Common mushroom dung. Dung beetle mushroom: species, description Dung beetle mushroom and similar
White shaggy dunghill in the photo 
(Coprinus comatus) pictured
Dung beetle white shaggy (Coprinus comatus) does not grow large groups on manured soils, in meadows, pastures, vegetable gardens, in abandoned greenhouses, on flower beds, lawns, in basements, near manure and compost heaps, in places rich in humus. It grows near livestock pens, on the lawns of cities due to the hobby of citizens for domestic dogs. Common, in small groups, from May to October.
The cap of a shaggy white dung beetle is 5-10 cm high, 3-6 cm in diameter, cylindrical, then bell-shaped, half-open white, shaggy, the upper tip and flakes in the upper part of the cap are ocher. The plates are white, later pink, after the maturation of the spores they turn black and spread into black mucus. From which the bottom edge of the cap also turns black. The leg is white, 8-15 cm high, 1-2 cm thick with a vanishing ring. The pulp is fragile with a mushroom smell and mushroom sweetish taste.
The mushroom is edible only at a young age, as long as its plates are pure white. At the slightest darkening of the plates, dung beetle cannot be used for food. After collecting it, you need to cook it immediately - it does not withstand even a short storage.
These dung beetles are edible - young mushrooms can be boiled, fried, pickled and dried, but when they are eaten, you should not drink alcoholic beverages - this can cause poisoning. For this property, white and gray dung beetles are even used as anti-alcohol agents.
The white shaggy dung beetle mushroom can be confused with the ink mushroom (Coprinus atramentarius), which is poisonous if consumed with alcohol, but the ink mushroom is neither white nor shaggy.
Scattered manure in the photo
Scattered dung (Coprinus disseminatus) is inedible. Grows in large dense groups. The caps are small, 1-2 cm in diameter, constantly bell-shaped, at first ribbed, then folded. Hairy at first, then smooth. Young mushrooms are white, then white or with an ocher tinge, more mature ones are light gray or gray. Plates are frequent, lilac-gray-brown when ripe, do not blur into a black mass.
As you can see in the photo, this dung beetle mushroom has a whitish leg, pubescent at first, 3-5 cm long, 1-2 mm thick, without a ring:
It grows in the forest on stumps, in gardens and parks, on the lawn in places where there was woodworking during construction or felling of firewood.
Fruiting from June to October.
The scattered dung beetle is one of the smallest dung beetles. Has no twins.
Spore powder. Black-brown.
Similarity. It can be confused with small mycens and nonnigella, but the black color of the plates in mature mushrooms is characteristic.
Use. It has no nutritional value due to its scanty size.
Below is a selection of photos and descriptions of other species of dung beetle mushrooms.
Common and woodpecker dung
Common dung beetle in the photo 
(Coprinus cinereus) pictured
Common dung (Coprinus cinereus) is a fairly rare edible lamellar mushroom that grows singly and in small groups from late May to mid-September. It is necessary to search for it on fertile soils in orchards and vegetable gardens, as well as in woodlands, fields, garbage heaps and along roadsides. It grows in forests, lawn gardens, fertilized beds and dung heaps.
The common dung beetle mushroom is edible at a young age. Attentive people noticed how a tall tender mushroom sometimes grows among the lawn grass, outwardly similar to a dandelion, from which the wind carried off the top of the ball. At first, the common dung beetle is a narrow, acorn-shaped, white or light gray cap with a brownish top, no more than 3 cm in diameter and up to 8 cm high, with a short stem. The leg extends in length, reaching a height of 10-25 cm, the cap opens, cracks radially and represents a translucent delicate white or grayish umbrella up to 6 cm in diameter.
The surface of the cap is dry, radially ribbed, with fibers separated by cracks, painted in a bluish-gray color. The plates are frequent, free, first white and then black. The leg is rounded, thicker at the base, hollow inside, about 10 cm high and about 0.5 cm in diameter. Its surface is dry, dull, fibrous, white-colored.
The pulp is thin, brittle, odorless, white, which changes to gray in old mushrooms.
Common dung belongs to the fourth category of mushrooms. Only the caps of young mushrooms are eaten, which can be used to prepare the first and second courses. Pre-culinary processing must be done very quickly, since the mushroom quickly ages and loses its taste.
Fruiting in spring, summer and autumn.
The common dung beetle has no poisonous counterparts.
Common dung is an edible mushroom (at a young age). Its mass is not great, but in some places it is possible to collect a lot of young fruiting bodies.
Woodpecker dung in the photo 
(Coprinus picaceus) pictured
Woodpecker dung, variegated dung, magpie dung (Coprinus picaceus) has a cap up to 10 cm in diameter, initially ovoid, later bell-shaped. The skin of young mushrooms is covered with a flaky white blanket. As the fungus grows, the veil breaks into separate flakes, which, in combination with a black or dark brown cap, form a variegated "bird" color. The plates are not adherent to the stem, at first white, later grayish-buffy and finally black, watery. The pulp is white, brown under the skin, without any special taste or smell.
Leg. Height up to 25 cm, diameter up to 1.5 cm, cylindrical, tapering upward, smooth, scaly, brittle, whitish.
Spore powder. Brown.
Habitat. In deciduous forests with calcareous soils, it can grow on rotten wood.
Season. Autumn.
Similarity. It is difficult to confuse this outwardly colorful mushroom with other mushrooms. But inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse it with gray dung beetle, or ink fungus (Coprinus atramentarius).
Use. The mushroom is weakly poisonous, according to some sources, weakly hallucinogenic. There is information about its painless use in food by some people. To avoid unpleasant consequences it is better to abandon dangerous experiments in its use for food purposes.
Gray dunghill in the photo 
(Coprinus atramentarius) pictured
Gray dung (Coprinus atramentarius) famous, but little beloved 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 middle lane In Russia, it is called the mother-in-law mushroom. It 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. To this environmental group fungi include many coprinus. 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 at the edges, where cattle enter when grazing. Smaller species (eg Coprinus dissiminatus) abundantly cover semi-decayed tree stumps.
Among the mushrooms, they are ephemerals. 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 fungus matures, they quickly turn black. The pulp is light, without a special smell, the taste is sweet.
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.
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. Should be avoided alcoholic beverages simultaneously with mushrooms, as well as a day before and during the day after ingestion of 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 manure in the photo 
(Coprinus micaceus) pictured
Dung beetle sparkling, red (Coprinus micaceus) has a cap with a diameter of 2–4.5 and a height of 2–3.5 cm. The cap is bell-shaped or conical, 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 3-11x0.3-0.7 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
The dung beetle mushroom includes about 25 species in its genus, and itself is part of the Champignon family, but there are only a few edible ones among them. At a young age, saprophyte in many national cuisines considered a delicacy.
It earned this name due to its growth on decaying remains of foliage, stumps, dung heaps. In order not to be mistaken in the choice, it is necessary to study the structure of the reducer.
General characteristics and types
Visually, the mushroom is more like a toadstool, and it is mistaken for poisonous. However, it is considered inedible due to the lack of pulp. You can get poisoned while drinking with alcohol - diarrhea and mild hallucinations are possible. The scientific name for the dung beetle is koprinus. Its general description, inherent in all species, is as follows:
- a bell-shaped cap, which can be smooth or with scales and flakes;
- plates are wide, thin and frequent, their color changes depending on age (white in a young mushroom and brown-black in an old mushroom);
- leg - without thickening, mostly hollow, elongated, fibrous;
- spores - in the form of an oval, the powder is colored black.
Koprinus has the ability to grow in just a few hours after rain. Its favorite habitat is compost and garbage heaps, manure-fertilized beds, decaying wood.
The mushroom does not live long, after its ripening, the autolysis process takes place - the cap and the plates dissolve. That is why, as edible mushroom it is possible to get it very rarely. And even after collection, the decay process continues - it cannot be frozen, it is necessary to immediately heat it. You can find it from May to October in a temperate continental climate.
Saprotrophs: examples and nutritional characteristics of mushrooms
White and gray varieties
White dung beetle is also called shaggy, since his hat is covered with white lace scales. It grows up to 35 cm, and the snow-white bell-cap can be up to 10 cm in diameter. With age, it acquires a gray or brown-brown hue with a darker center. During the aging process, the surface of the cap becomes covered with black spores. The white pulp is tasteless and odorless. The young decomposers have white or light beige plates. It is this sign that testifies to his age. If the plates darken, they turn pink and Brown color, then eating such a mushroom is already dangerous.
The second most popular is gray dung... The mushroom came to be called ink because after its dissolution, the mucus was used as ink. Saprophyte, in addition to color, has other distinctive features - the absence of shaggy lace.
The cap is gray, with a dirty brown denser core, its width is up to 10 cm. The shape of the cap is egg-shaped; when ripe, its edges open slightly. The top of the ink dung beetle is covered with the same dark gray scales.
In just 1-2 hours, the mushroom grows up to 20 cm in height, the leg is thin, white, with darkening at the base. The white skirt quickly disappears. White wide plates darken as they grow, and the decompose is no longer suitable for eating. The pulp of a young ink mushroom is white, has a sweetish taste.
These both conditionally edible species grow in groups on fertile soils, beds with humus and rotting trees, sawdust. They need to be cooked in the first hours after emergence, until the plates darken.
The use of lacquered tinder fungus in pharmacology
Common and shimmering mushrooms
Common dung differs from brothers in several ways. First of all, it is its size. It never has legs taller than 10 cm and thicker than 0.5 cm, and the cap usually grows up to 3 cm wide. In this case, the leg is hollow and smooth, with a slight thickening at the base.
The cap is initially oblong and shaggy, gradually its bottom opens and takes the form of a bell. Folds and cracks radiate from the center, there are remnants of white flakes. After ripening, the cap turns black and decomposes. It can grow both in a single copy and in groups.
The shimmering coprinus took a fancy to the woody remains, which began to decompose. However, you can only find shimmering mushrooms in groups. It features a small cap up to 4 cm in diameter and a low thin leg up to 10 cm. Another difference is the color of the cap. Its skin has a yellow-brown tint, which becomes darker towards the center.
Glossy scales in young saprophytes gradually disappear, and thin adherent plates turn black and decompose during maturation. The white pulp gives off sourness.
Growing at home
The most popular for breeding are white and ink dung beetle species... They are grown in the same way as mushrooms. At the same time, the first harvest will be obtained only in a year, and the mycelium can subsequently bear fruit twice a season.
For planting, a group of adult dung beetles is required, which move to a garden bed, compost heap or box with a substrate in the shade. The soil mixture is prepared from humus, manure with straw and rotten leaves. The mycelium is placed 4-6 cm in the soil and moistened. To retain moisture, the planting site is covered with paper or cardboard. The ambient temperature should not be higher than 30 degrees Celsius.
Mother-in-law mushroom language: description, useful properties, recipes
Composition and preparation
Dung mushrooms are used in medicinal purposes... Due to their chemical composition, they have a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory effect, help lower blood sugar levels and lower blood pressure. The pulp contains:
And this list is not exhaustive. To cure alcoholism, dung beetles are valued for the substance coprin, which is incompatible with alcohol and causes poisoning. In addition, mushrooms have almost no contraindications, except for general ones (pregnancy and lactation, children under 12 years of age, incompatibility with some diseases). It is important to use only one type of hats during the cooking process, since the combination is toxic.
Heat treatment
You need to collect only young mushrooms, the caps of which have not yet opened, and the plates are white, without a pink and gray-black tint. The leg itself is not used for culinary or medical purposes. It is important to start cooking in the first hours after collection, before the autolysis process has begun.
Often, dung beetle mushroom is mistaken for poisonous. Indeed, it looks suspicious: a thin leg, a “skirt” characteristic of toadstools, plates, strange “flocculent” spots on the surface ... But this is not so. These "gifts of nature" are considered inedible mainly due to the lack of pulp: this lamellar mushroom is very thin.
Features and properties of the mushroom
Everything is poison, and everything is a medicine - so this is a mushroom also called coprinus (from Latin - coprinus) and belongs to the mushroom family. Its hat is similar in appearance to a bell: narrow at the top, slightly wider at the bottom, closer to the leg; the pulp is wavy and abundantly covered on top with dense, flake-like scales. The leg is of small thickness, very brittle, hollow inside.
Thin plates of the cap change color over time: from white to black.
A more interesting metamorphosis occurs with the shape of the cap: in a ripe koprinus, it opens like an umbrella and begins to blacken from the edges, sap like ink flows down to the ground (apparently, the etymology of the name "ink" mushroom is associated with this phenomenon). Over time, the cap completely dissolves to a mushy state, in other cases a round ink-colored spot forms.
Koprinus - a very early maturing mushroom, it grows and matures in less than a day. And sometimes it is able to be born, grow up, grow old and decompose in a little more than an hour. Due to the dissolution of the cap (also called autolysis), the coprinuses cannot be stored after collection - they come to naught, even if they are frozen. Therefore, after collecting dung beetles, their immediate heat treatment is required.
While the mushroom is young, it is quite edible, therefore it is considered conditionally edible. The age of the dung beetle can be determined by the color of the cap plates: in edible specimens they have a pleasant marshmallow-white color, and if the plates began to change color to pink or yellowish, such a specimen should not be eaten. You can make a delicious spice for the first and second courses, sauce or simply fry from the dung mushroom.
Growth area and species
They usually appear in places rich in various organic remains (the name "dung beetle", as you might guess, comes from the word "manure" - one of the collective names for natural fertilizers), found on half-rotten stumps, rotting trees. 
Dung beetles can be found almost always in the warm season - mushroom pickers collect them from mid-May to late October, most of them in September.
In total, about two and a half dozen species of koprinus are known. Only some of them can be eaten, other species are considered inedible and may even be poisonous to humans. ... We will cover four of them:
- Common dung beetle.
- The dung beetle is white.
- Gray dungweed (ink mushroom).
- Flickering dung.
Common dung
The cap of this mushroom bends smoothly and tapers downwards, but with age it opens and becomes like a wide bell. The surface of the caps of young mushrooms is slightly shaggy, covered with white scales; in the elderly it becomes more and more ribbed or wrinkled, the edge of the “bell” bends outward and darkens until it becomes completely black.
The common dung beetle cap has a diameter of up to 3 cm, the leg is very thin and fragile, hollow inside, reaches a height of 8-10 cm, thickens towards the base.
Dung beetle white
This mushroom is also called "shaggy" dung beetle. Its cap has the same shape as the previous species and is abundantly covered with snow-white glossy scales, slightly silky to the touch. This view is somewhat large sizes than an ordinary coprinus: its cap reaches 8-10 cm in diameter, and the height of the leg is up to 15 cm.
Initially, it has a white color (this feature gave the name to the mushroom white dung beetle), and in this form it is suitable for collecting and eating. The flesh of a young white dung beetle is very tender; some amateur mushroom pickers use it raw. With age, the cap of the mushroom gradually darkens, acquiring brownish or grayish shades.
Unlike its common counterpart, the white dung beetle grows mainly in families.
Gray, or ink mushroom
From the very beginning of its appearance, the cap of this mushroom is painted in gray tones; in the middle of it there is a spot of a darker color, surrounded by a lighter centric ring (it disappears in aging mushrooms). The scales characteristic of coprinuses on the cap are much less pronounced than in the previous two species, and have a darker shade than the surface of the cap itself. The young mushroom has an ovoid shape, later it opens up and becomes like a bell, reaching a diameter of about 10 cm, turns black in old age and seems to "melt", emitting a black liquid: the second name of this coprinus is an ink mushroom. The thin leg can be up to 20 cm in height.
These are the most "family" coprinuses, they grow in large groups. Their flesh has a sweetish taste and is edible only after heat treatment. You should not use ink koprinus with alcohol - this will cause severe poisoning.
Shimmering coprinus
The young mushroom has an egg-shaped cap, characteristic of the Coprinus, which opens later into a bell. The color is yellowish-brown, darkening towards the center. The scales on the surface are very small, glossy and grainy, and disappear as they mature.
This is one of the smallest koprinus, reaching only 3-4 cm in diameter, with a fragile thin (no thicker than 0.5 cm) leg. The best conditions for its growth are plant fertilizers: rotten tree trunks, deciduous humus. It appears not only in forests, but also in city dumps, in compost heaps (the latter, for obvious reasons, we do not recommend eating).
The white pulp of a young mushroom has a sour taste.
Cooking applications
The dung mushroom is processed immediately after collection, otherwise it will darken and dissolve. Only young mushrooms with unopened caps and snow-white plates are suitable for eating. If the plate under the cap becomes yellowish, pink or grayish, this copy should not be used.
Only hats are used for food, from them you can prepare:
- spice;
- sauces;
- mushroom roast;
- frozen semi-finished product.
Dung beetle spice
The mushrooms, cleaned of debris, washed and dried with a paper towel, are laid out in a frying pan and, stirring, simmer over low heat... At first, a lot of water is released from them, and the whole secret of making koprinus is the need to evaporate this water and leave an absolutely dry mass in the pan. With noble mushrooms, this is done with the help of household vegetable dryers, but due to rapid autolysis (self-dissolution) this method is unsuitable for dung beetles.
The dried mass is ground with a blender or coffee grinder and stored in tightly closed glass jars. This seasoning will give the dishes a mushroom smell.
When using spices from dung beetles, it is strongly not recommended to mix different types: Allsorts can cause food poisoning. In cooking, as a rule, white dung beetle is used - its taste and aroma are most vivid. Gray coprinus powder is used to treat alcoholism.
Fried koprinus
When preparing dishes from the pulp of dung beetle, preference is also given to the white koprinus. After cleaning from debris, its caps are quickly washed, carefully dried and, if necessary, cut.
Fried in a pan with the addition of vegetable oil; towards the end of cooking, you can add finely chopped onions.
The excess liquid released from the coprinus during frying can be carefully drained and added to the sauce for a side dish: pasta or potatoes.
Frozen mushrooms
Due to autolysis (self-dissolution) dung beetles cannot be frozen raw... The cleaned, washed dung beetles are boiled for 15-20 minutes - only in this form they will not dissolve in the freezer. They can be used as a semi-finished product for making sauces or frying. Frozen koprinus should be stored for no more than 6 months.
Dung beetle is often mistaken for toadstool or poisonous mushroom... But this is not the case! They are considered inedible mainly due to the lack of pulp. mushrooms are thin-bodied.
As for the toxicity, they cause food poisoning only when consumed simultaneously with alcohol, but on this moment no deaths were recorded. Belongs to the genus of lamellar mushrooms, the Champignon family.
Has other names: koprinus (from Latin coprinus) and ink mushroom.
Description
The dung beetle cap resembles a bell in shape, the pulp is fibrous. The top is abundantly covered with scales, resembling flakes. Thin plates change color from white to black with age.
The thin leg is very fragile, hollow inside.
Thin-bodied, the flesh is practically absent. Black oval spores. It grows extremely quickly, in a matter of hours, and in some cases the full ripening cycle is no more than one hour.
When ripe, the cap dissolves (autolysis), a gruel or an ink-colored spot in the form of a ring forms in place of the fungus. Autolysis continues after harvesting, so it is impossible to store fresh mushrooms, even frozen. Immediate heat treatment is required.
Edible only while young, identified by white plates. Therefore, the dung beetle belongs to conditionally edible mushrooms. If the plates begin to turn yellow or pink, the mushroom is no longer suitable.
Saprotroph, i.e. helps to decompose organic residues.
Loves soil rich in organic remains, fertilizers, found on rotting trees, stumps. Collection time from May to October.
Kinds
There are only 25 species of dung beetles. Most of the mushrooms are considered non-edible, and some are even slightly poisonous.
Common dung
The cap is covered with white scales, young mushrooms have the shape of a cylinder with a shaggy surface, in the mature it opens to the shape of a wide bell, the surface becomes ribbed or wrinkled. It has a diameter of up to 3 cm. The hat, when ripe, bends and darkens to black. The stem of the fungus is thin, hollow, grows up to 10 cm, up to 0.5 cm wide, has a slight thickening at the base. It grows both in small groups and singles.
Dung beetle white (shaggy)
The hat is abundantly covered with snow-white, silky scales, the mushroom immediately attracts attention with its beauty. Bell-shaped cap, up to 7-10 cm in diameter, and no more than 15 cm in height. Initially, the color is white, gradually darkening to brown or gray, in the middle it becomes brownish. The leg grows up to 30 cm with a thickness of only 1-2 cm. Conditionally edible, incl. and raw. It has a delicate pulp. It grows in families.
Dung beetle gray (ink)
The hat is gray with a darker seal in the middle. Scales are present, but small, slightly darker in shade than the cap. The cap of a young mushroom has an ovoid shape, in a mature one it opens to the shape of a bell (about 10 cm in diameter). A young dung beetle has a white centric ring that disappears as it grows. The leg grows up to 15-20 cm, no more than 2 cm thick. It has a sweetish pulp. Grows in large groups.
A small ovoid or bell-shaped cap (only 3.5 cm high and 4 cm in diameter). Has a yellow-brown color, darker in the middle. Covered with small grainy scales, which disappear as it grows, the scales give a slightly glossy sheen. The pulp is white, with a slightly sour taste. The leg is thin, fragile, hollow, up to 8-10 cm in height, up to 0.5 cm thick. The plates are thin, adherent, frequent, white or brownish in young dung beetle, turn black and dissolve as they ripen. Found on dead, decaying wood. Grows in groups.
Where grows
Loves fertilized soils, rich in plant debris. Therefore, it can be found not only in the forest near rotting trees or immediately on them, but also in summer cottages, city parks, near residential buildings, on stumps. It can be found right in garden beds, garbage dumps, compost heaps. Distributed in many countries with temperate climates.
Nutritional value and calorie content
Per 100 g of product:
Chemical composition
- 90% of all pulp is water;
- vitamins of group B, C, E, D1, D2, K1, thiamine, riboflavin, choline, betaine, tocopherol, tocotrienol;
- minerals: calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, manganese, zinc, selenium, iron, copper;
- amino acids (17 pcs, including 8 essential);
- coprin - a substance incompatible with alcohol (severe poisoning occurs);
- glucose, fructose;
- tyrosinase;
- nicotine, pantothenic, folic acid;
- saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids;
- tyrosine and histidine - only in wild-growing mushrooms, they are absent in artificially grown ones;
- trypsin and maltase;
- polioses.
Beneficial features
- promotes digestion, stimulates appetite;
- lowers blood pressure;
- antibiotic;
- lowers sugar levels;
- antineoplastic;
- hemostatic;
- bactericidal;
- anti-inflammatory;
- antioxidant.
Contraindications
Dung beetles are so harmless that there are practically no contraindications for them. But for the treatment of alcoholism, they should not be used if there are severe cardiovascular diseases, as well as problems with the kidneys, liver or lungs.
Powder making
Dung beetles are used mainly in the form of a powder.
Processing should be started immediately after collection. Dung bearers are susceptible to autolysis, incl. harvested and freshly frozen. If they are not treated, then within 3 hours they will darken and "part".
Only young mushrooms are collected: the caps have not yet been opened, the plates are pure white. If there is a pinkish, yellow or grayish tint on the plates, such mushrooms will no longer work. Only mushroom caps are used!
Dry them in a pan. To do this, the mushrooms are carefully cleaned of debris, quickly washed, dried and laid out in a pan. Fry over low heat, stirring occasionally. No oil! A lot of water will be generated during drying. Fry until completely dry. The process itself will take an average of 45-60 minutes.
Dried mushrooms must be ground into powder. You can either manually or use a coffee grinder or blender. Store in a glass jar with a lid.
When used as a spice, the powder gives the mushroom flavor and aroma. For cooking, it is preferable to make powder from white dung, for the treatment of alcoholism - gray.
Application
In cooking
Fresh mushroom caps can be stewed or dried as a spice. It is highly discouraged to eat different types of dung beetles, because their combination to provoke food poisoning. It is noteworthy that individually, these species are quite edible. The most delicious mushroom the dung beetle is considered white. Cooking time - 45 minutes.
You can only freeze boiled dung beetles. To do this, the mushrooms are cleaned, washed and boiled for about 15 minutes. Frozen mushrooms are a semi-finished product and are stored for no more than 6 months.
Pasta with fried dung beetles
Mushrooms are cleaned, quickly washed and dried. If necessary, the caps are cut. Fry in vegetable oil, add onions and salt towards the end of cooking. The water generated during the frying process can be drained and added to soup or pasta sauce. Pasta or spaghetti are boiled separately. After the water is drained, mushrooms are added to the pasta and gently mixed.
Fried mushrooms can be eaten alone or served with pasta as a side dish.
Mushrooms are stewed in a pan until the water boils away, then add vegetable oil and lightly fried. Onions and carrots are fried separately, and then combined with mushrooms. Chicken meat (preferably legs) is fried separately. All ingredients are mixed, spices, salt are added, poured with water or meat broth. Washed rice is poured on top and stewed for 20-25 minutes until cooked.
You can learn more about dung mushrooms from the following video.
In medicine
- stomach cancer;
- gas gangrene;
- staphylococcus;
- mammary cancer;
- prostate adenoma, prostate cancer;
- joint diseases;
- alcoholism;
- prevention of cardiovascular disease;
- adjunctive treatment diabetes mellitus;
- promote digestion;
- as a pain reliever for hemorrhoids and constipation;
- strengthen the immune system.
Powder and extracts are used in the treatment.
Alcoholism treatment
Dung beetles are actively used as a means of combating alcoholism. Many pharmacy preparations contain these mushrooms. Mostly powder is used, which is simply added to food. Of all types of dung beetles, gray dung beetles are recommended for the treatment of alcoholism.
Symptoms:
- nausea, vomiting;
- the skin turns red, purple spots appear;
- heart rate increases;
- there is a feeling of heat;
- intense thirst;
- vision deteriorates;
- speech is disturbed.
Despite serious symptoms that will be present for 2-3 days, the person is not in mortal danger. No fatal cases of dung beetle poisoning were recorded.
For treatment, one 1 tsp is added to the food. (2.5 g) dung powder. The medicine should be poured every other day for 2 weeks. If a person has been sick with alcoholism for several years, then the course of treatment is increased to 3-4 months, and the dose itself can be increased to 5 g.
It is very important to combine a course of treatment with a binge. By itself, taking the powder does not give a therapeutic effect. But during a binge, when eating dung beetle with alcohol, poisoning is artificially caused. As a result, the patient develops a persistent aversion to alcohol.
It is not necessary to inform the patient that dung beet powder is being mixed with him. But the treatment itself is best done under supervision and after consulting a doctor. It is important to consider contraindications.
How to grow
White and gray dung beetles are successfully cultivated. To do this, you can prepare a bed in a dark place and fertilize well. In the fall, find the grown mushrooms, dig them up together with the mycelium and plant in the prepared flower bed. The harvest should be expected only next year.
Dung beetles themselves are grown using the same technology as champignons. At the same time, they give larger yields. They can also be grown in garden beds and boxes.
For the substrate, take humus, tops, fallen leaves, manure with straw. The substrate is laid out in wooden boxes or bags. The mycelium should be buried to a depth of 4-6 cm. Pour water several times so that the substrate is well saturated. You can sprinkle the substrate on top, but not more than 4 cm. Then cover with cardboard or paper to prevent drying out. It is very important for dung beetles temperature regime: it should not exceed 30 C.
The first harvest should be expected in 2-3 weeks. Mycelium can yield crops several times a year. You can only collect young mushrooms with white plates. If they have changed color, then such a mushroom can no longer be touched, but left to ripen.
Dissolving, the mushrooms form a liquid stain or dark gruel. It used to be used instead of ink. Hence the second common name for dung beetles is ink.
Koprinus! Remember this beautiful Latin word!
The phrase: "Today for dinner a roast with koprinus" sounds much better than its very loose translation from Latin: "I fried a frying pan of dung beetles."
For people with a developed sense of beauty, this sounds harsh. But, in fact, everything is correct.
The genus of these mushrooms, indeed, is called dung mushrooms. And some of them are edible and delicious.
History of the genus Coprinus
Caprinus, or Koprinus (Latin Coprinus) is a genus of mushrooms belonging to the mushroom or agaric family (Agaricaceae).
The history of this kind is reminiscent of the history of the old ones. aristocratic families. "My family was once noble, but now dilapidated ..." - this can be said about the genus of dung beetles. Or rather, not as dilapidated as it is noticeably thinner.
At the end of the twentieth century, it included about five dozen species of mushrooms. But after the geneticists intervened, some of the fungi were excluded from the Coprinus genus and redistributed into the Coprinellus, Coprinopsis and Parasola genera.
This process has not yet been completed. Therefore, it is difficult to name the exact number of fungi belonging to the genus Coprinus. Russian and British Wikipedia, and now, as they say, are confused in the testimony. According to the first version, it includes fourteen types of mushrooms, according to the second - eighteen.
Only one thing can be said with certainty - the world of mushrooms is complex, mysterious and has not yet been fully explored.
This article focuses on dung beetles, which are definitely classified in the genus Coprinus.
General characteristics of dung mushrooms
The very name Koprinus comes from the Greek κόπρινος - "related to manure", "growing on manure."
But these mushrooms grow not only there.
Where and when do Coprinus grow?
Coprinus is classified as a saprotroph. This means that it feeds on dead and decaying organic matter.
From spring to late autumn, dung beetles can be found in the fields, in vegetable gardens, on rotting stumps and on heaps of sawdust. Coprinuses grow both in groups and singly.
Description of Koprinus
Their cap shape is conical, bell-shaped or convex. Most often it does not open, but sometimes specimens with a flat cap are found. From above, the mushroom is covered with a bloom in the form of flakes or scales.
The stem of the mushroom is hollow, smooth, and has a cylindrical shape.
The flesh of the cap is not very fleshy. The stem has a fibrous structure.
On the bottom of the cap there are multiple thin white plates that turn black when ripe.
In the photo, the dung is flickering. Edible species of dung beetles (white dung beetle, gray dung beetle). Not sure - don't take it!
Reproduction
A distinctive feature of all coprinus is their unique way of reproduction. Due to the fact that the lower plates of the fungus, where the spores are contained, are very closely adjacent to each other, the coprinus cannot easily scatter them in the wind.
And then it turns on a special mechanism called autolysis. The mushroom produces special enzymes that begin to actively digest the mushroom cap. That is, the mushroom actually eats itself.
As a result of this process, spores are released, and the cap turns into a viscous black liquid that flows down from the stem and spreads over the surface of the earth.
An amazing way of self-sacrifice on the part of parents for the sake of procreation of their own kind!
- Fermented coprinuses were used to make sympathetic secret writing inks and as a means of protecting important government documents and bills of exchange.
- English writer Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1820 mentioned dung mushrooms in his poem "Mimosa".
Piece by piece their body fell away
And it infected the air with its breath,
And soon only the trunks were visible,
Damp from the damp, suffocating haze.
Chemical composition and caloric content of dung mushroom
100 grams of Koprinus mushrooms contains about 22 kcal.
Also, the composition of dung mushrooms includes fiber, amino acids, B vitamins, macro- and microelements (phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, zinc, selenium, manganese).
Important! Please do not eat mushrooms based solely on what you read on the internet!
Koprinus species
White dung beetle (Coprinus comatus)
The mushroom is 5–15 cm high. The cap is white, covered with scales. Because of this, the white dung beetle is also called shaggy. The shape of the cap is fusiform at a young age. Later, it unfolds in the form of a bell.
The lower plates are thin white, darkening with age. The leg is thin, smooth, hollow, up to 10 cm high.
White dung beetle is widespread. It grows from spring to autumn in the forest, in the fields, in kitchen gardens, orchards and along the roads.
White dung beetle is edible and tastes good. Mushrooms are harvested at a young age and processed quickly. Cut white dung beetles are not stored for a long time.
Gray dung beetle (Coprinopsis atramentaria)
A mushroom with a gray or grayish-brownish cap. The cap is covered with dark scales. The shape is ovoid at a young age, then opens in the form of a bell with cracked edges. The leg is white, hollow, darkish at the base, 1–2.5 cm in diameter.
The lower plates are wide, white, darkening with age. It is found almost everywhere from April to November. It prefers to grow in damp places, gardens, fields, compost heaps and decaying wood debris. Most often it grows in groups.
Shimmering manure (Coprinellus micaceus)
A mushroom with a bell-shaped or egg-shaped cap. The cap itself is 2–4 cm in diameter, furrowed, grayish-brown, more dark at the apex, covered with small shiny scales. The stem is thin, fibrous, hollow, fragile. The lower plates are thin, adherent, white, darkening with age.
It is found almost everywhere. It grows in groups or intergrowths from May to November on decaying wood, as well as in parks, gardens, pastures, etc.
An inedible mushroom, although it is also not considered poisonous.
Willow dung (Coprinellus truncorum)
A mushroom with an ovoid whitish cap. The grooves on the cap are more pronounced than in the shimmering dung beetle. The edge of the cap is uneven, split. The leg is long, thin, smooth, white, hollow inside. The lower plates are thin, wide, light, darken and turn brown with age.
The fungus is widespread. It grows from spring to autumn almost everywhere.
Willow dung beetle is not considered poisonous, but it is not eaten.
Dung beetle (Coprinopsis picacea)
A mushroom with an elongated large egg-shaped cap covered with white scales. The cap opens with age, acquiring the shape of a bell. The leg is light, thin, hollow, up to 20 cm in height, about 2 cm in diameter, has a slight plaque. The lower plates are light.
Grows singly or in groups on decaying organic materials.
The resinous dung has unpleasant odor and is not consumed.
Folded manure (Parasola plicatilis)
A mushroom with a yellowish closed cap 1-3 cm in diameter, which brightens and opens with age. The surface of the cap is folded. The leg is 5–10 cm in height, thin, smooth, light, fragile. The lower plates are grayish, thin, attached.
Distributed almost everywhere.
The folded dung beetle has a very short life span - about a day. The fragile leg cannot withstand the weight of the cap, and the mushroom breaks and dies.
It is not considered poisonous, but it is not used for food.
Benefit and harm
Edible species of dung beetles (white dung beetle, gray dung beetle) are recommended for use by patients with diabetes due to its hypoglycemic effect. In addition, mushrooms are used in the treatment of diseases of the prostate gland. Chinese studies have shown that the polysaccharides found in mushrooms have the ability to strengthen the human immune system. Coprinus is highly valued for its B vitamins. It has antioxidant properties that are useful in neutralizing free radicals and also provides the body with essential amino acids.
But we should not forget that dung beetles easily absorb harmful substances from the soil, including heavy metals. Therefore, it is worth paying special attention to the place of mushroom picking.
How to grow dung mushrooms correctly?
Dung beetles can be grown both indoors and outdoors. Due to its unpretentiousness, the mushroom grows well and bears fruit. It is practically not affected by diseases and pests.
Subject to certain rules, you can get a good harvest of mushrooms on your site:
- When grown under conditions open ground the area should be shaded, damp and cool.
- When grown indoors, be sure to ensure good air circulation.
- For getting good harvest it is necessary to apply fertilizers containing calcium into the soil substrate.
- The layer of soil for planting mushrooms should be at least 20 cm.
- To prevent the substrate from drying out, it must be covered with paper or burlap and periodically sprayed with a spray bottle.
- It is necessary to plant mycelium in well-warmed soil.
Where to buy mycelium?
Mushroom mycelium can be purchased at specialized stores, garden centers, or ordered online. Manufacturers offer liquid, granular and powder mycelium release forms.
Processing and storage
The correct culinary treatment of Coprinus has a number of subtleties:
- Only young mushrooms with unopened caps should be eaten.
- The dungs are cooked within 1–2 hours after collection, as they spoil very quickly.
- Before cooking, the mushrooms must be thoroughly rinsed with plenty of water and allowed to drain.
- Dung beetles are not suitable for drying and canning.
- Mushrooms can only be stored frozen. Before freezing, they must be fried or boiled.
- Dung mushrooms must not be used in combination with other mushrooms.
- Dung mushrooms must not be consumed in combination with alcohol.
Dung mushroom from alcoholism
Dung beetle and flickering dung can cause serious negative reactions when consumed in conjunction with alcohol.
This feature was noticed by pharmaceutical companies, and began to use coprin (both natural and synthesized) for the production of drugs that help in the treatment of alcohol addiction.
For the same purpose, dung beetles are also used in alternative medicine. It is considered that daily use small doses of koprinus causes a persistent aversion to alcohol in the patient.
But it is better to consult a doctor!
