It was in my regions that underestimated by many pickers, early spring edible mushrooms appeared.
Only that it is an arboreal species and you should not always look for it on rotten wood, but on old trunks. It often grows on healthy trees and at a considerable height.
We are talking about thedryad's saddle or pheasant's back mushroom, which is supposed to be popular and frequent, many pickers look at this mushroom with surprise.
The mushroom can shock you with the size of its cap, which can reach up to 70 cm in diameter. However, such a large fruiting body is no longer suitable for consumption, you can take a picture with it. It is hard, stringy, with time its consistency resembles a cork.
The hat is cream in color, sometimes light brown, ocher. It is relatively thick, up to 5 cm. Fan-shaped, flattened.
The surface of the cap is covered with triangular brown scales.
The underside of the cap is covered with pores that are quite irregular and flow smoothly onto the stem. The color is light, white at first, creamy over time.
The stem usually grows laterally. It is thick, fleshy and covered with mesh-shaped pores. The color is white, cream.
The juicy and fleshy flesh is an excellent delicacy in the kitchen. However, it must be young and firm, because old fruiting bodies are not suitable for consumption. Of course, the mushroom is edible, it has a very pleasant and delicate mushroom taste.
The fungus can be found on old, rotting trunks of deciduous trees. My specimen grows in the park, but a bit out of the way, that's why it survived. It can also be found on living trees, often at high altitudes.
The mushroom is so characteristic that it is impossible to confuse it with another species, which is why its consumption is completely safe, provided that we are dealing with a young fruiting body.