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The columnar lattice has become a very unusual and beautiful specimen, which is quite rare. Belongs to the Vaselkov family. It is believed that this species was introduced to North America, since it is there that it is most often found in landscape regions and other places where exotic plants are planted.
Where columnar lattices grow
Most often, the columnar trellis is found in North and South America, China, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, New Guinea and Oceania. Since this species feeds on dead and decaying organic matter, they grow in habitats where there is a large accumulation of wood chips, mulch and other cellulose-rich substances. Columnar lattice can be found in parks, gardens, clearings and around them.
What do columnar lattices look like?
In an immature form, the fruit body is ovoid, which is partially immersed in the substrate. With a vertical incision, a thin peridium can be seen, compacted to the base, and behind it is a gelatinous layer, the approximate thickness of which is about 8 mm.
When the egg shell breaks, the fruiting body appears in the form of several connecting arcs. Typically, there are 2 to 6 blades. On the inside, they are covered with spore-containing mucus, emitting a specific odor that attracts flies. It is these insects that are the main distributors of spores of this type of fungus, as well as the entire genus Veselkov. The fruit body is yellow or pink to orange-reddish in color. The flesh itself is tender and spongy. As a rule, the fruiting body takes on a brighter shade from above, and a pale one from below. The height of the blades can reach up to 15 cm, and the thickness is about 2 cm.
The spores are cylindrical with rounded ends, 3.5-5 x 2-2.5 microns. The columnar lattice does not have legs or any other base at the arcs, it grows exclusively from a burst egg, which remains below. In section, each arc is an ellipse with a longitudinal groove located on the outside.
Is it possible to eat columnar lattices
Despite the fact that there is not much information about the columnar trellis, all sources claim that this mushroom is marked as inedible. Cases of using this copy are also not recorded.
How to distinguish columnar lattices
The most similar variant is the Javanese flower stalker. It has 3-4 lobes growing from a common stem, which can be short and therefore hardly noticeable.
The cover of the flower stalk, the so-called bedspread, has a grayish or grayish-brown tint. You can distinguish the columnar lattice from this specimen as follows: cut the shell of the fruiting body and remove the contents. If there is a small stem, then it is a double, since the columnar lattice has arcs that are not connected to each other.
Another representative of the Vaselkov family is the red trellis, which bears similarities to the columnar specimen. However, there are still differences. Firstly, the double has a more rounded shape and a rich orange or red color, and secondly, it is the only representative of the lattice family that is found in Russia, especially in the southern part. In addition, it is one of the poisonous mushrooms.
As for the columnar lattice, this object has not yet been noted on Russian territory.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, the columnar lattice can interest any mushroom picker with its unusual appearance. However, it is not so easy to meet him, since this specimen is a rarity.
