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The wolf sawfly is a fungus of the Polypore family of the genus Saw leaf. It got its name because of the destructive effect on the tree, and the cap plates have a jagged edge, similar to the teeth of a saw.
What does a wolf sawfly look like
The fruit body has the form of a growth that appears on the trunk of a tree at an angle of 90º. It consists of a flattened cap and a leg that is not visible.
Cap Description
A hat in shape can be compared with a tongue, sometimes an ear or a shell. Its diameter is 3-8 cm, but larger mushrooms are also found. Color – light brown, yellow-red. The edges are gradually wrapped inside the cap. The surface is uneven, felt. Hence the second name – sawfly felt. Sometimes you can see whole clusters of sawfly, from a distance it resembles a tiled roof.
Description of the leg
There is no pronounced border between the stem and the cap. The lamellar inner surface with longitudinal fibers smoothly passes into a leg only 1 cm high.
In young sawflies it is light, almost white, in overripe it is dark, sometimes black. Soft, tender flesh gradually thickens and becomes hard.
Where and how to grow
The wolf sawfly is distributed throughout the temperate climate zone from Canada and the United States of America to the Far East of our country. They are also found in the Caucasus. Mushrooms are undemanding to heat, unpretentious. They begin to grow from August to the end of November. Their main place of growth is the trunks of rotting stumps, hardwood trees. These are saprotrophs that destroy wood.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Despite the good mushroom smell emanating from the wolf’s sawfly, it is considered inedible. The pungent taste does not disappear even after cooking. There is no information on toxicity.
Twins and their differences
These saprotrophs are difficult to confuse with other fungi. But there are types of fruit bodies that are very similar to the wolf sawfly. Among them:
- Edible oyster mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from sawfly in shape. But they have a light gray color, sometimes they acquire a purple hue. The surface of the cap is smooth, slightly velvety. Grows in deciduous, coniferous forests.
- Another variety of oyster mushroom is confused with felted sawfly – autumn. It appears in early spring, grows until late autumn in the northern part of the Caucasus Mountains and in the temperate latitudes of European Our Country. Color – olive brown. The hat has a wavy surface. In the rainy period becomes glossy. Do not eat because of the bitter taste.
Conclusion
Wolf sawfly is not dangerous and not poisonous. However, experimenting with cooking is not worth it: the consequences may not be very pleasant.