Hydnellum peckii
| Hydnellum peckii | |
|---|---|
| Bleeding tooth fungus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Thelephorales |
| Family: | Bankeraceae |
| Genus: | Hydnellum |
| Species: | H. peckii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Hydnellum peckii Banker (1912)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| Hydnellum peckii | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
| Teeth on hymenium | |
| Cap is depressed or convex | |
| Hymenium attachment is not applicable | |
| Lacks a stipe | |
| Spore print is brown | |
| Ecology is mycorrhizal | |
| Edibility is inedible | |
Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth.
The fruit bodies typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the shape can vary greatly. Young, moist fruit bodies can "bleed" bright red guttation droplets. Although the fruit bodies are readily identifiable when young, they become brown and nondescript with age. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies.
The species is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). It is mycorrhizal, forming mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses. They are considered inedible, but the guttation droplets contain atromentin, a pigment with anticoagulant properties similar to heparin.