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The fungus of the Bunker family - gidnellum Peka - received its specific name in honor of Charles Peck, a mycologist from America, who described gidnellum. In addition to the Latin name Hydnellum peckii, under which it is listed in biological reference books, the mushroom is called: bloody tooth, devil's tooth or devil's hedgehog.
What does hydnellum Peka look like?
The species consists of a cap covering the stem. Hydnellum Pek has no clear boundary between the top and bottom. The fruit body looks like a funnel, forming immediately from the mycelium site. The entire lower part is covered with a hymenium of the toothed structure. Fruiting bodies are located close to each other, often grow together from the side, forming a single mushroom.
The external description of hydnellum Pek is as follows:
- Adult fruiting bodies (sporocarps) can reach up to 11 cm in height, the diameter varies from base to apex, the cap is on average 15 cm, under favorable conditions for growth - 20 cm.The stem is about 3 cm thick near the ground.
- The toothed structure is a specialized part for the production of spores and is the reproductive organ of the species. The spines are very thin, tapering, and cylindrical in shape.
- At the base of the sporocarp, the teeth are long, becoming much shorter towards the edge of the cap, in some specimens they look like rudiments.
- The arrangement is dense, with five thorns per 1 sq. mm. At the initial stage of the growing season, they are white with a slight pink tint; after maturation, the spores become dark brown, the color is uniform.
- The surface of the sporocarp is uneven, it can be convex or flattened, tuberous, possibly squeezed out in the central part. Rounded shape with uneven wavy edges. The structure of mature specimens is fibrous and rigid.
- The fungus is usually densely covered with fine pile, which gives it a felt or velvet-like texture. As it grows, the coating peels off and falls off, the caps of mature specimens become smooth.
- At a young age, the color is light beige or white, over time it darkens, becomes covered with brown or black spots, when pressed, the damaged areas turn gray or brown.
- The flesh is pink or light brown, stiff, very tough.
- The fruit stem is short, covered with a needle-like layer, most of it is in the ground, no more than 1 cm protrudes to the surface. At the base it is fleecy, on a tuberous compaction, often covered with moss or small residues of litter mixed with the ground.
The liquid is viscous, sticky, serves as a distinctive feature of the look and an additional source of nutrition. Hydnellum Peka is the only mushroom that can be classified as a predator. The bright color of the drops and the specific nutty smell attracts insects. They land on the surface of the sporocarp, adhere, and become food for the fungus.
Where Hydnellum Peka grows
The type of fungus is mycorrhizal, it can grow only in symbiosis with conifers.Hydnellum hyphae tightly braid the superficial root system of the tree, receiving nutrition and giving up elements important for the host's vegetation. They are found singly or in small groups among fallen needles on a moss litter in dry forests. Gidnellum Pekas form a symbiosis only with perennial trees, therefore, the fungus does not occur in young coniferous forests.
The main distribution of hydnellum Peck in America and Europe, in the mountainous or subalpine ecosystem. A slight accumulation of hydnellum is found in Germany, Italy, Scotland. In Russia, it grows in the Arkhangelsk, Kaliningrad, Irkutsk, Tyumen regions. Single specimens are found in the forests near St. Petersburg. Bears fruit in the first decade of autumn.
Is it possible to eat hydnellum Peka
The fruit body is very tough and fibrous, not suitable for any kind of processing. Hydnellum Peka is inedible due to its bitter taste and specific odor, which resembles fruity and at the same time nutty. The comparison should be in favor of the mushroom, but the smell so sharp and repulsive with notes of ammonia is unlikely to arouse gastronomic interest. As for toxicity, the information is contradictory, in some sources the secreted juice is considered poisonous, in others it is not. In any case, hydnellum Peka is an inedible mushroom.
Healing properties
The chemical composition of the extracted extract contains atromentin, a powerful natural anticoagulant. The substance is stronger in composition than heparin, which thinns the blood and prevents blood clots. This compound is used to treat, for example, thrombophlebitis. Therefore, the extract from hydnellum could become a good alternative to a pharmaceutical agent in the future.
Conclusion
Gidnellum Peka is endowed with an exotic appearance. The liquid protruding through the pores onto the light surface looks like a drop of blood. The sinister attraction of the mushroom will not leave it unnoticed, but this is only a species of a young specimen. Mature mushrooms are brown and nondescript, very tough. Bitter taste with a pungent odor, inedible fruit bodies.
