Content
Sawtooth is a mushroom of the Polyporaceae family of the genus Sawtooth. It got its name because of its destructive effect on wood, and the cap plates have a jagged edge, similar to saw teeth.
What does wolf's sawfoil look like?
The fruiting body has the shape of a growth that appears on the tree trunk at an angle of 90º. It consists of a flattened cap and a leg that is not visible.
Description of the cap
The shape of the hat can be compared to a tongue, sometimes an ear or a shell.Its diameter is 3-8 cm, but larger mushrooms are also found. Color – light brown, yellow-red. The edges are gradually wrapped inside the cap. The surface is uneven, felt. Hence the second name - tomentose sawfoil. Sometimes you can see entire clusters of sawfoils, which from a distance resemble a tiled roof.
Description of the leg
There is no clearly defined border between the stem and the cap. The lamellar inner surface with longitudinal fibers smoothly transitions into a stalk only 1 cm high.
In young sawfoils it is light, almost white, in overripe ones it is dark, sometimes black. The soft, tender flesh gradually thickens and becomes tough.
Where and how does it grow
Wolf's sawwort is distributed throughout the temperate climate zone from Canada and the United States of America to the Far East of our country. They are also found in the Caucasus. Mushrooms are undemanding to heat and unpretentious. They begin to grow from August to the end of November. Their main place of growth is the trunks of rotting stumps and deciduous trees. These are saprotrophs that destroy wood.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Despite the good mushroom smell emanating from the wolfsaw leaf, it is considered inedible. The pungent taste does not disappear even after cooking. There is no information about toxicity.
Doubles and their differences
These saprotrophs are difficult to confuse with other fungi. But there are types of fruiting bodies that are very similar to wolf leaf. Among them:
- Edible oyster mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from sawfoil by their shape. But their color is light gray, sometimes acquiring a purple tint. The surface of the cap is smooth, slightly velvety. Grows in deciduous and coniferous forests.
- Another variety of oyster mushroom, the autumn variety, is confused with feltleaf.It appears in early spring and grows until late autumn in the northern part of the Caucasus Mountains and in the temperate latitudes of European Russia. Color – olive brown. The hat has a wavy surface. In the rainy season it becomes glossy. Not eaten because of the bitter taste.
Conclusion
Wolf's sawwort is not dangerous and not poisonous. However, you should not experiment with cooking: the consequences may not be very pleasant.
