Hydnellum suaveolens

What You Should Know

Hydnellum suaveolens is an inedible fungus often found beneath conifers. It has a funnel-shaped cap that is typically between 5–15 cm (2–6 in) in diameter. It has a strong odor of anise or peppermint.

Other names: Sweet-Smelling Hydnellum, Sweet Spine, Wohlriechender Korkstacheling (German).

Hydnellum suaveolens Mushroom Identification

1. Ecology

   Mycorrhizal with conifers (especially spruces); growing alone or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in northern and montane North America, and on the West Coast from the San Francisco Bay Area northward.

2. Cap

   Usually single but occasionally fused with other caps; 5–15 cm wide; convex, becoming flat; dry; velvety; becoming wrinkled, ridged, or pitted (sometimes cracking up into scales); white to whitish or very pale yellowish when fresh and young, becoming dingy grayish to brownish or olive over the center.

3. Undersurface

   Running down the stem; covered with crowded spines that are 3–7 mm long; whitish at first, becoming brownish to brown as the spores mature.

4. Stem

   2–5 cm long; 1–3 cm thick at apex; more or less stubby and cylindric; purplish-blue; bruising blackish-blue where handled; dry; velvety.

5. Flesh

   Whitish to brownish, with zones of blue or brown (especially in the stem); tough but pliant.

6. Odor and Taste

   Odor strong and fragrant or minty, often developing slowly after the mushroom is picked; taste mild.

7. Chemical Reactions

   KOH on flesh bluish.

8. Spore Print

   Brown.

9. Microscopic Features

   Spores 4–6 x 2–4 µm; irregular; nodulose; hyaline to brownish in KOH. Clamp connections are present.

Hydnellum suaveolens Medicinal Properties

Hydnellum suaveolens Look-Alikes

1. Hydnellum caeruleum

   Has a cap with a white to blue margin and brown disc, the context in the stipe base is rusty to reddish-brown (not blue), and the odor and taste are farinaceous.

2. Hydnellum cyanopodium

   Similar, but its cap and flesh are bluer; additionally, its surfaces bleed red droplets when the mushrooms are fresh and young, and its spores are cruciate. It is associated with Sitka spruce.

Sources:

Photo 1 - Author: Annwahl (Public Domain)

Photo 2 - Author: Authors: Larsson K-H, Svantesson S, Miscevic D, Kõljalg U, Larsson E (2019), correct: Jerzy Opioła (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

Photo 3 - Author: Annwahl (Public Domain)

Photo 4 - Author: Johannes Harnisch (Johann) (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)

Photo 5 - Author: Ron Pastorino (Ronpast) (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)