Shingled Hedgehog / Scaly Tooth

Sarcodon imbricatus

Coniferous forests, especially sandy pine forests, lichen pine forests. Summer, autumn, until the frost.

Fruiting bodies large. Cap 5-12 (20) cm across, the whole surface as if armoured - covered with brown, blackish-brown scales. Spines whitish, when old greyish-brown, up to 12 mm long, decurrent. Stem 3—8x1—2.5 cm, thickening towards the base, grey, brownish, with a smooth surface. Flesh whitish, brownish, firm, bitter. Characteristic features: massive fruiting bodies, sometimes growing up to 30 cm across, like molehills; the underside of the cap is spiny, shaggy like a hedgehog's fur. Grows in groups, sometimes very close to one another. Edible when young. Very common, a striking fungal feature of lichen pine forests in late autumn.