Contents
The white-legged or smooth blackberry is known in mycological reference books as Sarcodon leucopus. The name has several synonyms:
- Hydnus in the west;
- The colossus of Hydnus;
- Hydnum leucopus;
- Fungus atrospinosus.
View from the family Bankeraceae, genus Sarcodon.
The color of the fruiting bodies is not monochromatic, the same in shape and color are not found.
What does a white-legged hedgehog look like
Mushrooms are large, squat, consist of a wide cap and a disproportionately short thick stem. The type of hymenophore is prickly. The color of the fruit body is white in the lower part, light or dark brown with brown-lilac areas at the top.
The spikes are wide, reach a diameter of up to 1 mm
Cap Description
Mushrooms are densely packed, so the cap is often irregularly deformed. At the beginning of the growing season, it is convex with concave edges, with time it becomes prostrate, takes on various forms. The edges are wavy or straight.
External characteristic:
- diameter in adult specimens reaches up to 20 cm;
- the surface of young fruits is smooth with a small edge, velvety;
- the central part with a slight depression, the color is darker than at the edges;
- the protective film is dry, in adult fungi often with randomly located wide and narrow cracks;
- areas finely scaly in the middle, smooth towards the edges;
- the spore-bearing layer is prickly, white at the beginning of the growing season, consists of large, up to 1,5 mm long, sparsely located cone-shaped spikes;
- hymenophore descending, near the stem with smaller and shorter spines;
- in adult specimens, the lower part of the cap is brown with a lilac tint.
The pulp is thick, dense, creamy or with a pinkish tint. On the cut, it changes color to gray, in overripe specimens it may be greenish.
A sharp aroma is present in both young and overripe dried smooth urchins.
The pulp is white or slightly grayish at the places of rupture.
Description of the leg
The location of the stem is eccentric, rarely central. The shape is cylindrical, wider in the middle. Diameter – 3-4 cm, length – up to 8 cm. The structure is dense, the inner part is solid. The surface is finely scaly above, fleecy at the base. White filaments of mycelium are visible near the ground on the surface. The color of the legs in young hedgehogs is white, in older ones it is light brown below with greenish areas.
Stalks near the substrate of several mushrooms may be fused
Where and how to grow
White-legged blackberry is distributed throughout Our Country, where there is an accumulation of coniferous trees. The main distribution area is Western Siberia. Less commonly, the species is found in the Urals and in the southern regions. Fruiting in autumn – from August to October. White-legged blackberry grows in compact small groups or singly on the substrate, coniferous litter near pines and spruces.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
There is no information on the toxicity of the white-legged urchin. The taste of fruiting bodies is bitter or burning. Bitterness is present even after heat treatment. In mycological reference books, the species is listed in the category of inedible mushrooms.
Twins and their differences
Outwardly, a rough blackberry looks like a smooth blackberry. It is distinguished by a dark brown color of the cap surface with large, pressed scales. The taste of the species is bitter, the smell is weak. Double from the group of inedible mushrooms.
In the center, the scaly coating is larger and darker
Conclusion
White-legged blackberry is a mushroom that grows close to conifers. Differs in autumn fruiting. A special feature is a sharp unpleasant odor and bitter taste. Apparently because of these features, the white-legged hedgehog is listed in the group of inedible species.
