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The coral mushroom, despite its name, is in no way related to sea mollusks. The only thing they have in common is their shape; both grow in peculiar colonies, vaguely reminiscent of a branched tree. There are quite a lot of mushrooms similar in shape to corals, and some of them can be found in forests in Russia.
Features of coral-like mushrooms
The main feature of coral mushrooms is the structure of the fruiting bodies. Their shape is not similar to the traditional one; they do not have a clearly defined cap and stem, which are found in ordinary representatives of the mushroom kingdom. Instead, the fungus produces multiple growths of varying shapes and colors, giving it a coral-like appearance.
Coral mushrooms are a real miracle of nature
Where do coral mushrooms grow?
Many coral-shaped fungi are saprophytes and parasitize dead organic matter. They often grow on fallen trees, branches, stumps, and fallen leaves. Coral mushrooms are distributed throughout the world. Various species of them can be found in the Siberian taiga and the Far East, in the forests of the European part of Russia, the foothills of the Caucasus and on the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Types of coral mushrooms
There are quite a lot of mushrooms similar to corals in appearance. They are found on all continents and in almost all climatic zones. Below are brief reviews and photos of the most famous coral-shaped mushrooms.
Coral hedgehog
The coral hedgehog is a rather rare mushroom, found mainly in the southern regions of Russia, the Caucasus, the Southern Urals, southern Siberia and the Far East. It grows in deciduous forests from late August to early October, usually growing on stumps and fallen trees, preferring aspen or birch. In the specialized literature it has a different name - Hericium coralliformes.
It grows in the form of a bush of numerous white sharp shoots, strongly reminiscent of real coral. Its spines are quite fragile and brittle. In a young specimen, the processes are white; with age they begin to turn yellow and then acquire a brown tint. If you press on the fruiting body of the coral-shaped hedgehog with your finger, the flesh in this place will turn red. The mushroom has a pronounced pleasant aroma and is suitable for consumption.
A description of this interesting coral-shaped mushroom can be seen in the video:
Ramaria yellow
Ramaria yellow is most often found in the Caucasus, but individual specimens can sometimes be found in other areas, for example, in Central Europe. Most often, colonies of these coral-shaped fungi grow in large groups in coniferous and mixed forests on a litter of moss or fallen leaves.
The fruiting body has thick fleshy stems, from which numerous yellowish horns protrude. When pressed, the flesh turns red. Ramaria yellow can be eaten. However, if numerous small yellow spores fall off the fruiting body, leaving characteristic spots, then such a specimen is considered overripe. The smell of ramaria yellow is pleasant, reminiscent of the aroma of cut grass.
Ramaria is tough
This coral-shaped mushroom has several synonymous names:
- Ramaria is straight.
- The horn is straight.
It can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from North America to the Far East. Most often it grows in coniferous and mixed forests with a predominance of pine and spruce, parasitizing on dead wood and rotten stumps.
The mushroom has a large fruiting body with numerous branches growing upward, almost parallel to each other. Moreover, their height does not exceed 5-6 cm. The color of the fruiting body has different colors, from yellow to dark brownish, sometimes with a lilac or violet tint. When mechanically damaged, the flesh becomes burgundy-red.Rogatik straight is not poisonous, has a pleasant aroma, but is not eaten because of its pungent bitter taste.
Ramaria is beautiful
Ramaria beautiful (Romatica beautiful) is found mainly in deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere. The colony of these coral-shaped mushrooms resembles a short bush, up to 0.2 m high. Young ramaria is beautifully colored pink, later the dense fleshy leg of the fruiting body turns white, and the numerous shoots become pinkish-yellow at the top and yellowish-white at the bottom.
The flesh of the mushroom turns red at the break. It does not have any distinct odor, and it tastes bitter. This species is not eaten as it causes intestinal upset with all the signs of poisoning: pain and cramps in the stomach, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. At the same time, no deaths have been recorded after eating beautiful ramaria.
Tremella fuciformes
Due to its very original appearance, Tremella fuciformes has a lot of synonymous names:
- The tremors are white or fusiform.
- Ice (snow, silver) mushroom.
- Snow (silver) ear.
- Jellyfish mushroom.
In Russia, this coral-like species was found only in the Primorsky Territory. Its main habitat is subtropics and tropics. Under natural conditions, Tremella fuciformis is found in Asia, Central America, and the Pacific Islands. Most often it grows on fallen rotten trunks of deciduous trees.
Despite the jelly-like appearance, the consistency of the mushroom is quite dense. The fruit body is slightly whitish, almost transparent. Dimensions do not exceed 8 cm in width and 3-4 cm in height. Tremella fucus is edible; it is recommended to boil it for 7-10 minutes before eating.In this case, the volume of the fruiting body increases approximately 4 times. The pulp is tasteless and has virtually no aroma.
Clavulina rugosa
Clavulina rugosa is found quite rarely in natural conditions, mainly in temperate latitudes. Prefers coniferous forests. Usually found in autumn, in September-October.
The fruiting bodies of Clavulina rugosa are uneven, slightly branched, white or cream-colored shoots elongated upward, growing from a single, darker-colored base. The pulp is almost odorless and tasteless. This mushroom is edible; after preliminary boiling for 10-15 minutes, it can be eaten.
Feoclavulina fir
Theoclavulina fir is also called fir or spruce hornet, or fir or spruce ramaria. Found in many temperate regions. Grows under coniferous trees, on fallen needles.
The colony forms numerous, well-branched shoots, strongly reminiscent of corals. The color of the fruiting bodies has various shades of green and yellow, olive, and ocher. When pressed, the pulp darkens and turns greenish-blue. Spruce hornet smells like damp earth, and its flesh is sweetish with a bitter aftertaste. In various sources, the mushroom is indicated as inedible (due to that very bitter aftertaste) or conditionally edible, requiring preliminary boiling.
Rogatik grape-shaped
Rogatik grapevine also has another name – ramaria grapevine. It grows in mixed or coniferous forests and is quite rare.The mushroom is a highly branched coral-shaped fruiting body with many thick shoots. Can reach 15 cm in height and the same size in diameter. The fruiting body is white; with age, the tips of the shoots begin to turn ocher, pinkish or brown.
The pulp is white, brittle, watery, and has a pleasant taste and aroma. At a young age, the cattail can be eaten.
Clavulina comb
In specialized literature, this white coral-like mushroom can be found under the name clavulina coralliformes or comb horned mushroom. It can be found in late summer or early autumn in deciduous, coniferous or mixed temperate forests. There it usually grows on fallen leaves and needles, as well as on mosses in the vicinity of birch, with which it often forms mycorrhiza.
The fruiting bodies of clavulina comb resemble bushes up to 10 cm high with pointed branches and flat combs. At the base of the mushroom you can sometimes distinguish a thick, low stalk. Young clavulina comb is completely white, with age it acquires a yellowish or cream color. This species is not eaten because of its bitter taste, although in some sources it is classified as conditionally edible.
Sparassis curly
This coral-shaped mushroom has many other names: curly wood, mushroom cabbage, hog cabbage, hare cabbage. Its leg is located deep in the ground, above the surface there is only an extensive curly yellowish waxy “cap”, consisting of many flat branched wavy ridges. The mass of the above-ground part of the mushroom can reach several kilograms.
This coral-shaped mushroom can most often be found under pine trees; it forms mycorrhiza with the roots of these trees. The pulp of curly sparassis has a good taste and aroma. You can eat this mushroom; it is quite edible and quite tasty, but due to its structure, it takes a long time to wash it and clean it of debris stuck between the scallops. It is advisable to use young specimens for culinary purposes, since with age a noticeable bitterness appears in the taste.
Kalocera adhesive
The fruiting bodies of this coral-shaped mushroom are thin single shoots up to 5-6 cm long, pointed or forked at the end. Kalocera adhesive grows from mid-summer to late autumn on old rotten coniferous wood. The sprouts are bright yellow, wax-like, with a sticky surface. The pulp has no distinct color or odor, is brittle and gelatinous.
There is no information about the edibility of adhesive calocera, so it is considered inedible, so to speak, by default.
Xylaria hypoxylon
In everyday life, xylaria hypoxylon is often called deer antlers due to the similarity of shape, and in English-speaking countries - burnt wick, since the mushroom has a characteristic ashen color. The fruiting bodies are flattened and have several bent or twisted branches. A distinctive feature of this coral-shaped mushroom is its black velvety color, however, due to the many white spores, the fruiting body looks ashy or dusted with flour.
This coral-shaped mushroom grows from late summer until frost in deciduous, less often coniferous, forests, preferring rotten wood. The fruit bodies are dry and quite hard, so they are not eaten.
Rogatik horn-shaped
The fruiting bodies of the hornwort resemble bright yellow twigs sticking out of the ground, sometimes with orange tips. This mushroom often grows on rotten wood, litter of fallen branches and leaves, and rotten stumps. It can be found from late summer to mid-autumn in mixed forests.
The flesh of this coral-shaped mushroom is brittle and has no distinct color or odor. In different sources, the corn-shaped horned horned plant is indicated as conditionally edible or inedible. In any case, it has no nutritional value and is more interesting as a visual object.
Pale brown clavaria
The fruiting bodies of pale brown clavaria resemble the sprouts of a fantastic plant. They have very beautiful colors, from bluish to amethyst and purple. The fruiting body of the mushroom consists of many branches up to 15 cm long, growing from a massive base. Clavaria pale brown is found from mid-summer to September inclusive, mainly in coniferous forests with the inclusion of oak.
In many countries, this type of mushroom is classified as especially protected. It is not eaten.
Can you eat coral mushrooms?
Among the many coral-shaped mushrooms, there are both edible and inedible and even poisonous. Most of them do not have significant nutritional value, with the exception of some that have a good taste and aroma. Certain types of coral mushrooms are even grown artificially and are used not only for cooking, but also for medicinal purposes.
The benefits and harms of coral mushrooms
Like any forest mushrooms, many edible coral species contain many substances beneficial to human health.These are many different types of amino acids, vitamins A, B, D, E, microelements. There are types of coral mushrooms that are grown exclusively for medicinal purposes. This is Tremella fucus, or snow mushroom, used in traditional oriental medicine.
It is used in the treatment of the following diseases:
- Tuberculosis.
- Alzheimer's disease.
- Hypertension.
- Gynecological diseases.
Tremella fuciformis has been grown artificially in China for over 100 years.
However, eating coral mushrooms can also have negative consequences. It is not recommended for women to use them during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and children under 3 years of age are also a contraindication. Do not forget that mushrooms are a rather heavy food, and not every stomach can cope with them. Therefore, sometimes their use can cause intestinal disorders. There is also individual intolerance to mushrooms, which is a feature of a particular organism.
Conclusion
Having discovered a coral mushroom in the forest, it is not always worth cutting it off. In nature, such species look very attractive, while the nutritional value of many of them is very questionable. Do not forget that some coral mushrooms are protected objects and it is prohibited to collect them. Therefore, it is better to take a beautiful photograph and limit yourself to this, and use other types for culinary purposes.
