''Pseudohydnum gelatinosum'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
fungus
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...
in the
order Auriculariales
The Auriculariales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. Species within the order were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that produce spores on ...
. It has the recommended
English name
English names are names used in, or originating in, England.
In England as elsewhere in the English-speaking world, a complete name usually consists of a given name, commonly referred to as a first name, and a (most commonly patrilineal) family ...
of jelly tooth,
with reference to its gelatinous consistency and hydnoid (toothed) undersurface. The species was thought to be cosmopolitan, but recent DNA evidence suggests that it is confined to Europe and northern Asia, with superficially similar but distinct species elsewhere.
At least three species occur in North America, but these are currently unnamed.
''P. gelatinosum'' grows on dead conifer wood.
The jelly tooth is edible and consumed for food in Bulgaria and Russia.
The fungus can be eaten raw.
References
Auriculariales
Fungi described in 1772
Fungi of Asia
Fungi of Europe
Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
{{Agaricomycotina-stub