A truffle-like ascomycete that forms brown, densely hairy, brain-like lumps just under the soil surface, usually beneath conifers. Inside it is made of whitish, deeply folded tissue. It is not a true truffle (Tuber): its smooth spores are forcibly discharged, and it is closer to the cup fungi.
Listed as edible by California Fungi and Wikipedia, and considered good by some; MushroomExpert gives no edibility information. Collectors should separate it from Hydnotrya cerebriformis, which has very short, fine hairs, a strong garlic odor and warted globose spores, and from other hypogeous fungi, which must be identified individually.
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Habitat
Hypogeous or partly emergent, alone or in groups, mostly under conifers (including Monterey pine and subalpine conifers), also reported under Eucalyptus and, in Alaska, aspen and willow. Often appears near melting snow. Probably at least facultatively mycorrhizal. Coastal California: midwinter to early spring; Sierra Nevada and Rockies: late summer to fall.
Distribution
Western North America from Mexico to Alaska, including California, Colorado and the subalpine West; also recorded from Eurasia, including Europe, Turkey, Pakistan and China.
Characteristics
Fruitbody: 1-8 cm, roughly round to cushion-shaped, sometimes partly emerging; surface convoluted to brain-like, tan-brown to dark brown, covered in coarse brown hairs. Interior: whitish, deeply folded, chambered tissue, edges sometimes brownish; young specimens may exude whitish juice. Odor: mild to faintly aromatic, sometimes sour like fermented cider. Spores: smooth, broadly elliptical, eight per ascus, about 19-25 x 13.5-16 um (California Fungi); Wikipedia gives 18-27 x 13-21 um.
