Fat pig (Tapinella atrotomentosa)
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Boletales
- Family: Tapinellaceae (Tapinella)
- Genus: Tapinella (Tapinella)
- Species: Tapinella atrotomentosa (Fat pig)
Synonyms:
Paxillus atromentosus
Rhymovis atrotomentosa
Hat: the diameter of the cap is from 8 to 20 cm. The surface of the cap is brown or olive-brown. A young mushroom has a felt, velvety hat. During the ripening process, the cap becomes bare, dry and often cracks. At a young age, the cap is convex in shape, then begins to expand and takes on a disproportionate lingual shape. The edges of the cap are slightly curled inward. The hat is large enough. In the central part, the cap is depressed.
Plates: descending along the leg, yellowish, darken if damaged. Often there are specimens with plates bifurcating closer to the stalk.
Spore powder: clay-brown in color.
Leg: thick, short, fleshy leg. The surface of the leg is also velvety, felt. As a rule, the stem is offset to the edge of the cap. The leg height is from 4 to 9 cm, so the fat pig has a massive appearance.
Flesh: watery, yellowish. The pulp tastes astringent, with age it can taste bitter. The smell of the pulp is inexpressive.
Distribution: Fat pig (Tapinella atrotomentosa) is not common. The fungus begins bearing fruit in July and grows until late autumn in small groups or alone. It grows on roots, stumps or on the ground. Prefers coniferous trees, and sometimes deciduous ones.
Edibility: There is no information about the edibility of the pig, since it is not fully known whether it is poisonous, like the thin pig. In addition, the flesh of a fat pig is tough and bitter, which makes this mushroom inedible.
Similarity: The fat pig is very difficult to confuse with other mushrooms, since no one else has such a beautiful velvety leg. The pig's hat looks a bit like a Polish mushroom or a green flywheel, but both are tubular and quite edible.
Remarks: the studies carried out have established that the pig contains a dangerous toxic substance - muscarine, which is not destroyed during the boiling process. Found in the mushroom and antigen, which, when ingested, causes the formation of antibodies in the blood, gradually accumulating, these antibodies cause blood diseases, and sometimes the use of the mushroom can lead to death. Long-term use of pigs causes poisoning, which often ends in death. All harmful substances gradually accumulate in the human body, they are not excreted naturally.