Content
The horned comb is a very beautiful mushroom of the Clavulinaceae family, genus Clavulina. Due to its unusual appearance, this specimen is also called clavulina coralliformes.
Where do crested cattails grow?
Clavulina coralliformes is a fairly common mushroom, spanning the continents of Eurasia and North America. It grows everywhere in Russia. Most often you can find the species in mixed, coniferous and less often deciduous forests. It is often located on rotting wood debris, fallen leaves, or areas heavily covered with grass.Sometimes grows in shrubby areas outside the forest.
Clavulina coralliformes can grow singly, and under favorable conditions - in large groups, ring-shaped or forming bunches and having considerable sizes.
Fruiting occurs from the second half of summer (July) to mid-autumn (October). The peak is in August-September. Fruits abundantly every year and is not rare.
What do coral clavulines look like?
This is a very amazing mushroom, which differs from other varieties in its special structure. Its fruiting body has a branched structure with a clearly visible mushroom stem.
The height of the fruiting body varies from 3 to 5 cm. Its shape resembles a bush with branches growing almost parallel to each other, and with small points, where flat tops of gray, almost black color are visible at the ends.
The fruit body is light in color, white or cream, but you can find specimens with a yellow and fawn tint. The spore powder is white, the spores themselves are broadly elliptical in shape with a smooth surface.
The leg is dense, small in height, most often no more than 2 cm, and also 1-2 cm in diameter. Its color corresponds to the fruiting body. The cut flesh is white, rather fragile and soft, without a distinct odor. It has no taste when fresh.
Is it possible to eat crested cattails?
In fact, due to its low gastronomic qualities, the combed cattail is almost never used in cooking. Therefore, many sources note that this mushroom is classified as inedible. It has a bitter taste.
How to distinguish clavulina coralliformes
The comb horn is distinguished by its light color, closer to white or milky, as well as its flat, comb-shaped branches pointed at the ends.
The most similar mushroom is wrinkled clavulina, since it also has a white color, but unlike the coral-shaped one, the ends of its branches are rounded. It belongs to the conditionally edible varieties.
Conclusion
Rogatik comb is a rather interesting representative of the kingdom of mushrooms, but, despite its beautiful appearance, this specimen is deprived of taste. That is why mushroom pickers do not dare to collect this species and practically do not eat it.
