A tough, stalked tooth fungus whose tan-centred caps with whitish margins often fuse into gnarled masses. The white spore print and fragrant odor (like curry or maple syrup, stronger when dry) point to Phellodon rather than the brown-spored Hydnellum.
Cap: 3-13 cm, single or fused, planoconvex to flat or shallowly depressed, velvety, sometimes pitted, weakly zoned; margin whitish to pale gray, centre tan to brown, bruising dark brown to blackish. Spines: 1-2 mm, crowded, decurrent, whitish becoming brownish. Stem: short, colored like cap. Flesh: whitish to pale grayish or brownish, sometimes faintly zoned. Odor: mild or fragrant. Spore print: white. Microscopy: spores small, globose to subglobose, spiny; clamp connections absent.
