A corky tooth fungus with a whitish to dingy gray-brown, velvety cap and a stubby, deep purplish-blue stem. Its most striking trait is a strong sweet odor, described as anise or peppermint, that often develops slowly after collection. It grows with conifers, especially spruces, and is inedible.
Northern and montane North America, and on the West Coast from the San Francisco Bay Area northward (MushroomExpert); also known from Europe, where the name was described.
Characteristics
Cap: 5-15 cm, convex then flat; dry, velvety, becoming wrinkled, ridged or pitted, sometimes cracking into scales; white to pale yellowish when young, becoming dingy gray, brown or olive, especially at the center. Spines: crowded, 3-7 mm, running down the stem, whitish then brown. Stem: 2-5 cm long, 1-3 cm thick, stubby, purplish blue, velvety, bruising blackish blue. Flesh: tough but pliant, whitish to brownish with blue or brown zones, especially in the stem; KOH bluish. Odor: strong, sweet, anise-like or minty. Taste: mild. Spore print: brown. Spores: 4-6 x 2-4 µm, irregular, nodulose; clamp connections present (MushroomExpert).
