Velvet tooth  (Hydnellum spongiosipes)

Description

The velvet tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group. These are a group of 'tooth fungi' (fungi that release their spores from tooth-like structures), which have a short stalk or 'stipe', hence the name 'stipitate' (5). Young fruit bodies of Hydnellum spongiosipes 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 purple-brown without ridged 'growth zones' (6). Several caps often fuse into one mass, which has a number of stalks, and may grow around blades of grass and other objects (6). This fungus has a downy stipe and lumpy cap (6), and is very similar in appearance to the related species, Hydnellum ferrugineum, but is said to have less distinct zonation of the cap and is darker (6).

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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