''Hydnellum scabrosum'', also called bitter tooth or bitter 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 family
Bankeraceae
The ''Bankeraceae'' are a family of fungi in the order Thelephorales. Taxa are terrestrial, and ectomycorrhizal with plant species in families such as Pinaceae or Fagaceae. The family was circumscribed by Marinus Anton Donk in 1961. According ...
.
Taxonomy
It was originally
described by Swedish botanist
Elias Fries
Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist.
Career
Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö.
He acquired an ...
as ''Hydnum scabrosum'' in 1836. Finnish mycologist
Petter 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, s ...
moved it to 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 ...
'' in 1881. This species remained as ''Sarcodon scabrosus'' until 2019, when a molecular analysis using nuclear DNA showed that this and 11 other species lay genetically within the genus ''
Hydnellum
''Hydnellum'' is a genus of tooth fungi in the family Bankeraceae (order Thelephorales). Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, the genus contains around 40 species. The fruitbodies of its members grow by slowly enveloping nearby bits o ...
'', a genus of which harder woody flesh had previously been considered a distinguishing feature from soft-fleshed ''Sarcodon''.
Within the genus it is most closely related to ''
H. fennicum''.
Description
The fruit body (mushroom) has a convex to flattened brownish cap up to across that is covered with brown scales. It can be tinged with pink at the margins and darken with age. The mushroom has yellow-brown spines under the cap that are long and in diameter. They are decurrent to the stem. The pinkish brown stem is high and wide, and has a narrower base that is a characteristic greyish green colour. The flesh is whitish and has a bitter taste, rendering the mushroom inedible. The flesh smells farinaceous or like watermelon when cut.
Distribution and habitat
It is found in association with hardwood forests across Eurasia to Japan, as well as North America.
[
]
Biochemistry
The species has been investigated for bioactive agents. In 2004, Tsunashi Kamo and colleagues isolated diterpenoid
Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being ...
s with experimental anti-inflammatory activity.[ Other diterpenoids were shown to stimulate ]nerve growth factor
Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor and neuropeptide primarily involved in the regulation of growth, maintenance, proliferation, and survival of certain target neurons. It is perhaps the prototypical growth factor, in that it was on ...
(NGF).[ Yet another agent, an alpha-]pyrone
Pyrones or pyranones are a class of heterocyclic chemical compounds. They contain an unsaturated six-membered ring containing one oxygen atom and a ketone functional group. There are two isomers denoted as 2-pyrone and 4-pyrone. The 2-pyrone (or ...
, was shown to inhibit lettuce seedling growth.[
]
Similar species
''Sarcodon imbricatus
''Sarcodon imbricatus'', commonly known as the shingled hedgehog or scaly hedgehog, is a species of tooth fungus in the order Thelephorales. The mushroom is edible. Many sources report it has a bitter taste, but others have found it delicious ...
'' is similar, but the scales do not become as prominent in age.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q67016592, from2=Q10670604
scabrosum
Fungi of Europe
Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries
Fungi described in 1836