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The tuber fungus is a conditionally edible tubular mushroom of the Polyporaceae family, genus Polyporus. Refers to saprophytes.
Description of the tuberous tinder fungus
You can find many different mushrooms in the forest. To distinguish the tuberous tinder fungus, it is important to study its structure and features.
Mushroom growing on rotten wood
Description of the cap
The color is yellowish-reddish. Size - from 5 to 15 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 20 cm. The shape of the cap is round, slightly depressed in the middle. Its surface is strewn with small, brownish, tightly pressed scales, which cover the middle especially densely and form a convex symmetrical pattern. This pattern is not particularly noticeable in older mushrooms.
The pulp of the tuberous tinder fungus has a pleasant smell and an inexpressible taste.It is whitish in color, rubbery, elastic. When it rains it becomes watery.
The spore-bearing tubular layer is decurrent, whitish or grayish, with a radial pattern. The pores are quite large, infrequent, elongated. The powder is white.
The hats have a characteristic scaly pattern.
Description of the leg
The height of the leg is up to 7 cm, sometimes reaches 10 cm, diameter is 1.5 cm. The shape is cylindrical, widened at the bottom, often curved, attached to the cap in the center. It is solid, fibrous, dense, tough. Its surface is reddish or brown.
This tinder has a centrally located leg
Where and how does it grow
The tuberous polypore is found throughout the European part of Russia. Settles on acidic soils in mixed or deciduous forests where there are aspen and linden trees. It grows on weak or dead wood and can sometimes be seen on woody substrate.
Fruiting time begins in late spring, continues throughout the summer and ends approximately in mid-September.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
The tuberous polypore is classified as conditionally edible. It is not used as food due to its low taste. Some mushroom pickers use it to prepare aromatic seasonings for first and second courses. To do this, it is dried and then ground into powder in a coffee grinder. The taste is unusual and delicate.
Doubles and their differences
The main difference between the tuberous polypore is its huge spores. There are two more features: relatively small fruiting bodies and a central stalk.
Two types can be classified as similar.
Scaly polypore. Its main difference is its large size, thick pulp, small tubes in the spore-bearing layer.The cap is very fleshy, leathery, yellowish, fan-shaped, with a thin edge; on its surface there are dark brown scales that form a symmetrical pattern in the form of circles. At first it is kidney-shaped, then becomes prostrate. The pulp is dense, juicy, with a pleasant aroma; in old mushrooms it is woody. Its diameter is from 10 to 40 cm. The pores of the tubes are large and angular. The leg is lateral, sometimes eccentric, thick, short, covered with brown scales, darker towards the root, light and reticulated from above. In young specimens its flesh is white and soft, in mature specimens it is corky. Grows on weak and living trees singly or in groups. Prefers elms. It is found in deciduous forests of the southern regions and parks; it is not found in the middle zone. The fruiting period is from late spring to August. The mushroom is conditionally edible and belongs to the fourth category.
The scaly tinder fungus is large in size
The tinder fungus is variable. This mushroom, unlike the tuber fungus, has a uniform cap color and no scales that create a symmetrical pattern. The fruiting bodies are small - no more than 5 cm. They develop on thin fallen branches. In a young specimen, the edge of the cap is tucked in and unfolds as it grows. In the middle, a fairly deep crater persists throughout life. The surface is smooth, yellow-brown or ocher. In older ones, it fades and becomes fibrous. The tubes are very small, light ocher in color, running down to the stem. The pulp is thin, leathery, elastic, with a pleasant smell. The stem is central, velvety, dense, fibrous, straight, slightly widened at the cap, the surface is dark brown or black. It is quite long and thin (height - up to 7 cm, thickness - 8 mm).It grows in various forests on stumps and remains of deciduous trees, most often beeches. Fruiting time is from July to October. Classified as inedible.
Features of the tinder fungus - dark leg and small size
Conclusion
It is almost impossible to find a mature tuberous tinder fungus intact and undamaged. The fact is that at the beginning of its development it is attacked by insect pests, and it quickly becomes unusable.
