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Soft crepidote is widely distributed in Our Country and is often found on dead wood. Sometimes it affects the living tissues of deciduous trees. Known among scientists as chestnut crepidot, Crepidotus mollis.
The fungus belongs to the Volokonnitsaceae family.
What soft crepidos look like
Sedentary cap at first reniform, from 5 mm. Then it opens, becomes fan-shaped, 5-6 cm in diameter. The border is wavy, tucked up, in old specimens it is furrowed. Under the smooth skin, as it were, a gel filling. Color from whitish cream to dark ocher, yellowish or light brown, chestnut shades.
Narrow, forked plates fan out from the rudimentary stem, sometimes they can be branched. Densely growing plates, adherent to an inconspicuous stem or freely located. Initially light fawn in color, then brownish. Mass of ocher-coloured spores. The thin pulp has no smell, the taste is pleasant. The leg is noticeable as a small lateral tubercle.
Where soft crepidotes grow
Like all representatives of the genus, the mild species is widespread in Eurasia in the temperate zone, in Africa and South America. Often found in Our Country. Found in deciduous forests of the Volga region. It also lives on coniferous deadwood and on affected areas of living trees. Most often, soft crepidote grows on lindens, aspens and other hardwoods. Fruiting bodies are collected in groups. Fruits from mid-summer to October. Spores can also germinate on treated wood. Sometimes soft crepidot is found in the hollows of living trees.
Is it possible to eat soft crepidotes
Scientific studies of the soft species of the Volokonnitsa family have hardly been carried out. Sometimes in the literature there is information that fruiting bodies are inedible. Most scientists classify the mushroom as conditionally edible, of low nutritional value, and belongs to category 4 in terms of quality. No toxic compounds have been identified in the fruiting body, but it is used only in extreme cases.
False doubles
Soft crepidote is of interest only to amateur naturalists who identify mushroom species and find it by its relatively large size and gel-like surface. In external structure or color, they are a bit similar to soft crepidot:
- oyster mushroom orange or nest;
- crepidot changeable;
- saffron lamellar crepidot.
Oyster mushroom belongs to the fourth category in terms of nutritional value. It is distinguished by a bright color of the skin – orange in various variations of the palette. The flesh of young oyster mushrooms smells like melon, and old hats emit an unpleasant smell, similar to rotten cabbage.
The variable species has very small caps, up to 3 cm, with uneven plates – first whitish and then creamy brown. The spore mass is tobacco-brown. The fruit bodies are toxin-free, but are not considered good food due to their small size.
Saffron lamellar tree mushrooms differ from the soft appearance in that the cap looks like it is covered with scales.
Use
Before use, the caps should be boiled for 10-20 minutes, and then fried. Soft large fruiting bodies are dried, young ones are marinated.
When using conditionally edible mushrooms, it must be remembered that such dishes are not recommended in large quantities. The gifts of the forest are digested and absorbed by the body for a long time due to the high content of chitin.
Conclusion
Soft crepidote is a conditionally edible species, widespread. With an abundance of other mushrooms, it is better to refrain from harvesting it.
