Species details
Tiered tooth fungus
Hericium cirrhatum
Traditionally edible
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Description
A white, later yellowing shell-shaped tooth fungus with hanging spines beneath and a warted upper surface.
Identification features
Fruitbody can reach about 20 cm wide and is often made of several fused shell-shaped caps. White at first, later yellowish to ochre; spines about 1–1.5 cm long hang beneath.
Identification checklist
Check the fused shell-like caps, warted upper surface and hanging spines on the underside.
Size
- Cap diameter
- ≤ 20 cm
Habitat
Grows on stumps and dead wood of beech and other hardwoods, mainly in summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
July, August, September, October
Ecology
- Host trees
- Beech (Fagus)
- Substrate
- Dead wood, Stumps
- Notes
- Grows on stumps and dead wood of beech and other hardwoods, mainly in summer and autumn.
How to separate similar species
Hericium erinaceus forms a more uniform rounded mass of long spines, while H. coralloides is distinctly coral-branched.