Contents
Black Phellodon (lat. Phellodon niger) or Black Hedgehog is a small representative of the Banker family. It is difficult to call it popular, which is explained not only by its small distribution, but also by its rather rigid fruiting body. The mushroom does not contain toxic substances.
What black fellodon looks like
In appearance, Black Hedgehog is similar to terrestrial tinder fungi: they are hard, shapeless, large enough and form whole growths together with neighboring fruiting bodies. The peculiarity of the species is that it grows through various objects: plant shoots, small branches, needles, etc.
Cap Description
The hat of Phellodon is large and massive – its diameter can reach 4-9 cm. It is irregular in shape, asymmetrical. The border with the foot is blurred.
In young mushrooms, the cap is colored bluish with an admixture of gray. As it grows, it darkens noticeably, and the blue disappears. Fully mature specimens often turn almost black.
Their surface is dry and velvety. The pulp is dense, woody, dark inside.
Description of the leg
The leg of this Blackberry is wide and short – its height is only 1-3 cm. The diameter of the leg can reach 1,5-2,5 cm. The transition to the hat is smooth. Blurred blackening is noticeable along the border of the parts of the fruiting body.
The flesh of the leg has a dark gray color.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Phellodon is not suitable for human consumption. This species does not contain toxic substances, however, its pulp is too hard. Classified as inedible.
Where and how to grow
The time of active growth of this species falls on the period from July to October. Most often it is found in mixed and coniferous forests, especially under spruce, in areas covered with moss. Inside the hats you can find needles or even whole cones. Phellodon grows both singly and in groups, however, clusters of these mushrooms usually come across. Sometimes they form in groups the so-called “witch circles”.
On the territory of Our Country, Phellodon is most often found in the Novosibirsk region and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug.
Twins and their differences
Very often, Black Phellodon is confused with Blackberry fused – its closest relative. They are really very similar: both are gray in color, black in places, irregular in shape and a blurred border between different parts of the fungus. The difference lies in the fact that the fused Ezhovik is generally lighter and has numerous bends with outgrowths over the entire area of the cap. In Black Ezhovik, bends are present only at the edges of the fruiting body. The double is inedible.
Another twin of this species is Gidnellum blue. In general, they have similar outlines of fruiting bodies, however, the latter has a more saturated color of the cap. As the name suggests, it is closer to blue. Refers to inedible mushrooms.
Conclusion
Phellodon black is a small mushroom, rather inconspicuous in appearance. The prevalence of this species is low, it can be found infrequently. Basically, the mushroom comes across in pine forests, however, it is important to remember that it is forbidden to collect it in Our Country – it is listed in the Red Book. In cooking, fellodon is not used because of the rigidity of its fruiting body and the small litter that gets into it as it develops.
You can learn more about how the Hedgehog looks like from the video below:
