Tooth Fungi of Berrien County, Michigan: A Preliminary List

Credit: Bearded Tooth (Hericium erinaceus) is one of the edible tooth fungi. This photo by Lebrac is used here courtesy of permission granted by Wikipedia Commons.

The so-called tooth fungi, sometimes aptly referred to as “fungi with spines,” is an artificial grouping based on external morphology; they are not necessarily closely related phylogenetically. Tooth fungi are usually grouped together in field guides for ease of identification by observers in the field.

In general, the distribution and relative abundance of fungi has been poorly documented in the literature. The following list was derived by scanning five field guides at my disposal (Barron 1999, Bessette and Sundberg 1987, Lincoff 1987, McKnight and McKnight 1987, and Miller and Miller 2006) and making educated guesses as to which species were likely to occur in Berrien County based on range and habitat descriptions. The 27 species listed below represent 13 genera, 7 families, 5 orders, and 2 subclasses. Given the current state of knowledge of local fungal diversity, I should again emphasize that this is a list of what is possible rather than a list of what has been confirmed in Berrien County and vicinity, and that I have erred on the side of being inclusive rather than exclusive in the case of questionable species.

There are no officially recognized common names for North American fungi. In many cases, however, North American species of Holarctic distribution have been assigned an "official" English name by the British Mycological Society (see Recommended English Names for Fungi in the UK); these names are capitalized and appear immediately following the scientific name. Where available, other common name(s) shown in curly brackets in lower case are those that appear in one or more of the referenced field guides.

Authors of field guides treating each species are shown in straight brackets.

The few species that are Edible are so-designated.

Subclass ACARICOMYCETES

ORDER CANTHARELLALES

Family Hydnaceae:

Hydnum albidum {white hedgehog} [McKnight, Miller] - edible

Hydnum (=Dentinum) repandum, Wood Hedgehog {sweet tooth, hedgehog mushroom, spreading hedgehog} [Barron, Bessette, Lincoff, McKnight, Miller] - Edible

Hydnum umbilicatum {depressed hedgehog} [Barron, McKnight] - Edible

ORDER POLYPORALES

Family Meruliaceae:

Climacodon septentrionalis (=septentrionale) {northern tooth, shelving tooth, stacka hydnum} [Barron, Lincoff, McKnight, Miller]

Family Steccherinaceae:

Irpex lacteus {milk-white toothed polypore} [Lincoff]

Mycorrhaphium (=Steccherinum) adustum {kidney-shaped tooth, smoky hydnum} [Lincoff, McKnight, Miller]

Steccherinum ochraceum {ochre spreading tooth} [Barron, Lincoff]

ORDER RUSSULALES

Family Auriscalpiaceae:

Auriscalpium vulgare, Earpick Fungus {pine cone fungus, pinecone mushroom, pinecone tooth} [Barron, Bessette, Lincoff, McKnight, Miller]

Family Hericiaceae:

Hericium americanum [Barron, Miller] - Edible

Hericium coralloides (=ramosum), Coral Tooth {comb tooth, bear’s head tooth, comb hedgehog, coral hedgehog, waterfall hydnum} [Barron, Bessette, Lincoff, McKnight, Miller] - Edible

Hericium erinaceus, Bearded Tooth {bearded tooth, bearded hedgehog, hedgehog mushroom} [Bessette, Lincoff, McKnight, Miller] - Edible

Mucronella bresadolae {icicle fungus} [Barron]

ORDER THELEPHORALES

Family Bankeraceae:

Bankera fuligineoalba, Drab Tooth {grayish white hydnum} [McKnight, Miller]

Bankera violascens (=carnosa), Spruce Tooth {fleshy hydnum} [Barron, McKnight]

Hydnellum aurantiacum, Orange Tooth {orange rough-cap tooth} [Lincoff]

Hydnellum caeruleum, Blue Tooth {blue spine, blue tooth, bluish tooth} [Barron, Lincoff, McKnight]

Hydnellum concrescens, Zoned Tooth {zonate tooth} [Barron]

Hydnellum diabolus {Miller]

Hydnellum geogenium {yellow tooth} [Barron]

Hydnellum peckii, Devil's Tooth {bleeding tooth} [Barron]

Hydnellum suaveolens [Miller]

Hydnellum spongiosipes, Velvet Tooth {spongy foot, spongy-footed tooth} [Barron, Lincoff]

Phellodon confluens, Fused Tooth {fused cork hydnum} [McKnight]

Phellodon niger, Black Tooth {black tooth} [Lincoff, Miller]

Sarcodon imbricatus (=Hydnum imbricatum), Scaly Tooth {scaly hydnum, scaly tooth} [Barron, Lincoff, McKnight, Miller]

Sarcodon scabrosus, Bitter Tooth {bitter tooth, scaber hydnum) [Barron, McKnight]

Subclass TREMMELOMYCEDIDAE

ORDER TREMELLALES

Family Exidiaceae:

Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, Jelly Tooth {jelly false tooth} {Bessette]

Sources:

Barron, George. 1999. Mushrooms of northeast North America: Midwest to New England. Lone Pine Publishing, Auburn, Washington. 336 pp.

Bessette, Alan, and Walter J. Sunderg. 1987. Mushrooms: a quick reference guide to mushrooms of North America. McMillan Publishing Company, New York, New York. 173 pp.

Lincoff, Gary H. 1987. The Audubon Society field guide to North American mushrooms. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York. 926 pp.

McKnight, Kent H., and Vera B. McKnight. 1987. A field guide to mushrooms of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 429 pp.

Miller, Orson K., and Hope H. Miller. 2006. North American mushrooms: a field guide to edible and inedible fungi. Falcon Guides, Guilford, Connecticut. 583 pp.