To remind you of the natural beauties to take note of this year, we already have announced the bird of the year, the animal of the year, the plant of the year and the habitat of the year, but this category is probably the most awaited by many true patriots of Latvia.
So, not to ruin the fun-gus of the celebration, without mush room for deliberation, the winner of the 2022 champignonship is...
...
... the mealy tooth?
Two fungi of the genus Hydnellum have been announced the winners, one scarier than the other. Hydnellum ferrugineum is commonly known as the mealy tooth or the reddish-brown corky spine fungus, and Hydnellum peckii is also known as strawberries and cream, the red-juice tooth, the bleeding tooth fungus, or the Devil's tooth.
The fungi are not edible (in case you thought any of those names were appetizing) but not poisonous either. Latvia has several species of the tooth fungi, but the Mycological Society has announced these particular two to "evaluate its population status in Latvia."
In case you are not too frightened to look the mealy tooth in the mouth, you can report sightings of it on dabasdati.lv.
