Amadou
coniferous and angiosperm trees, and have the appearance of a horse's hoof (thus the name "hoof fungus"). It is also known as the "tinder fungus" and is useful for starting slow-burning fires. The fungus must be removed from the tree, the hard outer layer scraped off, and then thin strips of the inner spongy layer cut for use as tinder
.
Amadou was a precious resource to ancient people, allowing them to start a fire by catching sparks from
Ötzi the Iceman", who carried it on a cross-alpine excursion before his death and subsequent ice-entombment.[2]
Amadou has great water-absorbing abilities. It is used in Mycologist Paul Stamets famously wears a hat made of amadou.[8]
Before such uses, amadou needs to be prepared by being pounded flat, and boiled or soaked in a solution of
washing soda for a week, beating it gently from time to time. Following this it is left to dry. The result is initially hard and must be pounded with a blunt object to soften and flatten it.[4]
References
- doi:10.22599/book2.q. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0
- ISBN 978-1-60358-456-2.
- ISBN 978-0-86573-100-4.
- ^ a b Jon Beer (October 13, 2001). "Reel life: fomes fomentarius". The Telegraph.
- ISBN 978-1-4930-0783-7.
- .
In Germany, this soft, pliable 'felt' has been harvested for many years for a secondary function, namely in the manufacture of hats, dress adornments and purses.
- ^ Alice Klein (Jun 16, 2018). "Vegan-friendly fashion is actually bad for the environment". New Scientist.
- YouTube
External links
Look up amadou in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- [1]
- "BushcraftUK - Tinder fungus tutorial - Page 1". February 3, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03.
- [2] Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
- "Substitutes for Tinder Fungus".
- "The Easy Way to Use Fomes Fomentarius as Tinder". 10 August 2011.