Gidnellum blue: what it looks like, where it grows, description and photo

Mushrooms of the Banker family are saprotrophs. They accelerate the process of decomposition of plant remains and feed on them. Hydnellum blue (Hydnellum caeruleum) is one of the representatives of this family, choosing places closer to pines for growth.

What does hydnellum blue look like?

The fruit body can reach a height of 12 cm. And the cap grows up to 20 cm in diameter. Its surface is uneven, with pits and tubercles. The color of young mushrooms is light blue in the center, deep blue along the edges. Over time, the surface darkens, acquires a brown, gray, earthy hue. When you touch the hat, you can feel its velvety. The lower part is covered with spikes 5-6 mm long. Here is the hymenophore, where spores ripen. In the people, the mushroom is called a hedgehog.

The spikes smoothly pass to the short stem, giving it a velvety texture. Its height is 5 cm. It is darker than the hat, brown in color and goes deep into the ground or moss.

A young specimen looks like a small white cloud with a blue border.

Where does Hydnellum blue grow?

This species is found in the pine forests of northern European countries and northern Our Country in summer and early autumn. Settles one by one on nutrient-poor soils, next to white moss, does not like overly fertilized lands. So, in Holland, due to the oversaturation of soils with nitrogen and sulfur, there are very few of these mushrooms left. Its collection is prohibited here. The copy is listed in the Red Book of the Novosibirsk Region.

Is it possible to eat hydnellum blue

This fruiting body is inedible, but is used for economic purposes. Its pulp is dense, woody in adult mushrooms, without any smell. Previously, they were collected and fabric dye was prepared from the pulp. Depending on the concentration, it gave from gray to deep blue. The coloring properties of the species were actively used by Dutch manufactories.

Similar species

There are few similar mushrooms. Among them:

1. Hydnellum rusty, which has the same uneven cap surface at first light gray, then dark brown, rusty. This is a small mushroom up to 10 cm high, growing in pine forests. The leg can be completely buried in moss or spruce litter. Hedgehog rust with age acquires a rusty hue.

   

2. Gidnellum odorous it is also difficult to distinguish from the blue urchin: the same convex-concave hilly surface and a hymenophore with blue spikes on the lower part of the cap. But the leg has the shape of a cone, and the pulp gives off an unpleasant, repulsive odor. On the surface, red drops are sometimes noticeable that stand out from the pulp. The surface of the fragrant Hydnellum is wavy, uneven.

   

3. Gidnellum Pekka found in Australia, North America and Europe. The velvet surface resembles a light cake sprinkled with drops of red syrup. The flesh is firm, cork-like, bluish-brown in color. Has a pungent odor. But insects love it, the fungus takes advantage of this, feeding on their secretions. Peck’s hedgehog has antibacterial properties.

   

Conclusion

Gidnellum blue is a rather rare mushroom. It is listed in the Red Books of many European countries, since in the Middle Ages it was used for household needs – for dyeing fabrics in manufactories. Now the specimen is not of interest to the mushroom picker.