''Sarcodon imbricatus'', commonly known as the shingled hedgehog or scaly hedgehog, is a species of

tooth fungus The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the g ...

in the order

Thelephorales The Thelephorales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes corticioid and hydnoid fungi, together with a few polypores and clavarioid species. Most fungi within the Thelephorales are ectomycorrhizal. None is of any ...

. The mushroom is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

. Many sources report it has a bitter taste, but others have found it delicious and suspect that the bitter specimens may be similar related species. The mushroom has a large, brownish

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with large brown scales and may reach 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. On the underside it sports greyish, brittle teeth instead of

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, and has white

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

. Its

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print. A 3.5-centimeter ...

is brown. It is associated with spruce ('' Picea''), appearing in autumn. It ranges throughout North America and Europe, although collections from the British Isles are now assigned to the similar species '' Sarcodon squamosus''.

Taxonomy

The Swedish botanist

Olof Celsius Olof Celsius (the elder) (19 July 1670 – 24 June 1756) was a Swedish botanist, philologist and clergyman, He was a professor at Uppsala University, Sweden. Celsius was a mentor of the botanist and scientist Carl Linnaeus. Celsius wrote his most ...

reported in 1732 that ''Sarcodon imbricatus'' occurred in the vicinity of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

, and

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

wrote of it in his 1737 work ''Flora lapponica''. It was one of the species initially described by Linnaeus, as ''Hydnum imbricatum'', in the second volume of his '' Species Plantarum'' in 1753. The specific epithet is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''imbricatus'' meaning "tiled" or "with overlapping tiles". It was then placed in the genus ''

Sarcodon ''Sarcodon'' is a genus of fungi in the family Bankeraceae, which is part of the order Thelephorales The Thelephorales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes corticioid and hydnoid fungi, together with a few ...

'' by Finnish mycologist

Petter Adolf Karsten Petter Adolf Karsten (16 February 1834 – 22 March 1917) was a Finnish mycologist, the foremost expert on the fungi of Finland in his day, and known in consequence as the "father of Finnish mycology". Karsten was born in Merimasku near Turku, st ...

in 1881. For many years, ''Sarcodon imbricatus'' was described associated with both spruce and pine, although the latter forms were smaller and noted to be more palatable by mushroom hunters in Norway. Furthermore, the mushroom has been used as a source of pigment and collectors noted that fresh specimens collected under pine yielded

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

, but only old ones collected under spruce. Molecular analysis of the DNA revealed the two forms to be distinct genetically, and thus populations of what had been described as ''S. imbricatus'' were now assigned to '' Sarcodon squamosus'', which includes collections in the British Isles and the Netherlands.

Description

The mushrooms, or fruiting bodies, can be quite large in size. The brownish or buff

measures up to 30 cm (12 in) in diameter and is covered with coarse darker brown scales, becoming darker and upturned with age. It is funnel-shaped. The underside bears soft, pale grey 'teeth' rather than gills. These are 0.5–1.5 cm long, grayish brown (darkening with age), and brittle. The pale grey or brown stipe may reach high and wide, may be narrower at the base, and is sometimes eccentric. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

are brown.

Similar species

From above, it may be confused with the old man of the woods ('' Strobilomyces strobilaceus'') as both have a similar shaggy cap. The bitter and inedible ''Sarcodon amarascens'' can be distinguished by its bluish-black stripe. '' S. scabrosus'' is also similar.

Distribution and habitat

The fruit bodies of ''Sarcodon imbricatus'' grow in association with firs (''

Abies Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related t ...

''), especially in hilly or mountainous areas, and can appear on sandy or chalk soils in

fairy ring A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by ...

s. The usual fruiting season in August to October. It ranges throughout North America and Europe, although collections from the British Isles are now assigned to another species, '' Sarcodon squamosus''.

Uses

Old mushrooms of ''Sarcodon imbricatus'' and related species contain blue-green pigments, which are used for

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular c ...

wool in Norway.

Edibility

The fungus can be bitter, although this is less apparent in younger specimens. Submerging the mushrooms in boiling water will remove this. It can be pickled or dried and used as flavouring. In Bulgaria it is collected, dried and finely ground to be used as an aromatic mushroom flour. It is reported as

but of poor quality in the United States by some sources but as deliciously edible by others. It may cause gastrointestinal upsets. In

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, mushroom tea is made from it. Distinctive spicy aroma of fried younger specimens has made it an expensive delicacy on Japanese food market.

References

External links

*
Sarcodon imbricatus
' at Mushroom Expert * {{Taxonbar, from=Q262105 imbricatus Edible fungi Fungi described in 1753 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus