Hoof Fungus (Amadou)

Hoof fungus is a species of fungus with brown fruit body and hard shell growing in Estonia mostly on birch or alder. This one of the most common tree fungi in Estonia plays an important role both in the forest ecosystem and in the cultural heritage. Because the fungus can be used to light a fire, it was an appreciated item before the invention of matches. The fruit body was boiled in alkaline liquid, rammed and then dried. The result was a felt-like, highly flammable material that was carried together with the fire striker. The material was also used to make clothing and in folk medicine to stop bleeding. It is known that larvae of the fungus gnats, (Keroplatus tipuloides) rare in Estonia, which feed on the spores of the hoof fungus, are slightly luminescent and can be found under the fruit body of the fungus.