Hydnum rufescens - Terracotta Hedgehog

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes (insertae sedis)

Order: Cantharellales

Hydnum rufescens, a hedgehog fungus, is a popular edible species. It should be picked while young and free from worms and grubs.

This mushroom, which is reportedly ectomycorrhizal with conifers and with broadleaf trees, grows in all kinds of woodland. Its cap colour that is perfectly described by its common name Terracotta Hedgehog. Other common names include Terracotta Wood Urchin and the Rufous Hedgehog.

Identification guide

Description	The cap is orange-red or pale tan, smooth and slightly felty to the touch; it is often perched eccentrically upon the stipe. The flesh is pink. Hanging down like stalactites, soft spines cover the fertile beneath the cap. Unlike those of its close relative, Hydnum repandum, the pink spines of this species are adnexed or almost free rather than decurrent to the stem.
Size	fruitbody 2 to 6cm in diameter and 2 to 4 cm tall. Stem diameter typically 15 to 30mm. The pines, seen here in close-up, are 2 to 4mm long.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Odour not distinctive; turns bitter in the mouth after a few moments delay.
Habitat	Forms rings among the moss and leaf litter of forest floors.
Season	August to December.
Occurrence	Fairly common.
Similar species	Hydnum repandum is larger and cream coloured; its spines are decurrent to the stem rather than adnexed.