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Scutellinia thyroid (lat. Scutellínia scutellata) or saucer-shaped – a small mushroom with a rather unusual shape and bright color. It is not one of the poisonous varieties, however, its nutritional value is low, which is why the species is not of particular interest to mushroom pickers.
What does scutellinia thyroid look like?
In young specimens, the fruiting body is spherical. As it matures, the cap opens and becomes cup-shaped, and then completely becomes almost flat. Its surface is smooth, painted in a rich orange color, which sometimes turns into light brown tones. A distinctive feature of the species are hard bristles that run in a thin line along the edge of the cap.
The pulp is quite brittle, inexpressive in taste. Its color is reddish-orange.
There is no pronounced leg – this is a sedentary variety.
Where and how to grow
The preferred growth sites are dead wood, which means rotten stumps, fallen and decaying trunks, etc. Mushrooms rarely grow alone, most often small dense groups can be found.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Scutellinia thyroid is not an edible variety due to its small size. It also has low nutritional value.
Twins and their differences
Aleuria orange (lat. Aleuria aurantia) is the most common twin of this species. In the common people, the mushroom is also called orange pepper or pink-red saucer. It is represented by a fairly compact fruiting body in the shape of a bowl or saucer, the dimensions of which do not exceed 4 cm in diameter. Sometimes the hat looks like an auricle.
A distinctive feature of the twin is the presence of curved edges. In addition, there are no hard bristles at the ends.
They also grow in different places. While scutellinia thyroid settles on dead trees, orange aleuria prefers edges, lawns, roadsides and forest paths. It bears fruit from July to September.
Despite the fact that Aleuria orange is edible (conditionally edible), it is not popular. This is explained by the low value of the species and small size, as is the case with many representatives of this family.
Conclusion
Scutellinia thyroid is a small mushroom that is not of particular interest from a culinary point of view. Its taste is inexpressive, as is the smell, and the size of the fruiting bodies is too small.
You can learn more about what thyroid scutellinia looks like from the video below:
