Contents
Saprotrophic fungi, to which the stinky rotting plant belongs, provide the plant world with an invaluable service – they utilize dead wood. If they did not exist, then the process of decomposition of cellulose would take much longer, and the forests would long ago have turned into huge piles of slowly rotting trees. Smelly stink rot is widespread in the world, it can also be found on the territory of Our Country.
What does a stinky stinker look like
The species under consideration has another name, under which it can be found in the specialized literature – smelly micromphale. Belongs to agaric mushrooms of the genus Negniuchnikov.
Smelly rot grows on dead wood
It is fairly easy to recognize when found in the wild.
Cap Description
The cap of the stinky micromphale rarely reaches a diameter of 3 cm, its usual size is 1,5-2 cm. The cap of an adult mushroom is wrinkled, slightly depressed in the central region, and has wavy edges. It can be yellowish, beige, ocher or light brown in various shades, while there are radial stripes painted in darker tones.
On the reverse side of the cap are a few plates. They are quite dense, wavy, sparse, often fused with each other and with the stem. In young specimens, they are beige, gradually darkening and becoming brown-ocher.
Description of the leg
The leg of the stinky stinker is thin, straight or curved, hollow inside. Its dimensions do not exceed 3 cm in length and 0,3 cm in diameter. There is a flattened thickening at the junction with the cap. The leg is brown, light on top, darker below, sometimes almost black, velvety to the touch.
The flesh of the hat of the stinky stink rot is yellow, brittle. At the foot, it is brownish, more dense.
Where and how to grow
You can meet a stinky stinker in the southern regions of Our Country. There it grows in deciduous, less often in mixed forests. Usually grows on old dead wood of deciduous trees, on branches, bark, in large and small groups, often growing together. The first specimens appear in the middle of summer, and active fruiting ends in late autumn.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
The stink rot is not an edible mushroom. It is not eaten for food, not only because of the specific unpleasant odor, but also because of the presence of toxins in it. It is not deadly poisonous, but if ingested, it can cause serious food poisoning.
In case of mushroom poisoning, it is necessary to urgently deliver the victim to the hospital
The main symptoms of poisoning are indigestion, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and weakness.
Twins and their differences
Due to the unpleasant putrefactive odor that smelly micromphale emits, it is rather difficult to confuse it with any mushroom, and even more so with an edible one. A similar species is another mushroom from the same family – twig rot, however, it does not have such a smell and is painted white, and sometimes light pink.
The twig rotten tree resembles the smelly micromphale, but differs in color and smell
The leg of the twig rot is white in the upper part and darker below. On it along the entire length there are numerous small outgrowths, because of which it looks as if it was sprinkled with something white. This species, unlike the smelly micromphale, is not toxic, although it is not eaten.
A short video about one of the representatives of the genus Negniuchnikov – the meadow rot can be viewed at the link:
Conclusion
Smelly rotten is one of the many representatives of the vast mushroom kingdom. It is not widely distributed, is not eaten, and is also small in size, so many lovers of quiet hunting simply do not notice it. However, all such mushrooms perform a very important function – they decompose dead wood, clearing the forest and promoting the growth of other plants.