Blackberry coral: description, location, properties

Blackberry coral is a conditionally edible fungus and belongs to the third category. Macromycete is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. Another name for it is coraloid geritzia. It is a unique and very beautiful mushroom. Sometimes he parasitizes on trees. As is known, the name of mushrooms is most often chosen not simply. By its appearance, this macromycete looks very much like an underwater coral or sea urchin. This mushroom is used for food boiled, stewed, fried, salted and pickled.

Description

Blackberry coral at a young age is really much like a fragile white coral. As it reaches maturity, it becomes creamy, and then dirty yellow. Its fruiting body has an irregular shape. It is bushy, branched, in diameter reaches 5-30 cm, in height - up to 30 cm. Blackberry coral has a fibrous, elastic, fleshy, white, slightly pinkish flesh with a pleasant mushroom aroma. When dried, it becomes ocher color. From the touch, the flesh turns red, and later becomes firm.

Spores in the fungus are colorless or white, small, spherical, smooth. Multiple branched round hollow shoots are connected below in a short pseudopod (diameter - 1 cm). Throughout the length they are covered with downward cylindrical spines (0.5-1.5 cm), which are responsible for the formation of spores. Mycelium in this macromycet is perennial, and the fruiting body is annual. It should be remembered that edible only at a young age the coral is coral. The photo of this macromycete can be seen in this article. In appearance, it resembles another edible fungus, which is called Prilepicium guerilla. It grows on fir trees.

Habitat

Blackberry coral grows in small accumulations or singly on dead hardwood, on hemp or wood substrate. An amazing picture is a series of whitish or dirty yellow fruit trees hanging from the trees. You can not meet this mushroom often. It is widely distributed in the northern part of the temperate zone. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the fungus is found almost everywhere. Blackberry coral grows mainly on birches. Less often it can be found on lindens, alders, aspens, oaks. Occasionally occurs in coniferous forests. The fungus is an optional parasite and often grows in the hollows of living trees. Collect it can be in July-September, and in regions with a mild and warm climate also in the winter-spring period. The reasons for the small number of this macromycete are not fully understood.

Blackberry coral: useful properties

In China, this macromycete is actively used for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal ailments, nervous and respiratory systems, and also to enhance immunity. Eating this mushroom stimulates blood and tones the body. It is used to prepare various tinctures according to certain recipes. If you comply with all conditions and proportions, you can get an effective medicine from this fungus. Infusions of the coral Yezhovik were used by healers to bring people out of protracted depressive conditions.