Phellodon fused (fused hedgehog, phellodon connatus): what mushrooms look like, where and how they grow, are they edible or not

Popular types

Round cotyledon (Cotyledon orbiculata)

One of the most popular species cultivated by amateur flower growers. In nature, it grows up to a meter or even higher. In indoor conditions, it grows into a low compact bush. At a young age, Cotyledon is rounded, very decorative due to the rounded triangular leaves. The leaves are covered with a waxy bloom, with a burgundy edging along the edges. During flowering, throws out long peduncle up to 60 cm... in height. The corollas of the flowers are only 1 cm in size. The color is red-orange or yellow, practically odorless.

Rounded cotyledon

Cotyledon undulata or Undulata

This species is the most exquisite and beautiful. It grows to a small bush, up to half a meter high. The compact form fits very harmoniously into the interior. Of greatest interest are leaves with a wavy edge. The diamond shape and distinctive edges resemble scallops. In this species, young leaves and shoots are also coated with a layer of wax, which helps the plant retain moisture in arid climates. There are white stripes on a short burgundy peduncle. The length of the peduncle does not exceed 25 cm. Shades of flowers vary from light yellow to orange.

Cotyledon wavy

Felt cotyledon (Cotyledon tomentosa)

This type of Cotyledon is often called "bear paws" for the special structure of the leaves. The smallest of all types. All parts of the plant are covered with dense hairs. The leaves are very thick, have teeth bent inward. They have a red border. They are very similar to the paws of a toy bear. The length of the leaf plate is 2.5 cm, and the width is 1.2 cm. Plump, juicy leaves of an elongated ovoid shape. They retain a large supply of moisture. The flowers are bell-shaped in the usual red-orange color for Cotyledon.

Felted cotyledon / Flowering

K. Lady Smith (Cotyledon Ladismithiensis)

This species is even more pubescent with thick silvery hairs. But also small in size. In all other respects it is similar to Cotyledon felt, but unlike it, it has a variegated color of petals. Looks very impressive against the background of monochromatic greenery.

Lady smith

Cotiledon LewisiaFamily Montiaceae

Perennial plant with smooth leaves, reaching a length of 15 cm... The burgundy border and wavy edges add additional decorative effect. The leaves form a dense rosette. Several peduncles with multi-petal flowers grow from it. The flowers range in color from white to crimson. In the summertime, it can be planted in a flower bed, usually planted directly in a pot.

Cotyledon Levisia / Blossom

Cotyledon macrantha Berger

The height of this succulent is 50-80 cm. The branches are straight, thickened, the leaves are arranged crosswise. They are fleshy thick, dark green with a burgundy border. The peduncle grows up to 25-30 cm. The flowers are drooping, bending down. Outside they have a red tint, yellow-green shades are visible inside, stamens are not visible. Corolla tubule with swelling at the petiole, petals with a bend. Long bloom - from December to March.

Large-flowered cotyledon

Cotyledon papillaris Papillary

Small branching ornamental shrub 15-20 cm in height. The leaves are elongated - fleshy. The surface of the leaf is smooth, over time, a waxy coating appears. The leaf is slightly pointed, flattened at the top, with a burgundy border. This species does not bloom at home.

Cotyledon papillaris

Evaluation of the edibility of felt phellodon

Felt Hericium belongs to the category of inedible mushrooms that are not grown or harvested.

Related species of phellodon felt

Externally, the striped hercock is very similar to the felt hedgehog. But the fruit bodies of the striped hedgehog are slender, the flesh is dark rusty, and the thorns are brown. This is also an inedible species. The color of the cap is rusty brown, there is a pattern of alternating stripes. The leg is velvety, rusty.

Hericium striped today is a rather rare fungus. The harvest is observed from August to September. These mushrooms can grow in groups or singly, sometimes grow together in caps and legs, and sometimes bear fruit in rows. Mixed forests are the places of distribution of striped hedgehogs. They choose well-rotted soil. These mushrooms are especially preferred in mixed birch areas.

Phellodon grown together is also an inedible mushroom. Like the felted phellodon, this species is quite common. Its head is about 4 centimeters in circumference. Its shape is wrong. The color of the cap is gray-black. At a young age, the edges of the cap are whitish. The lower surface of the mushroom is spiny. The thorns are short, at first they are white, then they turn gray-purple. The leg is short, thin, shiny, black.

Often, fused phellodons gather in groups, growing together in several caps. They grow in coniferous forests among pine trees, but they can also be found in mixed forests. These mushrooms love sandy soils. The fruiting period is in August-November.

Phellodon tomentosus

Current title

Systematic position

Etymology of the species epithet

Tomentōsus, a, um mic. felt-like, felt. From tōmentum, i n padding (wool, hair, straw, etc.) + -ōsus, a, um strengthening.

Synonyms

• Hydnum tomentosum L., Sp. pl. 2: 1178 (1753)
• Calodon tomentosus (L.) Maire, Publ. Inst. Bot. Barcelona 3 (no. 4): 36 (1937)
• Phellodon pullus (Schaeff.) Banker, Mycologia 5 (2): 62 (1913)
• Phellodon cyathiformis (P. Karst.) P. Karst., Revue mycol., Toulouse 3 (no. 9): 19 (1881)
• Calodon cyathiformis (P. Karst.) Quél., Enchir. fung. (Paris): 191 (1886)

Other names: Felt Hericium.

Habit

Fruit body: Cap and stem (agaricoid)

Hymenophore: Thorny

Fruiting body

Fruit bodies often grow together with caps, forming complex conglomerates up to 200 mm in diameter.

Hat

The cap is 20 - 60 mm in diameter, as a rule, depressed in the center, at a young age it is more or less even, rounded, in old age with a winding edge. Surface with fine pubescence, velvety, radially wrinkled, painted in concentric zones, gray-brown, yellow-brown, red-brown, brown, dark brown in the center, white, beige along the edge.

Hymenophore spiny, slightly descending, spines up to 3 mm long, 0.1 - 0.2 mm in diameter, white at first, then gray-pinkish.

Leg

The leg is 10 - 30 mm long, 3 - 8 mm in diameter, cylindrical, curved, solid. The surface is smooth or slightly pubescent, but not felted. It is painted with zonal rings in the same colors as the center of the cap. The base of the stem often grows together with the bases of the legs of neighboring fruit bodies, always with a large number of ingrown litter elements (twigs, coniferous needles, moss).

Pulp

The flesh is yellowish brown. Smells like fenugreek (Trigonella) or Maggi seasoning when dried. Bitter taste.

Microscopy

Spores 3 - 4 × 2.5 - 4 µm, spherical or nearly spherical, with spines 0.5 µm long.

Basidia 18 - 30 × 4 - 6 μm, clavate, 4-spore, without a buckle at the base.

The hyphal system is monomitic, generative hyphae 1.5 - 6 µm in diameter, transparent or pale brown, septa without buckles.

Ecology and distribution

It grows on soil and coniferous litter in large groups in old-growth coniferous forests. Forms mycorrhiza with pines (Pinus).

Apparently, it is sensitive to soil pollution with nitrogen and sulfur compounds, preferring very clean forests with poor soils, like many other members of the banker family.

In Western Siberia, it is common in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, in the pure lichen forests of the Surgut region. In the Novosibirsk region, we noted several points of fruiting in dead cover plots in Karakansky Bor in 2017.

Fruiting

The divisions correspond to the decades of the month.

Nutritional properties

Similar species

• Black phellodon (Phellodon niger) - with dark gray or almost black flesh with a bluish tinge on the cut.
• Hydnellum striped (Hydnellum concrescens) - the flesh of the same color with the surface, brown; spines are brown.

Notes

According to the literature, the fruiting bodies of Phellodon tomentosus are used for dyeing fabrics and wool. Depending on the dyeing technology and the stains used, various colors can be obtained: greenish brown, golden brown, light brown.

Related materials

1. Pegler D. N., Robert P. J., Spooner B. N. British Cantharelles and Tooth Fungi. An account of the British Cantharelloid and stipitate Hydnoid Fungi. - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1997 .-- 114 p. - P. 68.
2. Breitenbach J, Kränzlin F. Fungi of Switzerland. A contribution to the knowledge of the fungal flora of Switzerland. Vol 2. Heterobasidiomycetes, Aphyllophorales, Gasteromycetes. - Lucerne: Verlag Mykologia, 1986 .-- 412 p. - P. 230.
3. Maas Geesteranus R. A. Die terrestrischen Stachelpilze Europas. - Amsterdam - London: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1975 .-- 128 p. - P. 23.
4. Bessette A. R., Bessette A. E. The Rainbow Beneath my Feet: A Mushroom Dyer's Field Guide. - Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2001 .-- 176 p. - P. 125.

Link to this page for prints

Main types

Only 4 types of such a plant are especially popular with flower growers.

Round cotyledon (Cotyledon orbiculata)

This type is most popular with flower growers. This shrub, growing in the wild, can reach a height of 90-130 centimeters. Whole, smooth leaves have an inversely ovate shape, which can rather be described as rounded-triangular. Their length varies from 7 to 13 centimeters. On the surface of the leaf plates and shoots there is a dense whitish bloom of wax, which is why the non-lignified parts of the bush are painted with a matte greenish-gray color shade. Edge sheet plate has burgundy color. The reddish-orange flowers are rather small, the corolla tube is 1–2 centimeters long. They are placed on a long (up to 60 centimeters long), thick peduncle painted in burgundy color. There are varieties with yellow flowers.

Cotyledon undulata

This shrub is quite compact, so its height does not exceed half a meter. The broad-rhomboid leaves have strongly wavy edges, making them very similar to scallops. This species also has a whitish and rather thick coating of wax on the surface of young leaves and stems, as a result of which they acquire a greenish-gray color. On the surface of the burgundy peduncle, the height of which can reach 25 centimeters, there are whitish stripes. The color of the flowers varies from orange to yellow, while the corolla tube reaches a length of 16-18 millimeters.

Felt cotyledon (Cotyledon tomentosa)

It is the smallest of all types, as its height can vary from 10 to 15 centimeters. This species stands out from most of the rest in that on its surface, instead of a bloom of wax, there is a dense pubescence. Plump, juicy leaves of an elongated-ovoid shape in the upper part have teeth similar to claws. The length of the sheet plate is 2.5 centimeters and the width is 1.2 centimeters. The appearance of such a plant influenced the appearance of the second name - "bear paw". The bell flowers are reddish-orange.

Lady Smith (Cotyledon Ladismithiensis)

A variety such as Lady Smith's cotyledon (Cotyledon Ladismithiensis) is also quite common in the culture. Its distinctive feature is a thicker silvery pubescence. There is also a very spectacular variety with variegated foliage.

Cotyledon cacalioides

This shrub is rather short. So, its height, as a rule, does not exceed 20 centimeters. Linear, cylindrical, greenish-gray leaves in length reach 5-6 centimeters. They are part of rather dense leaf rosettes, which are located on thick woody trunks. The peduncle reaches a height of about 30 centimeters and there are many orange, yellow or red flowers on it.

Phellodon fused (Hericium fused): photo and description

The fused phellodon is a species of hedgehog that can often be found while walking through the forest. It belongs to the Banker family and is officially called Phellodon connatus.In the process of development, it germinates through coniferous needles, which is why it has such an unusual shape. Another name is Ezhovik fused.

What does phellodon look like?

This hedgehog differs from other fellows in a wave-like shape. It is a fruiting body with a centered stalk. When individual specimens are located closely, they are combined into a single whole. However, they can be of different levels, which explains the unusual shape of the appearance.

Description of the hat

Phellodon is characterized by a rounded, outstretched cap with a diameter of 2-4 cm. Its shape is conical, irregular, and a funnel is formed in the center. The main shade is gray-black, which changes as it grows. Young specimens have a white, contrasting edging around the edge. Thickness is moderately thin.

Its lower surface is dotted with short white thorns, which later acquire a gray-purple hue.

Leg description

The leg is black, thin, short. Closer to the hat, it thickens. Its average height ranges from 1-3 cm. The consistency is tight. The transition of the leg to the cap is smooth. The surface is felt, often containing particles of forest litter.

Is the mushroom edible or not

This species belongs to the category of inedible. There is no official information that fellodon is poisonous. But it cannot be used for food, since the pulp of the mushroom is dry and woody.

Where and how does the fused hedgehog grow

Prefers to grow in coniferous and mixed forests, on sandy soil near pine trees. The active period of growth occurs in August and lasts until the end of October.

In Russia, this variety can be found in many temperate forests. Moreover, the colder the region, the less often it can be found.

Doubles and their differences

In appearance, the fused phellodon resembles a black hedgehog. But in the latter, the cap is more massive, its diameter is 3-8 cm. The color of the mushroom varies from bright blue to black. The surface is velvety, the pulp is woody. The leg is thickened, short. The black species grows in mossy places, the fruiting period is July-October.

Also, phellodon, which has grown together in appearance, resembles the Finnish hedgehog, which is also inedible. The hat of this species is convex or semi-convex with a smooth surface. The color is brown or red-brown, which becomes lighter towards the edge. The consistency of the pulp is dense, white. The period of active growth occurs at the beginning of autumn.

Conclusion

Phellodon accrete belongs to the category of mushrooms under the general name of the hedgehog. This group includes both edible and inedible species. But, despite this, this species is not suitable for human consumption. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the description of edible mushrooms in advance in order to avoid mistakes.

Description of fellodon felt

In a diameter, the head of a felt hedgehog reaches 5 centimeters. The color of the cap is rusty brown, with concentric zones highlighted. The shape of the cap is cupped, concave. There is a white bloom on the surface of the cap. The consistency of the cap is leathery.

There are thorns at the bottom of the cap. At first, the color of the thorns is white, then it becomes grayish. The spores of the fungus are spherical, colorless. Thorns are visible on disputes. The leg is brown, short, shiny, naked, pleasant to the touch.

Places of distribution of felt hedgehogs

Basically, as it was noted, they are rarely found, but felt phellodon is an exception in this regard, it is a fairly common species. Fruiting of felt phellodons occurs from August to October. These mushrooms settle in coniferous and mixed forests. Pine forests are their favorite breeding grounds.

Phellodon fused (Hericium fused, Phellodon connatus) what mushrooms look like, where and how they grow,

Phellodon fused (Hericium fused): photo and description

Fellodon fused is a species of hedgehog, which can often be found during forest walks. It belongs to the Banker family and bears the official name Phellodon connatus. In the process of development, it grows through coniferous needles, which is why it has such a non-standard shape. The second name is Ezhovik fused.

How fused phellodon looks like

This hedgehog differs from other brethren in the form of a wave. It is a fruiting body with a stem located in the very center. When individual specimens are located close together, they are combined into one whole. Moreover, they are of different levels, which explains the non-standard form of appearance.

Description of the hat

Phellodon is distinguished by a round, outstretched cap with a diameter of 2-4 cm. Its shape is conical, erroneous, a funnel is formed in the very center. The key shade is gray-black, which changes as you grow. Young specimens have white, contrasting piping around the edge. Thickness - discreetly thin.

Its lower surface is dotted with short white thorns, which then acquire a gray-purple hue.

Leg description

The leg is black, thin, short. Closer to the hat, it thickens. Its average height can fluctuate within 1-3 cm. The consistency is tight. The transition of the leg to the cap is smooth. The surface is felt, very often it contains particles of forest litter.

Eat a mushroom or not

This species is classified as inedible. There is no reliable information that phellodon is dangerous. But it cannot be used for food, since the pulp of the mushroom is dry and woody.

Where and how does the fused hedgehog grow

It prefers to grow in coniferous and mixed forests, on sandy soil near pine trees. The active period of growth occurs in August and lasts until the end of October.

In our country, this species can be found in many forests of temperate climates. Moreover, the colder the region, the less often you can meet it.

Doubles and their differences

In appearance, the fused phellodon resembles a black hedgehog. However, the latter has a larger cap, its diameter is 3-8 cm. The color of the mushroom varies from bright blue to black. The surface is velvety, the pulp is woody. The leg is thick and short. The black species grows in mossy places, the fruiting period is July-October.

Also, phellodon, which has grown together in appearance, resembles the Finnish hedgehog, which is also inedible. The hat of this species is convex or semi-convex with a flat surface. The color is brown or red-brown, which becomes lighter towards the edge. The consistency of the pulp is dense, shade of white. The period of active growth occurs at the beginning of autumn.

Conclusion

Fellodon accreted belongs to the category of mushrooms under the general name of the hedgehog. This group includes both edible and inedible species. But, regardless of this, this species is not suitable for consumption as food. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the description of edible mushrooms in advance so as not to make mistakes.