Telephon brush (Thelephora penicillata) photo and description

Photos of curly lobe (helvella crispa)

Video about how and in what conditions curly lobes grow, how these mushrooms look in natural conditions

The collected impressive volume of Ivan-tea raw materials or limited free time (sometimes all together) do not allow making Koporye tea by hand using traditional technology. Modern means come to our aid, one of which is a simple electric meat grinder. Tea made in this way is obtained in granular form. (more)

Already in April, delicious gourmet spring mushrooms - morels, represented by three main types: real morel, conical morel, morel cap - begin to grow en masse. Giant and ordinary lines can often be found next to morels. For lovers of exotic dishes, the spring forest also offers the most beautiful sarkoscifs, miniature strobiliurus, and a variety of saucers. In May, the species composition increases significantly: various horned beetles, dung beetles, tinder fungi, champignons, raincoats, May ryadovki, entolomy, pecicia, and spring mushrooms are added.

Edible mushrooms of an unusual shape, found in the European part of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Germany, have been added to the catalog:

Finger telephon (Telephon palm, Thelephora palmata) what mushrooms look like, where and how

Telephon palm-shaped (Telephor palm-shaped): photo and description

Telefora palmata (Thelephora palmata) or also referred to as telefora palmata is a coral mushroom belonging to the eponymous Thelephoraceae family. It is considered quite common, but it is difficult to notice this mushroom, since it has an original appearance that perfectly merges with the external environment.

Specific facts from history

In the first half of the 1870s, Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, a naturalist from Italy, made a detailed description of the telephon for the first time. In his own work, he called this mushroom Clavaria palmata. But after actually 50 years, in the first half of the 20s of the nineteenth century, the mycologist (botanist) Elias Fries from Sweden transferred him to the genus Telephor. The mushroom itself has received many names over the entire period of research, since it has been referred to the most diverse families a couple of times (Ramaria, Merisma and Phylacteria). Also, in many English sources, there are its names that are associated with a fetid odor, for example, "fetid false coral" which means "fetid fake coral", or "stinking earthfan" - "smelly fan." Even Samuel Frederick Gray, in his own work, written in the first half of the 20s of the nineteenth century, entitled "The Natural Arrangement of British Plants", described the finger telephorus as "stinking branch-ear" - "stinking branching ear."

According to Mordechai Cubitt Cook, a mycologist (botanist) from England, who told in the second half of the 80s of the nineteenth century that somehow one of the scientists decided to take several copies of the finger telephor for research. But the scent of these samples was so unbearable that he had to roll the copies into 12 paper layers for the stench to end.

In countless modern sources, it is also noted that the finger telephon has a very unpleasant pungent aroma, however, from the description it becomes clear that it is not very fetid, as Cook recounted about it.

How does a finger phone look like?

Finger telephon in its own form resembles a bush. The fruit body is coral-like, branched, where the branches are narrower at the very base, and upward - expanding like a fan, divided into countless flattened teeth.

Branches of a brown shade, often placed, flattened, sheathed with longitudinal grooves. Very often with bright edging.The young mushroom has whitish, slightly pink or creamy branches, but with growth they become darker, actually gray, and in maturity they are completely lilac-brown in color.

The length of the fruit body is from 3 to 8 cm, it is placed on a small stalk, which can reach about 15-20 mm in length and 2-5 mm in width. The surface of the leg is uneven, often warty.

The pulp is fibrous, tough, brown in the cut, has a fetid smell of rotten cabbage, which becomes stronger after drying the pulp. The spores are irregularly angular, purple, with very, very small spines. Spore powder - from brown to brown.

Where and how it grows

Fingertip telephony is found in:

It was also recorded in Australia and Fiji. In our country, it is more popular in:

Novosibirsk region;
Altai Republic;
in the forest zones of Western Siberia.

Fruiting bodies appear between July and October. Prefers to grow in wet soils, near forest roads. Grows in coniferous, mixed forests and grassy fields. Forms mycorrhiza with conifers (various types of pine). Very often they grow together with legs at the very base, organizing a narrow bundle.

Doubles and their differences

Among the mushrooms similar in appearance to the finger phone, the following options should be noted:

Thelephora anthocephala - is also considered an inedible member of the family, and stands out with tapering branches and, moreover, the absence of a non-standard bad smell;
Thelephora penicillata - belongs to the inedible species, the characteristic feature is considered to be very small spores and changeable color;
some varieties of ramaria are considered conditionally edible or inedible mushrooms, have a distinctive color, more rounded branches of the fruiting body and lack of smell.

Conclusion

Finger telephon is considered an interesting species. Unlike many other mushrooms, it can have a different form of fruit chalk. Similar to corals, but emitting an unpleasant pungent aroma, these mushrooms are simply unrealistic to be confused with others.

Sawfoot (Heliocybe sulcata)

Synonyms:

Lentinus sulcatus
Pocillaria sulcata
Pocillaria misercula
Pleurotus sulcatus
Neolentinus sulcatus
Lentinus miserculus
Lentinus pholiotoides
Panus fulvidus

Description

Hat: 1-4 centimeters in diameter, usually about two centimeters. There is information that under favorable conditions it can grow up to 4.5 cm in diameter. In youth, convex, hemispherical, then flat-convex, flat, depressed in the center with age. The color is orange, reddish, ocher, orange-brown, darker in the center. With age, the edge of the cap can fade to a yellowish, yellowish-whitish color, the middle remains darker and more contrasting. The surface of the cap is dry, slightly rough to the touch, covered with brown, dark brown scales, densely located in the center, less often to the edges; pronounced radially furrowed, the edge of the cap is ribbed.

Plates: adherent, frequent, white, with plates. In young mushrooms, they are even, with age, the edge becomes uneven, jagged, “sawtooth”.

Leg: 1-3 centimeters high and up to 0.5-0.6 cm thick, according to some sources it can grow up to 6 centimeters and even, which seems incredible, up to 15. However, there is nothing “incredible” here: a mushroom can grow from a crack in wood, and then the leg is strongly stretched to bring the cap to the surface. Cylindrical, slightly thickened towards the base, stiff, dense, hollow with age. Whitish, off-white, lighter under the cap. To the base it is covered with small brown scales.

Flesh: firm, tough. White, whitish, sometimes creamy, does not change color when damaged.
Smell and taste: not pronounced.

Spore powder: white. Spores: 11-16 x 5-7 microns, smooth, non-amyloid, with cystids, bean-shaped.

Ecology

The fungus grows on wood, both living and dead. Prefers hardwood, especially aspen. There are also finds on conifers. It is noteworthy that furrowed sawfoot can grow both on dead dead wood and on processed wood.It can be found on poles, fences, hedges. Causes brown rot.

Season and distribution

For different regions, different dates are indicated, sometimes the mushroom is marked as spring, May - mid-June, sometimes as summer, from June to September.
Distributed in Europe, Asia, North America, Africa. On the territory of Russia, finds of the Irkutsk region, in Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk and Trans-Baikal territories were noted. In Kazakhstan in the Akmola region.

The furrowed sawfoot is very rare. In many regions, this species is included in the Red Book.

Other information

The flesh of the sawfoot furrowed is not subject to decay. The mushroom does not deteriorate, it can only dry out. Not a mushroom, but a mushroom picker's dream! But, alas, you cannot experiment much with eating, the mushroom is too rare.
But the unkillable pulp is not the most remarkable thing about this mushroom. Much more interesting is its ability to recover. Dried fruiting bodies can recover and continue to grow as the humidity rises. Such is the kind of adaptation to arid regions.

The name Heliocybe sulcata is fully consistent with its appearance: Helios - Helios, the sun god in Greece, sulcata from the Latin sulco - furrow, wrinkle. Look at his hat, that's right, the sun with grooves-rays.

Photo: Ilya.

Edible mushrooms, berries, herbs

Curly loafer (helvella crispa)

From May to early June and from mid-August to October in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, near bushes, along paths and roads, you can meet a mushroom from the Helwell family - curly lobster (curly helvella). The fungus has an irregularly shaped fruiting body with a notched ribbed stem. Grows in groups, rarely singly. preferring the grass cover.

The hat is from 1.5 to 4.5 cm in diameter, two- or four-bladed, usually curved. The edges are wavy-curly, free, adherent in places. The color is light yellow or ocher.

The leg is pitted-furrowed, fusiform, slightly widened towards the base, light white, hollow inside.

The pulp is thin, brittle, whitish, practically odorless.

The mushroom is edible and has low taste and organoleptic qualities. Edible after pre-cooking for at least 12 minutes. In addition to cooking, you can also dry it.