EDIBLE MUSHROOMS. 51 



HEDGEHOG MUSHROOM. 



Hydnum repandum. 



(Plate V. Fig. 2.) 



The Hedgehog Mushroom furnishes an 

 example of a very different type of structure 

 to that of the Common Mushroom, in that 

 the under surface of the pileus, which in 

 the mushroom is occupied by gills, is in 

 this instance replaced by spines, thickly 

 set together, and finally covered with 

 spores. This fungus grows in woods and 

 by shady roadsides in the autumn. It is 

 entirely of one colour, which is something 

 of a pinkish-cream colour, and the pileus 

 is seldom regular, often lobed, contorted, 

 and tuberculose ; sometimes two or three 

 individuals are confluent into one ; the stem 

 is rather thick, solid, and irregular. The 

 spines being attended to, it is scarcely 

 possible to confound this with any other 

 species. It is peppery to the taste when 

 raw, in which condition we have known 



