Coralloaxis hedgehog (Heríclo axi) is an edible mushroom that belongs to the detachment of basidial mushrooms, the class of Agarikovs and the Geritsiev family.
Where it grows
This mushroom grows in Eurasia, namely in the territory of the Amur region, in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territory, in Magadan. The hedgehog is common in the Tver and Yaroslavl region. This mushroom is also found in Siberia and the Caucasus, outside Eurasia, this miracle of nature can be seen in North America and in Asia.
How it looks
The length of the fruit body of the fungus varies from 20 to 40 cm. It is branched from the base, which is yellowshaped and fleshy, then hardens. There are spikes on the branches of the hedgehog, they are directed down. The length of protective devices is approximately 5 mm.
The flesh of the mushroom is fibrous, as it ripenss, it hardens. Bitter tastes, there is practically no smell. Ezhovik disputes ellipsoidal, often smooth. Their parameters are 3.5-5 by 2.8-4 μm.
The number and trends of its change
Representatives of the species usually create groups that contain from 3 to 5 fruit bodies. Mushrooms are fruiting every year. At the moment, the hedgehog is coral a vulnerable species whose number is rapidly reduced.
Security measures taken
The Corallovid Ezhovik is listed in the Red Book of Eurasia and the Red Books of the Kaluga and Tver, Ryazan and Yaroslavl region. This species is protected in the Zeisky reserve and in the reserve, which is located in Blagoveshchensk. It is preserved at the Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Features of ecology and phytocenology
The hedgehog grows on the fallen trees that are actively decomposed. In the European part of the range, the species prefers to settle on birch and oak. Begins to bear fruit in July, this process ends in September.
Limiting factors
The number of the fungus is reduced due to too active forest exploration and illegal collection for food.
The value of the mushroom
A hedgehog can kill and eat yeast that live in halfrotten trees trunks. This mushroom can scare off nematodes that feed on mushrooms. Fruit bodies of this species often appear on the wood after the ripening of the tarnish of the present or chaga.
Growing at home
To begin with, in a special store you should buy wooden sticks with mushroom spores. They have been put in the soil from April until October. In greenhouse conditions, they can be located all year.
Another way of growing is a wood room. Freshlysawed logs are suitable in which there are no shoots. The diameter of the tree should be at least 20 cm, and the length is at least 1 m. Sticks should be put in water after 3 centimeter holes are made in them, which are at a distance of 10 cm from each other. In order for the mushrooms to develop faster, the wood should be wrapped. Water mushrooms 2 times every 7 days. In winter, logs are covered with film.
The first crop should appear six months later. Mushrooms can be eaten only at a young age.
Interesting Facts
- The spores of the fungus themselves germinate quite poorly, but the mycelium, placed on sawdust or agar environment, grows perfectly.
- In the UK, a hedgehog can only be found in hunting forests, where both young and old trees grow.
- In Asia, a coral hedgehog grows only on beech.
- Corallovid hedgehog parasitizes on one tree for about five years.
- Mushroom disputes can move from the “parent” for 1 m.
