Hydnellum spongiosipes

[ Basidiomycetes > Thelophorales > Bankeraceae > Hydnellum ... ]

by Michael Kuo

If you have ever seen an old tree that has "swallowed" a length of barbed wire or an old road sign, you've seen the slow-motion version of what species of Hydnellum manage to do in a few short days of growth. Like other Hydnellum species, Hydnellum spongiosipes engulfs its surroundings as it develops, and a typical specimen has swallowed at least one or two oak leaves. Other distinguishing features include the brownish "teeth" on the underside of the cap, which bruise darker brown; the brown, velvety cap surface; the "duplex" flesh (with a soft, spongy layer and a harder layer); and the spongy, swollen stem. Hydnellum spongiosipes grows under oaks, east of the Rocky Mountains.

Though species of Hydnellum aren't known to be poisonous, they are much too tough and leathery to consider for the table.

Description:

Ecololgy: Mycorrhizal with hardwoods (primarily oaks); growing alone or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains.

Cap: 2-10 cm wide; broadly convex to flat or somewhat irregular; sometimes fused with other caps; cinnamon brown to dark brown; velvety; sometimes rugged; paler areas bruising dark brown.

Undersurface: Running down the stem; covered with spines or "teeth" that are 4-6 mm long; pale to lilac brown; bruising dark brown; darker brown in age.

Stem: 3-10 cm long; 1-2 cm thick at apex; club-shaped; swollen and much thicker below; spongy; dark brown; velvety.

Flesh: Upper layer pale brown and fairly soft; lower layer cinnamon brown and hard.

Taste: Mild or mealy; odor mild or mealy.

Spore Print: Brown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5.5-7 x 5-6 µ; almost round; finely spiny.

REFERENCES: (Peck) Pouzar. (Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Lincoff, 1992.) Herb. Kuo 06249605, 07140403, 07170405.

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, July). Hydnellum spongiosipes. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hydnellum_spongiosipes.html