╔══ Sightings from 10 October 20268 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.
speciesPodoscypha petalodes
locationLahnenwiesgraben (Burgrain)
habitatSaprobic on dead or buried wood and roots, frequently at the base of trees; in Europe mostly in warm, sheltered places such as botanic gardens and greenhouses
edibilityInedible — thin, leathery and tough
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Thin, leathery, funnel- or trumpet-shaped fruit bodies ("wine glasses"), often fused into a rosette, with wavy, lobed rims
- │ ▸ Upper surface orange-brown to chestnut with concentric zones, paler at the edge; underside smooth, cream to grey
- │ ▸ Underside is smooth and fertile like a Stereum — there are no pores, gills or spines
- │ ▸ Grows from dead or buried wood, often at the base of living trees; tough and papery when dry
└─ A mainly tropical and subtropical species whose stacked funnels are unmistakable in shape; it was originally described as Stereum petalodes. The similar Podoscypha multizonata of warmer parts of Europe forms flatter, more clearly zoned rosettes.
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.