CHAPTER VI: FUNGI WITH TEETH 

 HYDNACE/E 



THE fungi with teeth are so called because, instead of bear- 

 ing their spores on the surface of gills and pores, they bear 

 them on the surface of awl-shaped teeth, which project down- 

 ward. The genera of the family Hydnacece are distinguished 

 by the size, shape, and attachment of the teeth. Plants with 

 teeth only, and no basal membrane, make the genus Mucronella. 

 Plants with flattened, leaf-like teeth attached to a leathery mem- 

 brane, growing on wood, either in the form of a cap, or simply 

 spreading over the host, make the genus Irpex. Plants with 

 thick, blunt, irregular spines make the genus Radulum. Fleshy 

 or membranous plants with caps and flattened teeth, growing on 

 the ground, make the genus Sistotrema. Plants which spread 

 over their host, closely attached to its surface, and have simple, 

 bristle-like teeth, make the genus Pycnodon. Plants growing 

 in a manner similar to those of the genus Pycnodon, but having 

 low-crested wrinkles instead of bristles, make the genus 

 Phlebia ; while those with smooth hemispherical warts make 

 the genus Grandinia, and those with crested papillose warts 

 make the genus Odontium. The typical genus Hydnum has the 

 teeth cylindrical, so that a cross section would appear circular. 

 This is the only large genus, and in it are found several impor- 

 tant edible species. These may be put in two groups, one con- 

 taining the species with a cap and central stem, and one the 

 species growing in branched masses with no distinct cap. These 

 are commonly known as Hedgehog Mushrooms. 



fr'-p&c Sfa-to-tre'-mS Phlgb-l'-S 



MS-cro-nfl'-li RM'-fi-lfim Pyc'-n8-dfin Grita-di'-nlUi 



S-dfint'-J-fim H^d'-nfim 



94 



