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Chromosera blueplate is one of many agaric fungi found in Russian forests. A peculiarity of this species is that they grow on dead wood of coniferous trees. By decomposing cellulose into simpler substances, these mushrooms contribute to intensive clearing of fallen trees from the forest.
Description of Chromosera sineplastina
Chromosera blueplate (Omphalina blueplate) is a small mushroom of the Hygrophoraceae family. It has a classic shape with a pronounced cap and stem.
Chromosera sineplastina is widespread in many countries, including Russia.
Description of the cap
The cap of Omphalina blueplatinum is a hemisphere with a diameter of 1-3 cm with a small depressed center. As the mushroom grows, the edges rise slightly, the shape becomes truncated-conical and flatter, and the depression in the center becomes more pronounced. The color of the cap of a young Omphalina blueplate can have various shades of ocher, yellow-orange, light brown; with age, its saturation decreases, and the color becomes olive-gray. The surface is sticky, slippery, and slimy in wet weather.
On the reverse side of the cap there are rather thick sparse plates of 2 alternating types:
- truncated;
- descending, fused with the stalk.
At the beginning of the life of the mushroom, the plates are pinkish-violet, as they grow they become increasingly blue, and at the end of their life they become gray-violet.
Description of the leg
The leg of Chromosera sineplastina can grow up to 3.5 cm, while its diameter is only 1.5-3 mm. It is cylindrical, slightly thickening at the bottom, usually slightly curved. It is sticky to the touch, mucous, and has a cartilaginous structure.
The color of the leg can be different, including shades of yellow-brown, yellowish-olive, beige with a hint of purple. At the base of an adult mushroom it is bright purple with a blue tint. The flesh of Chromosera blueplate usually does not differ in color from the cap; it is thin, brittle, without a specific taste or smell.
Where and how does it grow
Chromosera blueplate is found in coniferous and mixed forests in Europe and North America. It usually grows in the first half of summer, singly and in small clusters on dead coniferous wood.
A short video about how Chromosera sineplate grows in natural conditions can be viewed at the link:
Is the mushroom edible or not?
There is no precise information in the literature about the edibility or toxicity of this mushroom. A priori, Chromosera sineplastina is considered inedible. Moreover, due to its extremely small size, it has no commercial value.
Doubles and their differences
Chromosera blueplate has some similarities with Roridomyces dewy. This mushroom can also be found in coniferous and mixed forests, where it grows on rotten wood, cones and fallen needles. Like Omphalina sineplastina, Roridomyces dewy begins to appear as early as May, but its fruiting lasts much longer and ends in late autumn.
The cap of this mushroom is ribbed, at first hemispherical, then spread out, with a small dimple in the center, 1-1.5 cm in diameter. Its color is cream, brownish in the middle part. The stem is cylindrical, whitish, covered with mucus, slightly darker at the bottom, can grow up to 6 cm. The main difference between these two types of mushrooms is the structure and color of the cap, as well as the complete absence of purple in the color of Roridomyces dewy.
Conclusion
Chromosera blueplate is one of the many types of saprotrophic fungi, thanks to which the forest is cleared of dead wood. Due to their small size, mushroom pickers most often simply do not notice them, and they have no commercial significance due to little research. However, for the forest their role is simply invaluable.
