Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (Scop. ex Fr.) P. Karst.
Not. Faun. Fl. Fenn. 9: 374. 1868.

Common Name: Toothed Jelly Fungus

• Sporocarp

  Fruiting body 2-5 cm broad, spatulate to fan-shaped; upper surface translucent, moist, slightly roughened, white to greyish-white when young, pale grey to somewhat brownish in age; hymenial surface on underside, pale grey, consisting of minute conic spines on which the spores are formed; flesh rubbery-gelatinous.

• Stipe

  Stipe 5 cm long, up to 1.5 cm broad, lateral, tapering downward, covered with fine hairs, densest at the base; flesh, rubbery-gelatinous.

• Spores

  Spores 5-7 µm, globose, hyaline, smooth. Spores white in deposit.

• Habitat

  Solitary, gregarious to clustered on conifer logs and stumps; from late fall to mid-winter.

• Edibility

  Edible, can be eaten raw, but without a distinctive flavor.

• Comments

  Pseudohydnum gelatinosum is a jelly fungus with a lower surface that mimics a tooth fungus. The resemblance, however, is superficial. Tooth fungi have fleshy to leathery fruiting bodies, not gelatinous, and none are translucent.

• References

  Lowy, B. (1971). Flora Neotropica, Monograph No. 6, Tremellales. Hafner Publishing Company: New York, NY. 154 p.
  Martin, G.W. (1964). Revision of the North Central Tremellales. J. Cramer: Lehre. 122 p.
  McNabb, R.F.R. (1964). New Zealand Tremellales -- I. New Zeal. Journ. Bot. 2: 403-414.
  Smith, A.H. (1949). Mushrooms in their Natural Habitats. Sawyer's Inc: Portland, OR. 626 p.

• Other Descriptions and Photos
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Taylor F. Lockwood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Robert Mackler: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Mark Steinmetz: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Michael Wood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP) — closeup of the "teeth"
  • Michael Wood: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Boleslaw Kuznik -- Hunting for Mushrooms: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • George Barron's Fungi of Canada (East): Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (D & CP)
  • Pilze, Pilze, Pilze: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Kinok-ya: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Spotlight on Fungi: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (D & CP)
  • Mushroom Observer: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (CP)
  • Arora (1986): p. 671 (D & P)
  • Arora (1991): p. 201 (D & CP)
  • Breitenbach & Kränzlin (v. 2): sp. 19 (D, I, & CP)
  • Jordan: p. 371 (D & CP)
  • Lincoff: p. 383 (D), plate 459 (CP)
  • McKenny et al.: p. 187 (D & CP)
  • Miller: p. 322 (D), plate 383 (CP)
  • Phillips: p. 300 (D & CP)
  
  

  (D=Description; I=Illustration; P=Photo; CP=Color Photo)