1-2 cm. Inside - voids.

With such external signs - a short leg and a spherical hat, steppe morel is easy to confuse with a line - be careful!

The mushroom reaches a height of 25 cm and grows up to 2 kg.

Benefit

There is such a term - fungotherapy, or mushroom treatment. In practice, it is not used very often, but recently this direction of traditional medicine has been rapidly developing. Line mushrooms have a number of useful properties due to the presence of various chemical compounds in them:

• increase appetite;
• "Work" as a pain reliever;
• tone up;
• help with neuralgia;
• used in the treatment of glaucoma, myopia, cataracts, hyperopia;
• improve digestion;
• stimulate the work of the pancreas.

The analgesic properties of stitches have been used in the old days for toothache, joint and muscle pain. The tincture prepared from them for grinding is used for various diseases of the musculoskeletal system, radiculitis, arthritis, osteochondrosis. The inflammation of tissues is removed, their regeneration is faster. In case of inflammation of the respiratory tract, a tincture is used to rub the chest. Inside, use only as directed by a doctor in a strictly defined dosage.

Preparation of alcoholic tincture:

• lines are dried and crushed;
• 2.5 tablespoons of raw materials are poured into 500 ml of vodka;
• the container with the liquid is carefully closed and stored in the refrigerator for two weeks.

The unstrained tincture is ready for external use. After rubbing in, it is recommended to wrap the treated area with a woolen cloth. The procedure is repeated until the pain disappears or recovers.

Stitching mushrooms (photo in the article) with any type of heat treatment are contraindicated for certain categories of people:

• pregnant and lactating women;
• with serious problems with blood vessels and heart;
• for any problems with the gastrointestinal tract;
• kidney disease;
• individual acute reaction of the body;
• children under the age of 12.

When gyrometrin enters the body, the kidneys are the first to suffer, it can cause kidney failure. Boiling and drying does not completely destroy gyrometrin, it just decreases its concentration. It is impossible to determine by eye the content of this "poison" in mushrooms, with the slightest doubt it will be safer to refrain from eating mushroom dishes.As a last resort, eat the minimum portion and listen to your body. Incorrect preparation of mushrooms with an almost 100% guarantee leads to nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and even fainting.

Taxonomy, characteristics and description of the structure

The common line (Latin name Gyromitra esculenta) is a species of marsupial mushrooms of the genus Gyromitra, of the Discinaceae family, of the Pezizales order. It is a type species of the genus. Another name is ordinary spring line.

The cap is a line of irregular rounded shape, has grooves resembling the convolutions of the brain, reaches a length of 10 cm, a width of 15 cm. In young mushrooms, the cap is smooth; as the fruiting body ages, it becomes wrinkled. It is mainly colored brown or dark brown, sometimes red or orange. The edges of the cap are partially fused with the stem.

The hymenophore (the lower part of the cap, on which the spore-bearing layer is located), the lines are smooth, not pronounced, without folds and plates. Spore sacs are cylindrical in shape, each of them contains 8 spores.

The pulp on the cut is white, thin, easily breaks, has a weak pleasant mushroom smell.

The leg has a length of 2-3 cm, a diameter of 2 to 6 cm, at the top of a cylindrical shape, becomes thicker downward. It goes deep into the ground, it is practically invisible. The surface is smooth, sometimes covered with grooves and wrinkles. The leg is hollow inside. Thick to the touch. Has a whitish or yellowish color, sometimes with a pink tint.

This species was first described by the Danish mycologist Heinrich Christian Person in 1800.

Description of mushrooms in Soviet literature

In Soviet cookbooks and encyclopedias, mushroom lines really were listed as conditionally edible.

But, firstly, these mushrooms were classified as conditionally edible, which means that they could be eaten only after special processing.
Secondly, line mushrooms do not belong in Soviet literature to mushrooms that children can eat.
Third, pay attention to how strict the requirements for the preparation of mushrooms were in the Soviet Union.

For example, porcini mushrooms, according to sanitary standards, had to be processed in several stages before serving on the table. And this despite the fact that porcini mushrooms are considered one of the safest.

1. Take dried porcini mushrooms.
2. Soak them in cold water for 2 hours, drain.
3. Boil the mushrooms for an hour.
4. Drain and dry the mushrooms.
5. After that, the mushrooms should be finely chopped and can be added to soup or other dish.

In the USSR, the lines of mushrooms are conditionally edible

Where do morels grow?

They grow in any forest. At the same time, different species prefer certain trees, for example:

• Conical morel, more often found in pine forests, less often in deciduous forests. Prefers felling, shrubs, willows, but can grow in the garden, in the field.
• The gray giant morel is not so whimsical to soil and terrain - it even settles in clay wastelands. It is found in poplar groves and in shelter belts.
• Morel cap. Avoids shadows. In early May, it grows in burnt-out areas, glades, near roads.

• They love moisture. At high humidity, they grow even in a treeless desert.
• In early spring, when the soil is moist, the mushroom grows in almost any conditions - you can even find it in your own garden or vineyard.
• If you go for a massive harvest of morels, then it is better to look for them in well-lit glades and on scorched terrain.

Morels, unlike other mushrooms that bear fruit for two to three months, appear for a very short time. As soon as the spring moisture leaves the soil, morels disappear. They appear only once a year - for a couple of weeks.

In good weather, when it is warm and damp, the harvests are enormous. But few people go in the spring for mushrooms. Therefore, morel families often remain intact.Why aren't they collected? Perhaps due to the fact that they are not outwardly attractive, they grow out of season, and most importantly, many are afraid of poisoning. But if you look at the external signs, then it is unrealistic to confuse edible morels with dangerous lines.

A lover of "quiet hunting" tells how the lines differ from morels, how they grow, and how to look for them:

Peaked line (Gyromitra fastigiata)

• Other names for the mushroom:
• Bunched stitching
• Pointed line

Synonyms:

• Pointed line
• Discina fastigiata
• Peaked discina
• Helvella fastigiata (obsolete)

The peaked line is one of the most noticeable spring mushrooms, and if the question of its edibility remains controversial enough, then no one will argue with the fact that this mushroom is unusually beautiful.

Description:

The bunched cap is quite remarkable. The height of the cap is 4-10 cm, the width is 12-15, according to some sources it can be much larger. The cap itself consists of several upwardly curved plates, which usually form three lobes (maybe two or four). The surface is ribbed, coarsely wavy. If the head of the stitch of a giant in shape resembles a core of a walnut or a brain, then the head of a stitch of a peaked in general outlines looks more like a surreal sculpture, where dimensions are mixed. The blades of the cap are unevenly folded, the upper sharp corners look into the sky, the lower parts of the blades hug the leg.

The cap is hollow inside, the color of the cap outside can be either yellow, yellow-brown, or reddish-brown, ocher in young mushrooms. Brownish, dark brown in adults. Inside (inner surface) the cap is white.

The leg is white, snow-white, cylindrical, thickened towards the base, with ribbed longitudinal projections. On the longitudinal section, it is clearly seen that there are remnants of soil in the folds of the leg, this is one of the distinguishing features of the beam line.

Flesh: rather fragile in the cap, thin. In the leg, the line of the giant is more elastic, but significantly inferior in density to the pulp. Watery. The color of the flesh is white, whitish or pinkish.

Taste and smell: mild mushroom, pleasant.

Distribution: in deciduous forests and glades, April-May, according to some sources - from March. It prefers to grow on calcareous soils and beech forests, occurs singly or in small groups, especially near rotting stumps. In Europe, the species is found almost everywhere; it does not grow in the taiga zone (there is no reliable data).

Edible: different sources give diametrically opposite information, from "toxic" to "edible", so everyone decides whether to eat this line independently. I consider it necessary to remind: for such "dubious" mushrooms, preliminary boiling is highly desirable.

Similar species:

The giant line grows at almost the same time and under the same conditions.

Video about mushroom Peaked lines:

The American Gyromitra brunnea is considered to be the American variety of Gyromitra fastigiata, although some sources say they are synonymous.

Are the stitches mushrooms edible or not?

According to statistics, 23% of mushroom poisonings recorded in Eastern Europe are mushroom poisoning with lines

If we take into account that the lines can be found only for a month and a half a year (this is mid-April and May), then this figure is very large. For example, the pale toadstool can be found almost at any time of the year, except for winter.

In fact, in the northern regions, line poisoning is recorded much less than in countries with a warmer climate. Why this happens, in fact, no one knows. Scientists are racking their brains over this, and several hypotheses have already been put forward:

• Some scientists are inclined to believe that, depending on the climate, stitch mushrooms accumulate either a small or a huge amount of the poison of gyromitrin.
• It is sometimes said that the amount of poison in the lines depends on how quickly the mushroom is “fed” with water.

Stitches mushrooms on alumina

• Also noteworthy is the opinion that on poor clayey soils, the lines grow not poisonous. But as soon as they settle on rich black soil, they accumulate a huge amount of toxic substances. Therefore, residents of the Kuban, Ukraine and other regions with rich soil, it is better not to eat lines at all.
• There is a hypothesis that different types of lines grow in the north of Russia and in Europe.
• Some explain such a different number of poisonings even by genetic factors. And they say that, they say, mushrooms are edible for northerners, because their organisms are adapted to them, while for Europeans, mushrooms are poisonous and deadly.

One way or another, all modern scientists agree that the mushroom lines contain the poison gyromitrin, which is dangerous for humans.

In forests, stitches often grow near pine trees

Gyromitrin has a lot in common with the substance hydrazine, which is extremely toxic and is used in some chemical industries. For example, in the production of plastics and rocket fuel.

Previously, there was an opinion that the lines contain the poisonous substance gelwellic acid. Then they wanted to repeat the experiment on the isolation of gelwellic acid in 1965, and this acid was never found. But in the same studies, it was possible to isolate the poison gyromitrin from the lines.

Gyromitrin was discovered in the lines in 1965

Cooking

When asked if it is possible to eat the lines of mushrooms, the answer is yes. In Europe and North America, despite their confirmed toxicity, they are considered a delicacy. Young mature mushrooms are harvested for drying and boiling in Finland, Spain, Bulgaria and other countries, including Russia. At the same time, the official sale of lines in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and Russia is prohibited. An interesting fact - Russian mushrooms contain less toxic substances, apparently, the lack of heat affects.

In France, they are grown artificially. The method is simple, it can also be used at home:

• choose a sunny site;
• collect leaves, dry forests, waste wood in a heap;
• everything burns;
• the lines cut into pieces are scattered on the ash;
• next April, the first few mushrooms are expected to appear, a bountiful harvest can be harvested in 5 years.

The unequivocal verdict of scientists is that you cannot eat raw lines. After proper processing, it is an excellent product with a delicate taste and pleasant smell. Experienced chefs advise to approach mushrooms responsibly:

• rinse the mushrooms thoroughly with cold water, remove debris and earth;
• prepared mushrooms are poured with water at the rate of 3 liters per 1 kg;
• the product is boiled for at least 20 minutes;
• the water is drained, the mushrooms are washed in running water;
• repeat the boiling of the lines;
• again drain the water and rinse again under running water.

Be sure to cook in an open container and with an open window. During the heat treatment, toxic substances are released. Now the mushrooms are ready for further use - frying, drying, conservation. The lines that have become edible mushrooms (photo of the dish in the text) are used to prepare soups, main courses, snacks, sauces, as a filling for baking. However, it is worth noting that if you are not sure that the mushrooms are cooked correctly, it is better to refuse to use them.

Appearance

The ordinary line has a number of other names, namely "elephant ears" and "mushroom-brain". Such specific names are due to the unusual appearance of this representative.

The cap of the ordinary stitching has an extremely distinctive shape. At first glance, it looks like a walnut or a human brain. The inner part has hollow formations. Curved shape with embossed and wrinkled surface. The color of the cap is yellow-brown or chocolate. Old mushrooms are distinguished by the dark color of the skin on the cap. The size of the cap can be up to 13 centimeters in diameter.

The leg is narrowed at the base.It can reach no more than 5 centimeters in height with a width of about 4 centimeters. The inside of the leg is hollow. The texture is dry with longitudinal tubercles and folds. The color of the legs of young mushrooms is white, which becomes beige with increasing age of the mushroom. There are compound fused legs.

The pulp of the mushroom resembles the texture of wax. The color of the flesh is creamy or white. The aroma is similar to that of almonds. The taste is pleasant and not tart. The pulp itself is quite fragile and breaks easily.

Toxicity

Until a certain point, Europeans actively consumed an ordinary line. Some people still add this mushroom to their diet. The toxicity of this mushroom is due to the presence of gyromitrin, which negatively affects the health of the nervous system and destroys liver cells. Drying alone can reduce the amount of this toxin.

Some mushroom pickers continue to use this mushroom without significant harm only because the amount of toxin in the mushrooms varies depending on the territory of their growth. The common stitches that have spread in Germany are extremely dangerous due to the high concentration of gyromitrin. And mushrooms growing in the Russian latitudes and other eastern regions contain a very small proportion of this toxin. Despite this, before use, ordinary lines must undergo a long heat treatment, starting with drying, and ending with the second cooking.

In case of ingestion of a mushroom with a high content of gyromitrin, eating it can lead to problems with protein and carbohydrate metabolism in the stomach. The toxin is capable of damaging organs such as the liver and kidneys. Symptoms of poisoning include increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, severe migraines, dizziness, vomiting, and diarrhea. First aid consists in gastric lavage. You also need to call an ambulance.

Poisoning - causes, symptoms and first aid

Giant stitches can cause poisoning for the following reasons:

1. Insufficient primary processing of mushrooms. Repeated boiling is necessary, each time at least 15 minutes, with water draining and rinsing.
2. A large number of eaten lines. It is not recommended to consume them over 200 g at one time or more often than two days later.
3. Increased, in comparison with the average norm, the content of gyromitrin in the collected mushrooms.
4. Individual characteristics of the organism - insufficient or not formed function of the liver and kidneys (with the corresponding diseases or in childhood), hypersensitivity to the components of giant lines.

Poisoning symptoms usually develop 6-10 hours after eating a mushroom dish. The state of health worsens, the stomach hurts, nausea appears, turning into indomitable vomiting, sometimes diarrhea and headache. In especially severe cases, the next day, due to serious liver damage, jaundice develops, as well as cardiovascular failure.

First aid for poisoning with giant lines at home is gastric lavage. To induce vomiting, the victim is given warm salty water (a tablespoon of salt per 1 glass) or a weak solution of potassium permanganate (slightly pink). After this procedure, you need to drink water with activated carbon at the rate of 1-2 tablets for every 10 kilograms of weight.

Further treatment must necessarily take place in a hospital with specialized medical care aimed at completely freeing the body from poison, protecting the liver, kidneys and maintaining the activity of the heart.

The large, curly, folded giant stitching is especially attractive in the spring forest. It is harvested, boiled, and then prepared by many domestic mushroom pickers. Still, it will not be superfluous to keep in mind that delicious large lines with potatoes in sour cream carry an element of "mushroom roulette" - an unexpected food poisoning.

Edible mushroom black morel (with photo)

The edible mushroom black morel has fragile fruiting bodies 5-12 cm high, 4-7 cm wide. Cellular conical, ovoid or pear-shaped cap, occupying 2/3 of the mushroom height, dark brown or black with light brown cells. The leg is hollow, fragile, white with a granular surface. The pulp is fragile, not bitter or pungent. There is no milky juice.

Look at the photo of edible morel mushrooms and remember how they look to distinguish them from poisonous species:

Grows in coniferous and mixed forest. Prefers limestone soil. Black morel is found in early spring. In central Russia, its fruiting occurs on May 10-20, immediately after the wave of fruiting lines. Black morel is quickly damaged by mushroom gnats ("worms"), so you need to have time to collect it immediately after the start of fruiting. Produces abundantly in pine forests after their fires. It grows on or near fireplaces. Black morel has no poisonous counterparts. No pre-boiling is required. It tastes best after boiling for 10 minutes.

Toxicity and ingestion

Raw lines are highly toxic - all experts agree on this. Disagreements concern the persistence of the gyromitrin poison, and the ways in which it can be destroyed without residue. Foreign mycologists believe that gyromitrin does not disintegrate even after repeated and prolonged boiling, and there are traces of it in the dried lines. Domestic practices prove that these mushrooms are safe after repeated boiling and rinsing, as well as the obligatory draining of the broth. Long-term drying in the open air (at least 6 months), in their opinion, also completely eliminates gyromitrin.

Ultimately, most Russian pickers of spring mushrooms use a giant line after thorough cleaning of sand, forest debris and preliminary boiling for 15-20 minutes with a complete drain of water and mandatory rinsing. This procedure is repeated 2-3 times, then the processed mushrooms are fried or stewed.

Nevertheless, collecting giant lines, it should be borne in mind that within this species can be found strains with an increased content of gyromitrin, or substances similar in toxicity. In addition, even well-processed lines before preparation are dangerous to use for children, as well as for those who are highly sensitive to the substances that make up these mushrooms.

Ordinary

This is what the common mushroom line is remarkable for:

the cap is wrinkled brown (of different shades, brightens with age), the edges at the bottom are spliced ​​with the leg (a kind of hollow bag is formed), diameter 2-10 cm;
the leg is asymmetric, wrinkled, partially buried in the soil, closer to the base it has a thickening, up to three centimeters long, light, sometimes pink;
the pulp is white thin waxy brittle, with a weak mushroom smell, does not have a special taste;
grows in groups and singly, found in all forest zones of Russia, with the exception of the Far North;
harvested from the end of March until about mid-June (depending on the climatic zone), mushrooms appear, like snowdrops, immediately after the snow melts;
are classified as medicinal, in the post-Soviet space they are taken with caution, in some countries it is considered a delicacy;
distributed in Europe, CIS countries, North America.

Mushroom stitch properties

The toxic properties of the line have been known for over 100 years. However, due to the variety of manifestations of poisoning, many experts attributed them to individual allergic reactions or generally an erroneous diagnosis (poisoning with other mushrooms or foods). Moreover, there are cases when some people who ate approximately the same amount of mushrooms from one dish, "earned" poisoning, but their neighbors on the table did not. It is also well known that some mushroom pickers have been collecting and preparing stitches for many years without any negative effect.Nevertheless, according to the latest biochemical studies, the common line is recognized as a poisonous and even deadly poisonous fungus.

Several geographic races of G. esculenta have been confirmed to contain high levels of a toxin known as gyromitrin. Gyromitrin poisoning is extremely rare in North America and Western Europe.

Data for Siberia are unknown, but cases of poisoning are very often observed in the countries of Eastern Europe (up to the border with Russia) and Scandinavia. In 1971, Polish researchers found that in Poland, the total number of mushroom poisonings accounted for 23% of the line. The number of reported fatal poisonings has been decreasing since the middle of the last century, in Sweden, for example, where line poisoning is very frequent, not a single death has been known since 1952. The total number of poisonings has also decreased, apparently due to the widespread practice of correct culinary processing of these mushrooms. however, the European average death rate for string poisoning is still around 25%.

The lethal dose of gyromitrin is 10–30 mg per kg of body weight for children and 20–50 mg / kg for adults. This roughly corresponds (for geographic races rich in gyromitrin) 0.2–0.6 kg and 0.4–1 kg of fresh mushrooms. Nevertheless, the individual resistance of specific individuals can strongly influence the activity of gyromitrin, up to almost complete non-response to the indicated doses.

Research into toxins began in 1968 when gyromitrin was first identified as acetaldehyde (N-methyl-N-formylhydrazone). In the body, gyromitrin is hydrolyzed to monomethylhydrazine.

The toxin reacts with pyridoxal-5-phosphate (the activated form of pyridoxine) and forms the substance hydrazone. Hydrazone reduces the production of neurotransmitters by inhibiting glutamic acid decarboxylase, which leads to the appearance of characteristic neurological symptoms of intoxication. In addition, monomethylhydrazine causes methemoglobinemia and promotes the formation of methyl radicals, which leads to liver necrosis. Inhibition of histaminase increases histamine levels, leading to headaches, nausea, diarrhea, and stomach pain.

The main symptoms of poisoning by lines are divided into gastrointestinal and neurological. They are found 6–12 hours after eating, although there are cases when intoxication manifested itself after 2 hours. Initially, they are manifested by facial flushing, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pains.

Further, trembling, convulsions, lethargy, ataxia, dizziness and severe headaches are possible, as well as fever (the latter is not typical for any mushroom poisoning and occurs only as a symptom of line poisoning). In most cases, after such manifestations, a gradual recovery occurs after 2–6 days.

In severe cases, the destruction of the kidneys and liver and neurological dysfunction, up to and including falling into a coma, are possible. With such a serious lesion, death can occur 5-7 days after using the stitches.

In addition to toxicity, monomethylhydrazine has been shown to be carcinogenic (studies in laboratory animals). And although it has not been confirmed for humans, some researchers believe that the toxin can have a cumulative effect, and sooner or later, even a small regular amount of eaten lines can lead to the formation of a tumor.

The benefits of mushroom stitching

A valuable spring medicine is stitching mushrooms, the benefits of which are very significant. They appear as soon as the snow melts and the earth warms up.

Someone thinks these mushrooms are ugly - the leg is short, and the brown cap is all wrinkled, it looks like a walnut - an overgrown or smoked brain. Although the smell of these mushrooms is pleasant, you need to be careful with eating.

The lines contain poisonous substances.Before eating mushrooms, you must first get rid of toxins - dry it, then soak it in several waters, and then cook it, drain the broth. Many herbalists and healers harvest stitches for medical purposes, such as the treatment of alcoholism or drug addiction.

Unique medicinal properties of stitching mushrooms

The unique medicinal properties of stitching mushrooms are mainly directed towards the treatment of joint diseases.

Possessing a strong analgesic effect, the stitches help in the treatment of diseases such as osteochondrosis, sciatica, rheumatism, polyarthritis and arthritis.

A vodka tincture is prepared from them, which relieves various pains well. It can be used for arthritis, arthrosis, heel spurs, radiculitis. Some people use the tincture internally, but it is better not to do this, since there is a high risk of poisoning.

In different years and in different places, the content of toxins in the lines can vary greatly, the dosage is very difficult to choose, and mushroom poisoning is serious. Outwardly, the tincture can be used without any fear, since this is one of the effective treatments for polyarthritis of the joints of the hands or feet.

The preparation is very simple: clean the wrinkled mushroom caps with a soft brush or cloth, cut (the knife must be rinsed well after that) and put in a glass jar, while tamping slightly. Pour vodka up to the neck, then close the lid and put in a dark, warm place for 2 weeks. Shake the jar periodically. Then strain the contents of the jar, and squeeze the mushrooms and discard as unnecessary. Everything that was useful in them has already passed into alcohol. Store the finished tincture in a dark place.

The treatment is simple - rub the product from the stitches into a sore joint or other painful place, wrap it on top with a woolen scarf. You can keep such a compress for an hour or two. The pain subsides quickly. However, for treatment, you need not only to smear when it hurts, but to go through at least a week's course. The stitching not only relieves pain and symptoms, but also effectively fights disease. The substances that make up the mushrooms, getting into the cartilaginous tissue of the joint, gradually restore it.

The stretching of their lines is used to restore vision in case of myopia, age-related hyperopia and cataracts.

Unfortunately, one of the directions of traditional medicine - fungotherapy (mushroom treatment) - is still rarely used in practice, although in recent years it has been successfully developing. On the example of one type of mushroom - stitches (not to be confused with morels) - you can learn the enormous effectiveness of fungotherapy.

These mushrooms are not uncommon, but they are more common in the forest zone of Russia, especially in its northern part. They hatch in mid-April. When the sun slightly strokes the drying earth, the lines already show their tops - real mushroom snowdrops. They are unpretentious, they are happy to take root in any place chosen for them. The people love them for their amazing healing properties.

Stitching mushrooms: description

The height of the line is only 6–7 cm, the roundness is no more than 15 cm, the cap is hollow, the surface is sinuous-wavy, brown. The leg reaches 6 cm with longitudinal folds. The pulp is brittle, with a specific mild odor.

Mushrooms grow in flocks, more often in pine groves and forests. They should be collected along forest roads, and especially in forest clearings, fires with sandy, uncultivated soil. Collection time: mid-April - May.

The lines have long been popular as a food product, but they belong to conditionally edible mushrooms. Before eating, they should be boiled for a long time, and then fried for a long time. Also rinse with water before frying. They should be consumed young. Only in this way is the poisonous substance gyromitrin present in them eliminated. However, under certain conditions, it is an excellent healing substance.