Rhodotus palmatus (Rhodotus palmatus) ata ma faʻamatalaga

Rhodotus palmatus (Rhodotus palmatus)

• Dendrosarcus subpalmatus;
• Pleurotus subpalmatus;
• Gyrophila palmata;
• Rhodotus subpalmatus.

Rhodotus palmate is the only representative of the genus Rhodotus belonging to the Physalacriaceae family, and has a rather specific appearance. The pink or pinkish-orange cap of this fungus in mature fruiting bodies is densely mottled with a venous reticulum. Because of this appearance, the mushroom described is often called a shriveled peach. The appearance of such a name was to some extent contributed to the fruity aroma of mushroom pulp. The taste qualities of the hand-shaped rhodotus are not very good, the flesh is very bitter, elastic.

The fruiting body of the palm-shaped rhodotus is hat-legged. The mushroom cap has a diameter of 3-15 cm, a convex shape and a curved edge, very elastic, initially with a smooth surface, and in old mushrooms it is covered with a venous wrinkled mesh. Only sometimes the surface of the cap of this mushroom remains unchanged. The mesh that appears on the cap of the mushroom is slightly lighter in color than the rest of the surface, while the color of the cap between wrinkled scars may change. The color of the surface will depend on how intense the lighting was during the development of the fruiting body of the fungus. It can be orange, salmon or pink. In young mushrooms, the fruiting body can secrete droplets of a reddish liquid.

The stem of the mushroom is located in the center, more often it is eccentric, has a length of 1-7 cm, and is 0.3-1.5 cm in diameter, sometimes hollow, the flesh of the stem is very hard, has a small edge on its surface, pinkish in color, but without a volva and a cap ring . The length of the stem will depend on how good the illumination of the fruiting body was during its development.

The mushroom pulp of the hand-shaped rhodotus is elastic, has a jelly-like layer located under the thin skin of the cap, a bitter taste and a barely pronounced fruity aroma, reminiscent of the smell of citrus fruits or apricots. When interacting with iron salts, the color of the pulp immediately changes, becoming dark green.

The hymenophore of the described fungus is lamellar. The elements of the hymenophore – plates, are located freely, can be descending along the stem of the fungus or notched-attached. Often have a belly, a large thickness and frequency of location. Moreover, large hymenophore plates are often interspersed with small and thin ones. According to the color of the plate of the described fungus, they are pale salmon-pink, some of them do not reach the edge of the cap and the base of the stem. Fungal spores are 5.5-7*5-7(8) µm in size. Their surface is covered with warts, and the spores themselves are often spherical in shape.

Rhodotus palmate (Rhodotus palmatus) belongs to the category of saprotrophs. It prefers to live mainly on the stumps and trunks of deadwood of deciduous trees. Occurs singly or in small groups, mainly on deadwood elm. There is information about the growth of the described species of mushrooms on the wood of maple, American linden, horse chestnut. Griyu rhodotus palmate is widely distributed in many European countries, in Asia, North America, New Zealand, and Africa. In mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, such mushrooms can be seen very rarely. Active fruiting of the palm-shaped rhodotus falls on the period from spring to late autumn.

The palmate rhodotus (Rhodotus palmatus) is inedible. In general, its nutritional properties have been little studied, but too hard pulp does not allow this mushroom to be eaten. Actually, these properties of the pulp make the described type of mushrooms inedible.

The palmate rhodotus has a rather specific appearance. The cap of young mushrooms of this species is pinkish, while that of mature mushrooms is orange-pink, and on its surface a network of thin and closely intertwined veins, characteristic of this species, is almost always visible. Such signs do not allow one to confuse the described mushroom with any other, moreover, the pulp of the fruiting body has a clearly distinguishable fruity aroma.

Despite the fact that the hand-shaped rhodotus belongs to the number of inedible mushrooms, some medicinal properties have been found in it. They were discovered in 2000 by a group of Spanish microbiologists. Studies have confirmed that this type of fungus has good antimicrobial activity against human pathogens.

Rhodotus palmatus (Rhodotus palmatus) is included in the Red Book of several countries (Austria, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia).