Content
The terrestrial telephon belongs to non-plate mushrooms and is part of the extensive Telephor family. In Latin, its name is Thelefora terrestris. It is also known as an earthen telephor. While walking through the forest, you can most likely meet it, it grows everywhere. However, it is not easy to notice it due to its appearance.
What does a terrestrial telephony look like?
The fruit bodies of the terrestrial telephora are small, no more than 6 cm in size. They look like rosettes or outgrowths. Consist of fan-shaped petals. They can be expanded or collapsed. Often they merge in groups, they are open. Such aggregates reach 25 cm in diameter.
The shape of the fruit bodies is funnel-shaped, fan-shaped, in the form of caps attached to the side. The edges are whole or densely ciliate dissected.
Mushrooms are sessile or with a small stalk. The surface is uneven, woolly, smooth underneath. The coloration is unevenly distributed, ranging from dark brown to brown or reddish brown. The edges are lighter, brownish, tomentose.
The hymenophore is smooth or lumpy. Painted in a gray-brown shade.
Is the mushroom edible or not
The flesh of the terrestrial telephora is leathery and fibrous. As it grows, it becomes hard.
Where and how it grows
Grows on soil and litter. May be:
- saprotroph - to feed on the decomposition of organic matter;
- symbiotroph - to eat juices and secretions of the host's organism.
Forms mycorrhiza with conifers: spruce, pine, eucalyptus and other trees.
The terrestrial telephony is widespread. You can meet the mushroom in deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, in nurseries, in felling areas. He prefers dry sandy soils. It can live on rotting wood, moss, needles, stumps. It grows not only singly, but also in whole groups.
The fruiting period begins in June and lasts until the end of November.
Doubles and their differences
The terrestrial telephon is very similar in appearance to another member of the Teleforov family, the carnation telephor. The difference between the latter is that its hearth bodies are smaller, have a goblet shape, and a central leg. The edges are deeply dissected.
Conclusion
Terrestrial telephony, being ubiquitous, is not considered edible. The pulp quickly becomes tough. It is considered by many foresters to be one of the most important mushrooms in nurseries. It is used for breeding conifers. Covering the roots of seedlings, it provides protection against fungi and bacteria, promotes the absorption of trace elements and the distribution of moisture. It helps to increase the survival rate of young trees, reduce transplant stress and accelerate growth.
