╔══ Identifications · 10 October 20267 sightings
speciesArmillaria mellea
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatAt the base of living and dead trees, stumps and roots of broadleaves and conifers
edibilityEdible only after thorough cooking; some people are intolerant to it
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Honey-coloured to olive-brown caps growing in dense clusters at the base of trees
- │ ▸ White to cream decurrent gills
- │ ▸ Zigzag ring or ring zone on the upper stem
- │ ▸ Dark, dense scales in the middle of the cap
└─ A weakly parasitic fungus whose black, bootlace-like rhizomorphs spread through the soil and can kill trees — the mycelium of a single colony can rank among the largest living organisms on Earth.
└─ The "bootstraps" proudly on display.
speciesCraterellus tubaeformis
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatMossy coniferous forest, especially spruce
edibilityGood edible mushroom
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Hollow, trumpet-shaped cap, grey-brown to brown
- │ ▸ Grey, wrinkled veins (no true gills) under the cap
- │ ▸ Hollow, yellowish-brown stem widening towards the base
- │ ▸ Often grows in crowded groups in mossy spots
└─ Fruits late in the season; develops a fine flavour when dried.
speciesCyathus striatus
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatOn strongly decayed wood, twigs and chips of broadleaves, also on buried wood, in damp, shady places
edibilityInedible — small, tough and of no culinary value
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Goblet- to vase-shaped fruit bodies, narrowed towards the base and opening into a broad mouth
- │ ▸ Outer surface woolly-velvety, brown to grey-brown; inner surface strikingly longitudinally grooved and silvery-grey
- │ ▸ Inside, several flat grey disc-like peridioles (the 'eggs') attached by fine elastic cords
- │ ▸ Grows in tufts and rows on decayed wood, twigs and woody debris
└─ The peridioles are the spore packages: raindrops splash them out of the open cup while the elastic cord stays stuck to the substrate — an ingenious dispersal mechanism.
speciesHericium flagellum
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatSaprobe and weak parasite on conifer deadwood, above all silver fir (Abies alba), in cool, humid montane mixed forest; late summer to November
edibilityEdible when young, but rare and legally protected in parts of Europe; best left in place
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ White, coral-like fruit body of many repeatedly forking branches, up to 30 cm or more across, ageing cream to yellowish
- │ ▸ Long white spines (up to about 20 mm) hanging in tufts from the branch tips, unlike the spines running along the branches of the Ästiger Stachelbart
- │ ▸ Firm, fleshy white flesh with a mild, pleasant smell and taste
- │ ▸ Grows on dead wood of conifers, especially silver fir, on standing and fallen trunks and stumps
└─ Confirmed as a species distinct from Hericium coralloides by sexual incompatibility studies in 1983; strongly tied to silver fir and red-listed as threatened across much of Europe.
speciesHydnum repandum
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatMycorrhizal with beech, oak and spruce in broadleaf and mixed forest
edibilityExcellent edible mushroom
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Fleshy, irregular cap in warm cream to orange-buff tones
- │ ▸ Soft spines (teeth) instead of gills under the cap
- │ ▸ Spines run decurrently down the short, often off-centre stem
- │ ▸ Firm white flesh with a pleasant fruity smell
└─ Unmistakable thanks to its spines, which makes it safe to collect; young specimens can be pickled.
speciesLeccinum scabrum
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatMycorrhizal with birch in damp birch and mixed woodland, on mossy woodland edges and along paths
edibilityGood edible mushroom
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Cap hemispherical to cushion-shaped, drier, grey-brown to warm brown, margin often overhanging the tubes
- │ ▸ Tubes whitish to grey, later brownish-grey; pores round, bruising greyish-brown
- │ ▸ White stem covered in dense, coarse, dark grey-brown to blackish scabers, crowded at the top; never ringed or netted
- │ ▸ Firm white flesh that slowly turns pinkish-grey to violet-grey in the stem, especially at the base
└─ A faithful mycorrhizal partner of birch; the cap colour varies greatly — the dark scabers on the white stem are the reliable feature.
speciesXylaria hypoxylon
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatSaprobic on dead and decaying stumps and logs of broadleaves, especially beech; also on buried wood
edibilityInedible — too small and tough to be of any culinary value
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Antler- or club-shaped, flattened, often branched fruit bodies like a tiny stag's horn
- │ ▸ Black, carbonaceous surface with powdery whitish-grey tips while young
- │ ▸ The pale tips darken as the sexual fruit bodies mature
- │ ▸ Grows in dense tufts on dead hardwood stumps and logs
└─ One of the most common decomposers of hardwood; the pale 'snuff' on the tips is the asexual conidial stage, which turns to sooty black as the perithecia mature.