Hydnellum peckii

Hydnellum peckii

Hydnellum peckii is a technically edible, but unpalatable fungus. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. Young, moist fruit bodies can contain a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. It was recently discovered in Iran, Korea and Fraser Island, Australia.

About Hydnellum peckii in brief

Summary Hydnellum peckiiHydnellum peckii is a technically edible, but unpalatable fungus. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. The fruit bodies typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the shape can be highly variable. Young, moist fruit bodies can contain a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. The fungus is classified in the stirps Diabolum of the genus Hydnellum, a grouping of similar species with the following shared characteristics: flesh that is marked with concentric lines that form alternating pale and darker zones; an extremely peppery taste; a sweetish odor; spores that are ellipsoid, and not amyloid, acyanophilous, and covered with tubercules; the presence of clamp connections in the hyphae. The species was first described scientifically by American mycologist Howard James Banker in 1913. It was recently discovered in Iran and Korea and Fraser Island, Australia. It forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.

Fruit bodies growing closely together often appear to fuse together. They can reach a height of up to 10. 5 cm. The cap’s surface is convex to flattened, more or less uneven and sometimes slightly depressed in the center. The stem is thick, very short, and often deformed where it penetrates the ground and may reach up to 5 centimeters in length. Although initially white, they age to a grayish brown, they are typically between three and five millimeter square perimeter in age. The cap is initially whitish, but later turns slightly brownish, with irregular dark-brown to black blotches where it is bruised. In maturity, the surface is fibrous and tough, grayish Brown of the cap, somewhat woody. The spines are slender and tapering, less than 5mm long, and become shorter to the edge closer to the cap edge. They are crowded together, with typically between 3 and five teeth perimeter perimeter. The spores are between five and seven millimeters perimeter square.