Hericium coralloides, the coral tooth or comb tooth, is a white, heavily branched tooth fungus. Short spines (up to about 1 cm) hang in rows along its branches. It grows on dead hardwood and is white when fresh, turning yellowish to light brown and brittle with age.
Edible and good when young and white; branches and spines become brittle and yellowish brown with age. Clean the branches well. No dangerous look-alikes are reported; similar Hericium species are also edible.
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Habitat
Saprobic and possibly parasitic; alone or in groups on fallen hardwood branches, logs and stumps, sometimes in large patches. Late summer and fall; over winter and into spring in warmer climates.
Distribution
Widespread in North America; also Eurasia and Australia. Fruits July-October in eastern North America and November-March in the west.
Characteristics
Fruiting body: about 4-20 cm across; branches 0.5-1 cm thick arising from a central core attached to wood. Spines: 0.5-1 cm long, up to 1 mm wide, hanging in rows along the branches; white, aging yellowish to brownish. Flesh: white, unchanging when cut. Odor and taste: not distinctive. Spore print: white. Spores: 3-4 x 2.5-3.5 µm, globose, smooth or minutely roughened, amyloid. Key features: Shorter spines in rows and smaller spores than H. americanum; branched, unlike H. erinaceus; on hardwood, unlike the conifer-dwelling H. abietis.
