Ridged tooth  (Hydnellum scrobiculatum)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Description

The ridged tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group. Members of this group are also known as 'tooth fungi' (fungi that release their spores from tooth-like structures), and all have a short stalk or 'stipe', hence the name 'stipitate' (5). Young fruit bodies of Hydnellum scrobiculatum have different colours to older ones, as the pale area of growth is broadest in young specimens (6). As they age, the fruit bodies become brown with ridged 'growth zones' that radiate out from the centre (6). Several caps often fuse into one mass, which has a number of stalks that may grow around blades of grass and other objects (6). This species shares many features with the very similar Hydnellum concrescens, which is said to be distinguished by being more distinctly zoned, by the flesh greening in alkali, and by its slightly smaller spores (5).

WARNING: many species of fungus are poisonous or contain chemicals that can cause sickness. Never pick and eat any species of fungus that you cannot positively recognise or are unsure about. Some species are deadly poisonous and can cause death within a few hours if swallowed.

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