Content
Wrinkled stereum is an inedible perennial species that grows on felled and decaying deciduous, less often coniferous trees. The variety is widespread in the northern temperate zone, bears fruit throughout the warm period.
Where the wrinkled stereum grows
This representative of the mushroom kingdom can be found throughout Russia. But it most often appears in the northern zone on deciduous trees, in mixed forests, parks and forest parks. It settles on dry, stumps and rotten wood, rarely appears on living wounded trees.
What does a wrinkled stereum look like?
The variety has a flattened, tough fruiting body. With massive growth, they grow together with each other, forming long wavy ribbons. They can be recognized by their varietal description.
They can have a different appearance:
- The rounded edges are thickened into a small ridge.
- The flat fruit body has a rough surface and wavy, folded edges. The width of the folded edge is no more than 3-5 mm. The solid surface is dark brown with a pronounced lightened stripe along the edge.
- Rarely is a mushroom located on wood in the form of caps with a common common base.
The lower part is even, sometimes with small bulges, painted in cream or light yellow, with age turns into pink-brown. In dry weather, the fruit body hardens and cracks. In case of mechanical damage, red milky juice is released. This reaction occurs even in dried specimens, if the fracture site is previously moistened with water.
The pulp is tough or corky, gray in color, has no smell or taste. On the cut of old specimens, thin annual layers are clearly visible.
Reproduction occurs by transparent elongated spores, which are located in a light yellow spore powder. It bears fruit during the whole warm period.
Is it possible to eat a wrinkled stereum
Wrinkled stereum - inedible, but not poisonous. Due to its tough pulp and lack of smell, it is not used in cooking.
Similar species
The wrinkled stereum, like any variety, has its counterparts. These include:
- Blood red or blushing, native to coniferous forests. The fruit body is shell-shaped with bent edges. When dry, the light wavy edges curl downwards. When pressed or damaged, bloody milky juice is released. The fungus settles on dead wood. In the first stage of decomposition, the tree acquires a reddish-brown color, in the second - snow-white. The variety is inedible.
- Baikovy or oak, prefers to grow on rotting oak trunks and stumps, rarely settles on birch and maple. The fruiting body, spread or in the form of a cap, is colored light brown. With massive growth, the mushrooms merge and occupy an impressive space. When damaged, the pulp gives off a red liquid. The mushroom is inedible, odorless and tasteless.
Application
After the death of the affected tree, the wrinkled stereum continues to develop as a saprotroph. Therefore, the mushroom can be equated with the orderlies of the forest.By decomposing old wood and turning it into dust, they enrich the soil with useful trace elements, making it more fertile. Since the mushroom, when mechanically damaged, releases red juice, it can be used to make paints.
Conclusion
Wrinkled stereum is an inedible variety that grows on the trunks of damaged or dry deciduous trees. The species is perennial, bears fruit throughout the warm period. A distinctive feature of the variety is the red milky juice that appears at the slightest damage.
