Content
Telephora terrestrial belongs to non-lamellar mushrooms and is part of the extensive Telephora family. In Latin its name is Thelefora terrestris. Also known as earth telephora. While walking through the forest, you can most likely encounter it; it grows everywhere. However, it is not easy to notice due to its appearance.
What does a terrestrial telephone look like?
The fruiting bodies of telephora terrestrial are small, no more than 6 cm in size. They look like rosettes or growths. Consist of fan-shaped petals. They can be opened or collapsed. They often merge in groups and are prostrate. Such growths reach 25 cm in diameter.
The shape of the fruiting bodies can be funnel-shaped, fan-shaped, or in the form of caps attached to the side. The edges are entire or densely ciliated and dissected.
Mushrooms are sessile or with a small stalk. The surface is uneven, woolly, smooth underneath. The color is unevenly distributed, ranging from dark brown to brown or reddish brown. The edges are lighter, brownish, felt-like.
The hymenophore is smooth or tuberculate. Painted in a gray-brown tint.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
The flesh of ground telephora is leathery and fibrous. As it grows it becomes hard.
Where and how does it grow
Grows on soil and litter. May be:
- saprotroph - feeds from the decomposition of organic matter;
- symbiotroph - feed on the juices and secretions of the host body.
It forms mycorrhiza with conifers: spruce, pine, eucalyptus and other trees.
Terrestrial telephony is widespread everywhere. You can find the mushroom in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, in nurseries, and at logging sites. It prefers dry sandy soils. It can live on rotting wood, moss, pine needles, and stumps. It grows not only singly, but also in whole groups.
The fruiting period begins in June and lasts until the end of November.
Doubles and their differences
Telephora terrestrial is very similar in appearance to another representative of the Telephora family, Telephora carnation. The difference between the latter is that its hearth bodies are smaller, have a goblet shape, and a central leg. The edges are deeply dissected.
Conclusion
Telephora terrestrial, being widespread everywhere, is not considered edible.The pulp quickly becomes tough. Many arborists consider it one of the most important mushrooms in nurseries. It is used for breeding conifers. By covering the roots of seedlings, it provides protection against fungi and bacteria, promotes the absorption of microelements and the distribution of moisture. This helps increase the survival rate of young trees, reduce replanting stress and accelerate growth.
