Bleeding mushrooms in ancient forests.

For as long as I can remember I've been fascinated with mushrooms. From what I've seen on Steemit I'm not the only one, so I'll share one of my finds.

These ones I ran into last year, when walking through some of the ancient forests on the Sunshine Coast, in British Columbia. I had never before seen one in the flesh but I knew them from books and online pictures. They go by the name of Strawberry and Cream, or Bleeding Tooth mushrooms. The Latin name is a less inspiring Hydnellum peckii. They are VERY strange to look at.

They are not poisonous, though inedible due to their intensely bitter flavour. I did not have the guts to try, neither did I pick one - I tend not to. I did take a few snaps that turned out pretty good, even though they were just taken on a phone.

I was pretty lucky to find them when I did. Only the young mushroom bodies have that distinct appearance. Once they get older they turn brown and pretty nondescript, so they go largely unnoticed.

It is not yet known what exactly the liquid is that is forced through the mushroom's surface, but they do know that the red colour comes from a pigment that is found in the mushroom. More interesting chemical compounds are found in this particular mushroom, including - apparently - something called thelephoric acid (I looked that up) which may some day help cure Alzheimers (so I won't have to look it up again).

The presence of this particular mushroom is also a tell-tale sign of an old and healthy environment. All the more reason to be happy to have found it that day.