This representative of the forest kingdom has received so many names: “monkey head”, “air fish”, “hedgehog”, “mushroom noodles or vermicelli”, “Pom Pom”, “satyr beard”, shishigashira, etc. Hericium comb looks really bizarre - like a snow cloud, without the legs and cap that ordinary mushrooms have.
Find out everything about the unusual fruiting body: what it is, where and how to find it, what diseases can be treated with its help. Find out how to use and prepare delicious dishes from yamabushitake (that's what the Japanese call it), interesting facts, videos and photos.
Characteristic
The blackberry comb mushroom belongs to the Hericiaceae family of the order Russula. It is quite large and can be eaten. It can be described as follows:
- the body of the mushroom is irregularly shaped, often pear-shaped or spherical, slightly flattened on the sides;
- adult blackberries are dark - from yellow to brown, young ones are white or cream-colored;
- the weight of one mushroom can be up to 1.5 kg;
- width – no more than 20 cm;
- from the lower surface of the body of the blackberry comb there are many soft outgrowths hanging down, shaped like needles, their length is no more than 6 cm;
On a note! It is this part of the fruiting body of the crested blackberry - the hymenophore - that makes it very similar to a hedgehog!
- the dense pulp is whitish and does not darken even when cut, but when it dries it turns yellow;
- The taste of the pulp is compared to shrimp.
Blackberry (hedgehog) comb is a saprotroph - an organism that obtains the substances necessary for normal growth and development by destroying the body of other plants. Therefore, it can be found on stumps and tree trunks. The most preferable species for this mushroom would be beech, birch or oak. At the same time, settling on living plants, it “selects” damaged areas, for example, saw cuts and broken parts of large branches.
The blackberry comb mushroom is most common in areas with a warm and humid climate, therefore it is most often found in forests mainly in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, the Amur Region, in the Crimea, as well as in the Caucasus and northern China. As for the central and northern regions of the Russian Federation, it is extremely rare to find blackberry mushrooms in this territory.
The fruiting season begins in the last month of summer and continues until mid-autumn. However, if you manage to find a blackberry mushroom on one of the trees, then further searches can be stopped, since it usually grows “alone.”
Methods of application
How to take comb blackberry depends on the form of release of the dietary supplement.
Tincture
As a rule, it is made independently using alcohol. It is prepared according to this recipe: 0.5 liters of vodka or 40% alcohol is mixed with 35 grams. hericium powder. After which the mixture is sent to a dark place for two weeks.
You can use folk medicine only from 18 years of age, 1 tablespoon twice a day before meals. If it is difficult to swallow the tincture, it is best to dilute it in another drink.
Comb blackberry in capsules and tablets
The most convenient form of release. Hericium extract is enclosed in a gelatin shell, medical glaze or simply pressed. A person does not need to dilute it, just drink it with water. Due to the absence of alcohol in the composition, more patients can take dietary supplements.
| 20 and older | Up to 1 gr. daily |
| From 15 years old | Up to 500 mg |
Table 1. How to use tablets and capsules.
The course of treatment is a month, then take a break for another 30 days.
Vegetarian tablets Super Lion's Mane from Mushroom Wisdom
Powder
They make a tincture on it. It is also allowed to add it to food or drink, in a dosage of up to 1 gram. daily.
Mushroom powder from Om Mushrooms
Benefits and treatment
The medicinal properties of the blackberry comb mushroom have not yet been fully studied, however, something about its benefits is still known.
On a note! According to representatives of traditional medicine, blackberry preparations can correct the emotional state and alleviate the course of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease!
On a note! The wild blackberry comb mushroom is now a rarity, plus, it is listed in the Red Book. It is actively cultivated in some countries, including Russia, but the product grown in this way, although affordable, is considered less healthy!
Use in traditional medicine
In many Asian countries, the hedgehog has been used for many centuries not only as a food product, but also as a medicine. Over the past 10 years, this medicinal mushroom has become more popular due to its therapeutic abilities in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases.
In the East, mushrooms are traditionally revered and called “spiritual plants.” They are believed to bestow longevity and spiritual strength. A study published in the Journal of Restorative Medicine states that Chinese and Japanese medicinal practices have traditionally used the urchin to normalize intestinal function, strengthen the spleen, and as an anti-cancer agent. In traditional medicine, this mushroom is considered very beneficial for five internal organs: lungs, heart, spleen, kidneys and liver. It is also able to improve digestion, give strength and vigor.
Crested hedgehog
Lion's mane is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to relieve symptoms of Qi deficiency (lack of "vital energy"), and is also used for problems with the central nervous system, insomnia and weakness.
Cooking features
There is an opinion that only young blackberries can be tasty, but this assumption is wrong. A mature mushroom is also quite capable of fully revealing all its taste qualities, and the recipe for making comb blackberry does not have any complex secrets - it just needs to be boiled in salted water. After a short heat treatment, blackberries become softer, which allows them to be used in a wide variety of dishes.
Mushroom soup with melted cheese
For four servings you will need:
- blackberry mushroom – 300 g;
- chicken meat – 180 g;
- processed cheese – 200 g;
- potatoes - 3 medium tubers;
- butter - about a tablespoon;
- medium head of onion;
- salt pepper.
Pour one and a half liters of water into a saucepan and cook the chicken fillet for 20 minutes from the moment it boils, add salt. Remove the meat from the broth and cut into small cubes.
Return the broth to the stove and heat it up. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and add them to the broth. After a quarter of an hour, when the potatoes become soft, add the mushrooms and onions, and after another five to seven minutes add the chicken fillet.
At the end, you need to add processed cheese to the pan and mix everything thoroughly until the last ingredient is completely dissolved.
Recipes
Before cooking, remove all dirt from the blackberry, cut off the part that touched the wood, and chop the rest. Then fry in a dry frying pan for a few minutes. To create a crispy crust, it is necessary that all the water comes out of the mushrooms.
As soon as the mushrooms begin to darken, add a little vegetable oil, olive oil or ghee, salt, pepper and continue to cook over low heat until they turn golden brown.
While frying the mushrooms, add some garlic, onion or other vegetables that you think go well with the shrimp, as the two have similar flavors.
Try making vegetarian ceviche; the blackberry will add an unusual fishy flavor to the dish.
Comb hedgehog: photo and description, healing properties, how to cook, recipes
- Division: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (indefinite position)
- Order: Russulales
- Family: Hericiaceae
- Genus: Hericium (Gericium)
- Species: Hericium erinaceus (Comb hedgehog)
The comb mushroom is a beautiful, recognizable and quite rare mushroom with numerous beneficial properties. To evaluate the valuable qualities of the combed hedgehog, you need to study its description and characteristics.
Description of the combed hedgehog
The combed urchin, also called the combed hericium, "mushroom noodle" and "grandfather's beard", has a very recognizable external structure.
The fruiting body consists mainly of a large cap - it is round or pear-shaped in shape, elongated, slightly compressed on the sides. The size of the fruiting body can reach 20 cm, and the weight sometimes reaches 1.5 kg. The color of the mushroom varies from light beige to cream, sometimes yellow or light brown fruiting bodies are found; mushrooms usually darken already in adulthood.
The combed hedgehog is almost impossible to confuse with another mushroom
The combed hedgehog got its name due to its unusual hymenophore, which makes it look like a hedgehog. The fruiting body of the mushroom is densely covered with long spine-like needles hanging down; they are cylindrical in shape and can reach 5 cm in length. The shade of the needles is also light cream or beige.
When broken, the flesh of the combed hedgehog has a whitish color and is fleshy in structure. The pulp does not change color when exposed to air, but when it dries it turns yellow and becomes hard.
Similar species
Blackberries can also be confused with other subspecies.
Motley
Variegated blackberry is also affectionately called hawk or hen. It earned this name due to its bright and variegated colors that appear on the cap. The mushroom cap is covered with large scales that resemble the plumage of a bright bird.
The cap itself is velvety to the touch, and reaches 20 cm in diameter. From a distance it may seem that this bird has hidden its head under its wing. The color of the cap varies from dark brown coffee shades to light gray. The color changes depending on the growing conditions and age of the mushroom.
The stem becomes hollow inside with age, so it is not uncommon for the cap to simply fall off the stem.
White and yellow
Yellow and white blackberries are species that are very similar to combed blackberries, but have slightly different shades of cap color.
However, white and yellow blackberries, due to growing in not the most suitable conditions, can visually exactly repeat their predecessor. The main difference is in the taste. The white one is more delicate, while the yellow one is salty.
Visually, upon careful examination, mushrooms can be distinguished. For example, the white and yellow representatives have a velvety cap, and the edges are rolled down, like umbrellas.
And if you are unlucky and you pick an adult mushroom, then when cooked it will be very bitter.
Coraloid
The coral blackberry is very similar to its comb representative. It looks very exotic, from a distance it can resemble a large fluffy bird.
Reminiscent of a bright white coral bush. Throughout its entire volume it is covered with spines, the length of which is about 2 cm.
However, scientists claim that the mushroom does not grow in the form of a bush. This is a cap that is divided into tiny thin spines.
This fibrous pulp has a very pleasant nutty smell and taste.
It grows only in southern climate zones where there is high humidity.
Where and how does it grow
On the territory of Russia, comb hericium can be found mainly in the Khabarovsk Territory, Primorye, Crimea and the Caucasus, Western Siberia and the Amur region. All over the world, the mushroom is found in America and Europe, in Asian countries.
The combed hedgehog settles on tree trunks, both dead and living. The mushroom mainly chooses birch, oak and beech trees for its growth, and mass fruiting is observed from mid-summer to early October.
Important! Although the combed hedgehog is geographically distributed throughout Russia, in practice it can be found quite rarely; the species is listed in the Red Book and is classified as an endangered species.
Hericium comb is one of the very rare mushrooms listed in the Red Book.
Doubles and their differences
The appearance of the comb hericium is very recognizable, and it is almost impossible to confuse it with other mushrooms. However, the fungus bears certain similarities to several related species.
Antennae hedgehog
The similarity between the species lies in the similar structure of the hymenophore. The cap of the antennal hedgehog is also covered with long thick spine-like needles with sharp tips hanging down. The species are similar in shade. Both the combed and antennal hedgehogs have a light beige or cream colored cap and spines.
But unlike the comb type, the tendril type usually grows in a tiled pattern, with several caps located on top of each other. They are smaller in size than the comb hericium, each of them usually does not exceed 12 cm in diameter.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Comb hericium belongs to the category of edible mushrooms, but with one caveat. You can only eat young fruiting bodies whose flesh is quite tender. The mushroom is considered a delicacy - its taste is sweetish, very refined and reminiscent of seafood.
The cost of wild combed hedgehogs can reach 5 thousand dollars; therefore, the fruiting bodies for sale are grown mainly artificially.
How to prepare combed hedgehog mushrooms
Despite its absolute edibility, comb hericium requires careful processing before cooking. It consists in removing all damaged, darkened, deformed or rotten thorns from the fruiting body.
After this, the mushroom is immersed in a pan of boiling water and left for 5 minutes, and then caught with a slotted spoon and allowed to cool slightly. Heat-treated blackberry can be further prepared according to several basic recipes.
Before cooking the blackberry, you need to remove all the darkened thorns from it.
Boiling
Most often, the hedgehog is used in cooking in boiled form. It is added to salads, soups and main courses. If the mushroom needs to be boiled, then during the initial processing it is not removed from the pan after 5 minutes, but is left to boil for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the fruiting body.
During the cooking process, carrots, onions and potatoes are added to the mushroom pulp and chicken, resulting in a very tasty and healthy soup.
Pickling
Another popular cooking recipe is pickling, which allows you to preserve the valuable properties of the mushroom throughout the winter. Hericium is pre-boiled, and at the same time the sauce is prepared - mix 2 large spoons of salt with 1 spoon of sugar, 4 spoons of vinegar and 3 chopped cloves of garlic.
The sauce is brought to a boil and turned off almost immediately, and the boiled mushroom is cut into small pieces and placed in a glass jar. Peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves are added to the blackberry to taste, the ingredients are poured with hot marinade and the jars are rolled up. After cooling, the workpiece should be stored in the dark and cool, and pickled hericium can be consumed 3-4 weeks after preparation.
Pickled blackberry can be stored all winter
Frying
Fried hericium is considered one of the most delicious. The cooking recipe looks like this:
- the pre-processed mushroom is cut into small pieces;
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, cut the onion into half rings and fry until transparent;
- then add pieces of blackberry and fry until the onion acquires a golden hue.
After this, remove the pan from the stove, allow the mushrooms to cool slightly and add a little chopped garlic to them before serving. Fried blackberries go well with potatoes, cereals, pasta and baked meat.
Medicinal properties of combed hedgehogs
Eating hericium comb is not only tasty, but also beneficial for the health of the body. The unusual mushroom has numerous medicinal properties, and this further increases its value.
In China, hericium comb is considered a natural medicine that promotes healthy brain and nervous system function. In folk medicine, fruiting bodies are recommended to be consumed:
- for gastritis and stomach ulcers;
- for diseases of the liver and pancreas;
- for diseases of the respiratory organs;
- with weakened immunity and chronic fatigue;
- with a tendency to depression and increased anxiety.
The anticancer properties of combed hedgehogs deserve special mention. It is believed that the mushroom has a beneficial effect on the body in case of leukemia and esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, fibroids and fibroids, cysts, liver cancer, and mammary tumors. The use of comb hericium during chemotherapy can reduce the negative impact of treatment on the body.
Also, combed hedgehog is good for brain function. Studies have shown that the mushroom restores the function of brain cells and prevents the development of sclerosis, and can also be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.
Hericium comb is highly valued in medicine
Story
Like many other useful products, comb grass is widely used in Asia to maintain health and treat ailments. In Japan, it has been used for hundreds of years (and maybe even a millennium), and Buddhist monks considered it a mystical source of power.
The vestments of the group of Buddhist hermit monks known as the Yamabushi are called "suzukake" and consist of many long strips of fur, resembling a blackberry mushroom. Perhaps for this reason, in some regions the mushroom is known as yamabushitake.
Some sources claim that the hedgehog was served only to members of the royal family.
Is it possible to grow combed hedgehogs in the country?
Since the fruiting bodies of hericium are very rare in nature and, moreover, are most often prohibited for collection, the combed hedgehog is often grown in the country. You can order mushroom mycelium in specialized stores or via the Internet, and hedgehog mushrooms are bred in accordance with the following rules:
- To grow the mushroom, a fresh leafy log is soaked for a couple of days and then left for a week in a warm, well-ventilated room.
- Then small depressions no more than 4 cm in depth and 1 cm in diameter are made in a checkerboard pattern in the log. The gap between them should be about 10 cm.
- The purchased mycelium is carefully placed in these holes, and then the logs are wrapped in polyethylene with holes made for air and left in the shade and warm.
- Once every 4 days, the logs are moistened so that they do not dry out, and when the first white threads of the mycelium appear, they are soaked in cold water for a day.
Buyers' opinion
Reviews of comb blackberry from customers say the following:
- Improves memory and attention (results after a week of use);
- Normalizes sleep (for 2-3 days);
- Relieves digestive problems (in 1-2 days, has a mild effect);
- Does not cause side effects;
- Helps children with autism spectrum disorders (together with ginkgo biloba; only a neurologist selects the dosage for children);
- Normalizes the psycho-emotional state (relieves mild depression in 2-3 weeks);
- Helps with gastritis;
- Stabilizes the condition of Alzheimer's;
- Pleasant to the taste, does not cause disgust;
- Inhibits tumor growth (subject to complex therapy);
- Increases immunity.
California Gold Nutrition Vegetable Capsules
Important and interesting facts about combed hedgehogs
Comb hericium is one of the rarest types of mushrooms and is officially listed in the Red Book. Usually it cannot be collected even in those places where it is found in the forest under natural conditions.
Many countries impose strict penalties for picking the mushroom. Thus, in the UK, collecting combed hedgehogs is punishable by unlimited fines and imprisonment for up to six months.
In China, hericium comb is a recognized remedy for stomach disorders and weakened immunity. Mushroom extract is included in many medicines with a tonic and hematopoietic effect.
Comb hericium has antiparasitic properties. The mushroom is recommended for use against helminths, as it helps to quickly remove parasites from the intestines.
In the late 1990s, research in Germany isolated the substance erinacin E, a compound that stimulates the growth of nerve cells, from the combed hedgehog. Thus, the hedgehog has acquired enormous medicinal importance. The mushroom has great potential - scientists think that in the future it will be able to help in the treatment of many diseases of the central nervous system that were previously considered incurable.
In some countries, collecting hedgehogs is punishable by huge fines.
Doctors' opinion
Reviews from doctors on dietary supplements are generally positive. According to experts, there is not yet enough information to speak with confidence about the medicinal effects of the fungus on humans. However, its effect on neurons has been studied.
Based on the results of the study, scientists concluded that hericium has a neurotrophic effect. ( 1 ) Another test also showed that, together with Lignosus rhinocerotis, lion's mane stimulated neutritic growth more actively. ( 2 ) These data demonstrate the potential use of the extract in the fight against memory impairment. ( 3 )
