About this fungus
Earpick Fungus is a fungus in the Auriscalpiaceae family. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.
A tiny, wiry fungus with a hairy brown kidney-shaped cap, usually growing directly from a fallen or buried pine cone.
What to check
Turn the cap over and confirm fine tooth-like spines rather than gills or pores. The slender dark stem joins the cap off-centre, and the cap surface is bristly. Trace the stem to a pine or other conifer cone, which may be hidden under litter.
Variation
Young caps may be pale brown and become chestnut to very dark brown with age. The teeth begin whitish and can become greyish or brownish, while the cap may become more deeply kidney-shaped.
Lookalikes
Small brown fungi on cone litter are common, but most have gills or pores. The combination of a hairy offset cap, a toothed underside and direct growth from a conifer cone is distinctive, although microscopy may be needed for unusual regional relatives.
Habitat and range
Saprotrophic on fallen, often partly buried pine cones and occasionally cones of other conifers. It can fruit in conifer woodland whenever suitably decayed cones and moist conditions are present.
Food safety
Inedible.
Photographs
Randy / CC BY-SA 3.0