Wood hedgehog or Jelly tooth
Wood hedgehog and Jelly tooth are similar species that can be mixed up while foraging. The main visible difference: flesh colour change: Wood hedgehog — yellowing, Jelly tooth — no change. The mushrooms also differ in the following features: stem, cap colour, smell.
Not sure? Identify by photoSide by side
| Characteristic | Wood hedgehog | Jelly tooth |
|---|---|---|
| Edibility class | Wood hedgehog: Edible | Jelly tooth: Conditionally edible |
| Use | Wood hedgehog: Cook fresh, Drying, Pickling | Jelly tooth: Cook fresh |
| Size | Wood hedgehog: Medium (5–15 cm) | Jelly tooth: Small (up to 5 cm) |
| Cap colour | Wood hedgehog: Cream, Yellow, Orange | Jelly tooth: White, Grey, Brown |
| Cap surface | Wood hedgehog: Velvety | Jelly tooth: Slimy, Velvety |
| Taste | Wood hedgehog: Mild | Jelly tooth: — |
| Smell | Wood hedgehog: Pleasant | Jelly tooth: Odourless |
| Flesh colour change | Wood hedgehog: Yellowing | Jelly tooth: No change |
| Stem | Wood hedgehog: Central | Jelly tooth: Lateral, Eccentric |
| Substrate | Wood hedgehog: Soil, Moss, Forest litter | Jelly tooth: Dead wood, On wood, Moss |
| Nutrition type | Wood hedgehog: Mycorrhizal | Jelly tooth: Saprotroph |
| Partner trees | Wood hedgehog: Pine, Spruce, Beech, Oak, Fir | Jelly tooth: Spruce, Pine, Fir |
| Growth habit | Wood hedgehog: In groups, In rings | Jelly tooth: Solitary, In groups |
Same in both: season, cap shape, hymenophore.
When and where they meet
Together: August–November
What they look like
Cap, Hymenophore, Stem, Flesh, Smell
Cap
Wood hedgehog
The cap is 4-15 cm across and irregular, with an unevenly wavy margin. Convex when young, it flattens and spreads out with age, with a lumpy surface and a depressed centre. It's ivory, cream or ochre-yellow to light orange, turning reddish-brown in old mushrooms. The surface is dry and silky, like suede, and slightly sticky in wet weather. The cap skin is thin and peels easily.
Jelly tooth
The fruit body is jelly-like, tongue-, fan-, spoon- or shell-shaped, attached at the side, and usually a few centimetres across.
The top is finely hairy at first, then almost smooth, faintly granular or suede-like. The colour varies a lot: translucent white, watery grey, grey-brown or brown, sometimes bluish grey and occasionally almost black, even on the same stump.
Hymenophore
Wood hedgehog
The spines are the key diagnostic feature. The underside of the cap is densely packed with thin, pointed spines 3-6 mm long that break off easily. They're white to cream, yellowing with age and turning reddish-ochre in old mushrooms. The spore print is white.
Jelly tooth
The underside is covered in crowded, soft, translucent spines 1 to 4 mm long, white or greyish, which carry on down the stem.
The spore print is white.
Stem
Wood hedgehog
The stem is 3-8 cm tall and 1-3 cm thick, cylindrical, often widening toward the base, sometimes eccentric (off-centre from the cap). It's white to cream, yellowing slightly where pressed. The surface is smooth, with no ring. The stem flesh is firm, becoming spongy in old mushrooms.
Jelly tooth
The stem is short, attached at the side or off-centre, watery grey or whitish. On flat surfaces it can be longer and more central, and sometimes it's almost absent.
Flesh
Wood hedgehog
The flesh is thick, white, firm and brittle, and slowly turns pale ochre when cut (a slight yellowing). Young mushrooms have a delicate, pleasant nutty flavour; mature ones have a slightly bitter aftertaste that goes away after a brief boil.
Jelly tooth
The flesh is jelly-like, soft, translucent and watery.
Smell
Wood hedgehog
A faint, pleasant mushroomy-fruity smell with a hint of fresh nuts. The taste is mild and delicate, slightly bitter in old mushrooms.
Jelly tooth
The smell is indistinct.
Related comparisons
Sources · 16
- [1]Вікіпедія (українська)
- [2]Атлас грибів України, Зеров Д.К. (1979)
- [3]MycoBank Database
- [4]Index Fungorum
- [5]GBIF
- [6]iNaturalist Ukraine
- [7]Wikipedia (English)
- [8]Википедия (русская)
- [9]Spirin V., Malysheva V., Viner I., Dudka V., Grebenc T., Miettinen O. Taxonomy and multigene phylogeny of Pseudohydnum (Auriculariales, Basidiomycota). Mycological Progress, 2023, 22: 40, Spirin V., Malysheva V., Viner I., Dudka V., Grebenc T., Miettinen O. (2023)
- [10]First Nature: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, Jelly Tooth
- [11]Emberger G., MushroomExpert (Fungi on Wood): Pseudohydnum gelatinosum
- [12]North Sutherland Wildlife Group: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, Toothed Jelly Fungus
- [13]Naturalis, Mushrooms of the Netherlands: Pseudohydnum gelatinosum
- [14]Wikipedia (de): Gallertiger Zitterzahn
- [15]Шульга В. М. Світ грибів України: Псевдоїжовик драглистий
- [16]GBIF: знахідки Pseudohydnum gelatinosum в Україні