Blue Tooth

(Hydnellum caeruleum)

Conservation Status
Blue Tooth
Photo by Brooke Roegge
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Blue Tooth is a medium-sized to large tooth fungus. It occurs in Europe, in Asia, in Central America, and throughout North America. It is widespread but uncommon in the United States. It is found in woodlands in the summer and fall, alone or in groups but not clustered. It grows on the ground mostly under conifers, but in California and on the Gulf Coast it also grows under live oak and other hardwoods. It is mycorrhizal, obtaining its nutrients from the rootlets of a tree while facilitating greater absorption of nutrients from the soil by the tree.

The cap on young mushrooms is top-shaped and white or pale tan usually with a bluish tint. It usually grows alone but is sometimes fused with other caps. The surface is soft, felty or velvety, and often has needles or leaves incorporated into it. As it matures it flattens out, sometimes becoming depressed in the middle. Mature caps are 1316 to 5 (3 to 15 cm) wide. The velvety coating disappears in the center exposing a light to dark brown surface while the still growing margins remain felty and white or bluish. The margin bruises blue. Older caps are pitted.

The underside of the cap, the pore surface, is covered with short, tooth-like spines. The spines are to ¼ (3 to 6 mm) long and whitish or or grayish, sometimes tinged with blue when young. As they age they turn brown to dark brown with pale tips. The pore surface runs down the stalk.

The stalk is short, thick, and usually covered with dirt and debris. It is ¾ to 2 (2 to 5 cm) long, to 1316 (1 to 3 cm) thick, and orangish-brown.

The flesh has two layers, a spongy upper (outer) layer and a tough and fibrous inner core. In the cap the flesh has bluish, grayish, and brown zones. In the stalk it is orangish-brown or rust-colored. It is not poisonous but is mealy and considered inedible.

The spore print is brown.

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat and Hosts
 
 

On the ground under conifers

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Season

 
 

Summer and fall

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

 
  6/6/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Widespread but not common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Fungi (fungi)  
  Subkingdom Dikarya  
  Phylum Basidiomycota (club fungi)  
  Subphylum Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms)  
  Class Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies)  
 

Order

Thelephorales  
 

Family

Bankeraceae  
 

Genus

Hydnellum  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Blue Tooth

Blue-Gray Hydnellum

Blue-Green Hydnellum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Mycorrhizal

A symbiotic, usually beneficial relationship between a fungus and the tiny rootlets of a plant, usually a tree.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this fungus.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Brooke Roegge

 
    Blue Tooth   Blue Tooth  
           
    Blue Tooth   Blue Tooth  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this fungus.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
     
     
     

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this fungus.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Brooke Roegge
2020

Location: Dakota County

Blue Tooth  
  Brooke Roegge
2018

Location: Saint Louis County

Blue Tooth  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 8/3/2020

Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.