Hydnum erinaceus Bull. Edible.—This plant is sometimes called "Satyr's beard." It grows on dead trunks in the woods or groves, and is often found growing from wounds in living trees. It forms a large, tubercular mass which does not branch. The spines are very long and straight and hang downward in straight parallel lines from the sides of the mass. The spines are from 1–2 cm. or more long. Figure [197] represents one of the plants, showing the long spines.
Hydnum repandum L. Edible.—This plant is not uncommon, and it is widely distributed. It grows usually in woods, on the ground. It varies greatly in size, from very small specimens, 1–2 cm. high to others 10–12 cm. high. The cap is 2–18 cm. broad, and the stem 6–12 mm. in thickness.
Plate 78, Figure 198.—Hydnum repandum. Cap whitish or yellowish, or pale yellowish brown; spines whitish or yellowish (natural size, often smaller). Copyright.
It is entirely white or the cap varies to buff, dull yellow reddish or dull brown. It is very brittle, and must be handled with the utmost care if one wishes to preserve the specimen intact. The pileus is more or less irregular, the stem being generally eccentric, so that the pileus is produced more on one side than on the other, sometimes entirely lateral at the end of the stem. The margin is more or less wavy or repand. The spines are white, straight, and very brittle. The stem is even or clavate. Figure [198] is from plants collected at Ithaca during August, 1899, and represents one of the large specimens of the species. In one plant the pileus is entirely lateral on the end of the long clavate stem, and is somewhat reniform, the stem being attached at the sinus. In the other plant the stem is attached near the center. This species is considered one of the best mushrooms for the table.
Plate 79, Figure 199.—Hydnum putidum. Caps whitish then buff, then brownish or nearly black in older parts, edge white (natural size). Copyright.
Hydnum imbricatum L. Edible.—This is a very variable species both in size and in the surface characters of the pileus. It occurs in woods, groves, or in open places under trees. The plants are 3–7 cm. high, and the pileus varies from 5–15 cm. broad, the stem from .5–2.5 cm. in thickness. The pileus is convex and nearly expanded, fleshy, thinner at the margin, regular or very irregular. The color is grayish in the younger and smaller plants to umber or quite dark in the larger and older ones. The surface is cracked and torn into triangular scales, showing the whitish color of the flesh between the scales. The scales are small in the younger plants and larger in the older ones. Figure [200] is from plants collected at Ithaca, and the pileus in these specimens is irregular. The species is edible, but bitter to the taste.