''Sarcodon imbricatus'', commonly known as the shingled hedgehog or scaly hedgehog, is a species of

tooth fungus The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the ge ...

in the order

Thelephorales The Thelephorales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes corticioid and hydnoid fungi, together with a few polypores and clavarioid species. Most fungi within the Thelephorales are ectomycorrhizal. None is of ...

. The mushroom has a large, brownish

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with large brown scales and may reach 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. On the underside it sports greyish, brittle teeth instead of

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, and has white

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, ...

. Its

spore print 300px, Making a spore print of the mushroom ''Volvariella volvacea'' shown in composite: (photo lower half) mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; (photo upper half) cap removed after 24 hours showing warm orange ("tussock") color spore print. ...

is brown. It ranges throughout Europe and North America, while collections from the British Isles are now assigned to '' Sarcodon squamosus''. It appears in autumn and is associated with spruce (''

Picea A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...

''). The mushroom is edible, but it may be bitter and possibly causes gastrointestinal upset.

Taxonomy

The Swedish botanist Olof Celsius reported in 1732 that ''Sarcodon imbricatus'' occurred in the vicinity of

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, and

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

wrote of it in his 1737 work ''Flora lapponica''. It was one of the species initially described by Linnaeus, as ''Hydnum imbricatum'', in the second volume of his ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

'' in 1753. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''imbricatus'' meaning "tiled" or "with overlapping tiles". It was then placed in the genus '' Sarcodon'' by Finnish mycologist

Petter Adolf Karsten Petter Adolf Karsten (16 February 1834 – 22 March 1917) was a Finland, Finnish mycology, mycologist, the foremost expert on the fungi of Finland in his day, and known in consequence as the "father of Finnish mycology". Karsten was born in Merim ...

in 1881. For many years, ''S. imbricatus'' was described associated with both spruce and pine, although the latter forms were smaller and noted to be more palatable by mushroom hunters in Norway. Furthermore, the mushroom has been used as a source of pigment and collectors noted that fresh specimens collected under pine yielded

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

, but only old ones collected under spruce.

Molecular analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

of the DNA revealed the two forms to be distinct genetically, and thus populations of what had been described as ''S. imbricatus'' were now assigned to '' S. squamosus'', which includes collections in the British Isles and the Netherlands.

Description

The brownish or buff

measures up to in diameter and is covered with coarse darker brown scales, becoming darker and upturned with age. It is funnel-shaped. The underside bears soft, pale grey 'teeth' rather than gills. These are long, grayish brown (darkening with age), and brittle. The pale grey or brown stipe may reach high and wide, may be narrower at the base, and is sometimes eccentric. The soft

is whitish to tan. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

are brown.

Similar species

From above, it may be confused with '' Strobilomyces strobilaceus'' as both have a similar shaggy cap. The bitter and inedible '' Sarcodon amarascens'' can be distinguished by its bluish-black stripe. The bitter '' Hydnellum scabrosum'' (formerly placed in ''Sarcodon'') has a turquoise-tinted base.

Distribution and habitat

The species is distributed throughout Europe and North America, but collections from the British Isles are now assigned to ''S. squamosus''. In Europe, ''S. imbricatus'' fruits from August to October. In North America, it fruits from July to September except on the West Coast, where it appears from September to December. The species can appear on sandy or chalk soils in

fairy ring A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by ...

s. It grows in association with firs (''

Abies Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

''), especially in hilly or mountainous areas.

Uses

Culinary

Some sources (in the United States) report that the fungus is edible but of poor quality; some others consider it edible and delicious. It may cause

gastrointestinal upset Gastrointestinal diseases (abbrev. GI diseases or GI illnesses) refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum; and the accessory organs of digestion, the liver, ...

. The mushrooms can be bitter, especially older specimens. This can be mitigated by submerging them in boiling water. Some suspect that bitter specimens may actually be related species. The mushroom can be pickled or dried and used as flavouring. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, it is collected, dried and finely ground to be used as an aromatic mushroom

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

. In

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, mushroom tea is made from it. The distinctive spicy aroma of fried younger specimens has made it an expensive delicacy in Japan.

Other uses

Old mushrooms of ''S. imbricatus'' and related species contain blue-green pigments, which are used for

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

wool in Norway.Rice M, Beebee D. (1980). ''Mushrooms for Color''. Mad River Press : Eureka.

References

External links

*
Sarcodon imbricatus
' at Mushroom Expert * {{Taxonbar, from=Q262105 imbricatus Edible fungi Fungi described in 1753 Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fungus species Fungi used for fiber dyes