CHAPTER VIII. 



HYDNACEAE FUNGI WITH TEETH. 



There is, perhaps, no family in mycology that has a greater variety in form, 

 size, and consistency than this. Some species are very large, some are small, 

 some fleshy, and some are corky or woody. The fruiting surface is the special 

 characteristic marking the family. This surface is covered with spines or teeth 

 which nearly always point to the earth. 



Many of the Hydnaceae are shelving, growing on trees or logs ; some grow 

 on the ground on central, but usually eccentric, stems. The genera of Hydnaceae 

 are distinguished by the size, shape, and attachment of the teeth. The following 

 genera are included : 



Hydnum Spines discrete at the base. 



Irpex Resupinate ; with gill-like teeth concrete with the pileus. 



Mucronella Plants with teeth only and no basal membrane. 



Radulum Hymenium with thick, blunt, irregular spines. 



Sistotrema Fleshy plants with caps and flattened teeth, on ground. 



Phlebia Plants spread over the host with crowded folds or wrinkles. 



Grandinia Covered with granules, more or less smooth, and excavated. 



Odontium Covered with crested granules. 



Hydnum. Linn. 



Hydnum is from a Greek word meaning an eatable fungus. The genus is 

 characterized by awl-shaped spines which are distant at the base. These spines 

 are at first papilliform, then elongated and round. They form the fruiting surface 

 and take the place of the gills in the family Agaricaceae and of the pores in the 

 family of Polyporaceae. The spines are simple or in some cases the tips are more 

 or less branched. 



This is the greatest genus in the family and it includes many important edible 

 species. It may be divided into two groups : one, those species having a cap and 

 a central or lateral stem ; the other, the species growing with or without a distinct 

 cap, in large imbricated masses. Some imitate coral in structure and some seem 

 to be a mass of spines. Many of these plants grow to be very large and massive, 

 frequently weighing over ten pounds. 



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