Content
The lead-gray flap has the shape of a ball. White at a young age. When ripe, it becomes gray. The fruit body is small. The mushroom was first identified by the mycologist Christian Heinrich Person. It was he who, in his work in 1795, gave the mushroom the Latin name Bovista plumbea.
In scientific works, there are also designations:
- Bovista ovalispora;
- Calvatia bovista;
- Lycoperdon bovista;
- Lycoperdon plumbeum.
The most common name for this variety in Russian is Porkhovka lead-gray. There are others: Devil's (Grandfather's) tobacco, Lead raincoat.
Where the lead-gray flares grow
They are thermophilic. They grow from early summer to autumn. They prefer areas with sparse grass. Growing places:
- lawns;
- parks;
- meadows;
- roadsides;
- embankments;
- sandy soil.
How lead-gray flaps look
Fruit bodies are rounded. They are small in size (1-3.5 cm in diameter). The leg of the lead-gray flap is absent. The spherical body goes directly to the root system. It consists of a thin mycelium. They grow in groups.
White first (both inside and outside). Over time, the lead-gray flare acquires a yellow tint. At maturity, the color ranges from grayish brown to olive brown. The pulp is snow-white, elastic. Then it turns gray or black-green, as it fills with ripe spores. There may be more than a million of them. Stepping on an adult, darkened raincoat, a cloud of dust appears.
The spore print is brown. The seed powder exits through the apical pore formed at the top of the fungus.
Is it possible to eat lead-gray flares
Lead-gray flap is an edible mushroom. It can only be eaten at a young age, when the flesh is completely white.
Mushroom taste
The taste of the lead-gray flutter is rather weak. Some people don't feel it at all. The smell is pleasant, but barely perceptible.
This variety is ranked as type 4 in a larger sense due to its very small size. Such mushrooms are recommended to be eaten as a last resort, when there are no alternatives. The 4th category also includes russula, oyster mushrooms, dung beetles.
Benefits and harm to the body
Lead-gray flap is not in demand among mushroom pickers, although it increases immunity quite well, strengthens the cardiovascular system. On its basis, doctors make anti-cancer drugs.
It contains the following minerals:
- potassium;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- sodium;
- iron.
Has the ability to absorb heavy metals and other toxic substances. Once in the body, the fungus absorbs harmful elements, then removes them.
But the ability to absorb substances from the environment can be harmful. The fungus absorbs toxic components from the soil, accumulates them in tissues, and when it enters the human body, releases them.Therefore, the lead-gray flap should not be collected along roadsides and in ecologically unfavorable areas.
False doubles
This mushroom can be confused with other raincoats. For example, with Vascellum field. It differs from the lead-gray flap in the presence of a small stem and a diaphragm that separates the spore-bearing part.
Possible confusion with neighboring species is quite harmless. But there is a mushroom that, being young, looks like a lead-gray flap. This is a pale toadstool. It is very dangerous - 20 g is enough to cause death.
At an early age, the mushroom also has an ovoid, rounded shape, but is wrapped in a film. The pale grebe is distinguished by a sweetish, unpleasant odor, the presence of a leg. Its fruit body is rounded, but not as merged as that of the flap. Spore print white.
Collection rules
Only young mushrooms should be picked. They should not have dark spots. Pigmented areas on the fruiting body indicate the beginning of the formation of spores and the loss of nutritional properties and taste.
Use
Lead-gray flap contains 27 kcal per 100 g. Rich in protein (17.2 g). It is fried, stewed, pickled, salted, added to soups and stews.
Conclusion
Lead-gray flap is an excellent food product, as it is full of microelements. Very beneficial to health due to its absorbent properties. And despite belonging to the 4th category of edibility, it is tasty and nutritious. It is important not to confuse it with a pale toadstool.
