TOOTH FUNGI
Basidiomycota- Hymenomycetes
Tooth Fungi contain relatively few species of macro fungi. A few tooth fungi, however, are common, widespread, edible and easily recognized. In this group the spores are produced on mother cells that form a layer (hymenium) on the outside of tooth-like spines. Spines develop on the underside of mushroom-like caps as in Hydnum repandum or from fertile branches growing out from the sides of logs as in Hericium coralloides. In Mucronella solitary spines or clusters of spines hang like tiny stalactites from the sides or ends of well-rotted logs. Climacodon forms large, shelving brackets on the sides of hardwood trees and some species, like Steccherinum, form flattened (resupinate) growths over the surface of dead twigs or branches.
Most tooth fungi (e.g. Hydnellum peckii) are tough, woody and inedible. A few (e.g. species of Hydnum and Hericium) are soft, fragile and highly prized as edibles. Tooth fungi have the advantage that they are easy to identify and the possibility of error is slim.
The common species have a widespread distribution across the northeast. As a group, however, the woody tooth fungi are much more common in the eastern coastal zones than they are around the Great Lakes and they are especially well represented in Nova Scotia where the Canadian mycologist, Ken Harrison, discovered and described many species previously unknown. It is not easy to identify woody, tooth fungi. For those who would like to try, many species are described in some detail in "How to Know the Non-Gilled Fleshy Fungi" by Smith and Smith (Published by Brown, Dubuque, Iowa).