Kalocera sticky (Calocera viscosa) refers to conditionally edible mushrooms, that is, they can be eaten only after special pre-treatment. Often, the calocera is called a horned or horn due to its pronounced “horns”.
Family: Dacrimycetes (Dacrymycetaceae).
Description. Fruit body 2 to 8 cm high, bushy, slightly branched. The “deer horns” of the horned mushrooms are slightly sticky, as if glowing from the inside. The flesh of the calocera is elastic-gelatinous, rubbery, reddish, without much taste and smell.
The horned mushroom bears fruit from early July to October, on rotten coniferous wood submerged or buried in the soil (usually strongly grows into the substrate), in coniferous and mixed forests, singly and in groups. It is often found throughout the forest zone of Our Country.
Pay attention to the photo of the horned mushroom: the fruiting body with pointed tips of the branches has a dark yellow or orange color and a very intricate shape.
Similar types. Many true yellow-colored hornworms look like calocera, but none of them have the characteristic cartilaginous-gelatinous-rubber consistency of calocera.
Rogatnik: medicinal properties and other facts
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Medicinal properties: Polysaccharides isolated from mycelial culture stop the growth of sarcoma-180 and Ehrlich carcinoma by 90%. The mushroom contains 5-hydroxytryptophan, a precursor of serotonin and melatonin.
Rules for collecting and harvesting: Collect fresh fruiting bodies that have not begun to dry out or turn brown. Alcoholic infusions are used.
Interesting Facts. Despite the obvious resemblance to hornworms, this mushroom has nothing to do with them. It belongs to trembling fungi, its relatives are tremors, gelatinous false worm, auricularia and other gelatinous heterobasidial fungi.
Edible or not horned mushrooms (deer legs)?
There is an unequivocal answer about whether the horned mushroom is edible or not – you can eat calocera, it will not bring harm, but its taste is very doubtful. Many cooks consider these qualities to be very low due to the rubbery flesh of the kalocera. For food purposes, the horn is collected extremely rarely, it is used boiled, fried and dried.
Application in cooking: In Bulgaria, the edible horned mushroom, because of its beautiful color, is used in boiled form as a decoration in cold appetizers. In addition, sticky calocera is added to the jelly before it hardens.