Hydnum repandum

Pileus
Cap 2-12 cm broad, convex, becoming nearly plane, disc sometimes depressed; margin inrolled at first, lobed to undulate; surface dry, smooth to slightly scaly, cream to buff-orange, bruising to orange-brown; flesh thick, pale-buff, brittle, bruising buff-orange; odor and taste mild.

Hymenophore
Teeth 0.4-0.6 cm long, brittle, cream-colored, bruising orange-brown, sometimes decurrent.

Stipe
Stipe 2-7 cm tall, 1-2.5 cm thick, equal to enlarged at the base; attachment central to eccentric; surface dry, smooth, cream to buff-yellow, bruising orange-brown; veil absent.

Spores
Spores 6.5-8.5 x 6-8 µm, nearly round, smooth. Spore print white.

Habitat
Scattered to gregarious under conifers, occasionally with hardwoods; in our area common under Bishop pine (Pinus muricata) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Fruiting from mid-winter to early spring.

Edibility
Edible and excellent, although they tend to be bitter unless well cooked.

Comments
Hydnum repandum fruits late in the Bay Area mushroom season, often not until after the New Year. Its pale-buff to buff-orange fruiting body resembles Cantharellus cibarius, but the latter is yellower in color, has ridges, not spines on the lower cap surface and generally grows with hardwoods like Quercus agrifolia, not conifers. Hydnum umbilicatum is a closely related species, smaller in size, the cap having a small, central pit.