A fleshy, stalked tooth fungus of old pine forests on dry, sandy, nutrient-poor soils. Its cap is pale when young and darkens with age (the epithet means 'sooty-white'), the underside bears spines, and dried specimens have a fenugreek- or curry-like smell. It is ectomycorrhizal with two- and three-needle pines and is globally assessed as Near Threatened because of clear-cut forestry.
Not known as an edible. Tooth fungi in this family are generally not eaten because of their fibrous flesh, and because the species is declining (IUCN Near Threatened) it should not be collected.
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Ectomycorrhizal with pines (Scots pine in Europe; two- and three-needle pines in North America) on dry, sandy, nutrient-poor soils with thin humus, mainly in older pine forests. Its long-lived mycelium struggles to re-establish after clear-cutting.
Distribution
Europe (mainly Fennoscandia and Russia, scattered in central and southern Europe); widespread across northern North America; less well known in Asia (reported from Armenia, China, Japan and Siberia).
Characteristics
Cap: fleshy, pale when young and darkening to sooty brownish tones with age. Spines: on the underside, grayish to grayish-brown. Stem: central. Flesh: soft to tough, not zoned. Odor: fenugreek- or curry-like, especially when dry. Spore print: white. Spores: nearly spherical to ellipsoid, hyaline, finely spiny.
