The scent stick - an anise-scented treasure in the ancient forest

There are mushrooms that you have to look for with your eyes, and then there are mushrooms that reveal themselves with your nose. The scented tick, Haploporus odorus, belongs to the latter category. It spreads a sweet, spicy aniseed scent that can be felt long before it is detected on the tree trunk. The fruiting body itself is white-grey, tough and often relatively large, yet discreet in appearance. It is the scent that makes the encounter with the species so memorable.

Life on old trees

The scented tick specializes in large, aged deciduous trees, especially willow. It likes to settle on trees that have been damaged or are dying, often a few meters up the trunk. There it can live for many years, slowly breaking down the wood. The sedge plays a central role in the ecology of the forest by providing a habitat for many insects, lichens and fungi. One of its most fascinating companions is the scented tick.

A signal of high nature values

Encountering a scented tick in a forest is like finding a secret code that tells you there is something unique here. The species is considered a 'signal species', which means that it indicates an environment with high natural values. Where it thrives, there are often other rare species that depend on old willows and aspens. A scented tick habitat is therefore not only valuable in itself, but also a symbol of the entire biodiversity found in deciduous old-growth forests.

The species is endangered

Today, the scented tick is classified as vulnerable on the Swedish Red List. The greatest danger is that its habitats are disappearing as forestry has changed the landscape. Old willows are being felled, deciduous areas are being replaced by spruce plantations and dead trees are being removed. All this means that the fungus' natural home is shrinking. When the old trees disappear, the scented tick also loses its place in the forest.

Man and the scent stick

The mushroom has played a major role in our cultural history. As early as the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus reported that the Sami used the mushroom as a perfume. Studies have also found that during the same period, the common people used it both as a spice in food and as a scent diffuser in clothes chests. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was popularly used as a spice in rice pudding, gruel, rye buns and mess butter. Its unusual flavor made it a welcome addition to everyday life.

A reminder of the treasures of the forest

The scent stick is more than a mushroom. It is a meeting point between nature and culture, between the silent cycles of the ancient forest and human history. Protecting its habitats means not only preserving a single species, but also safeguarding the rich world of old-growth hardwoods and the stories shaped around them. As the scent of the dove sweeps through the forest, it reminds us of the value of what we still have and how much we risk losing if we don't preserve these environments.