Toothed Jelly Fungus

Pseudohydnum gelatinosum

Also known as Jelly Tooth, Cat's Tongue, False Hedgehog.

Dohduhdah / Public Domain

About this fungus

Toothed Jelly Fungus is included in the Shroomify field guide. Its habitat and field characteristics are summarised below.

A translucent white, grey or brown jelly fungus forming tongue-shaped shelves on well-rotted wood, with a dense layer of soft pale teeth underneath.

What to check

Look for a flexible gelatinous fruitbody and short, soft teeth covering the lower surface. It grows directly from decayed wood and has no true gills, pores, ring or volva.

Variation

Fresh wet fruitbodies can be almost transparent, while older ones may be grey-brown. Recent DNA work has shown that some records outside Europe belong to other Pseudohydnum species, so geography matters for exact naming.

Lookalikes

Firm tooth fungi such as Hydnum have fleshy caps and stems rather than a translucent jelly texture. Other jelly fungi lack the dense toothed underside.

Habitat and range

Wood-decaying on damp fallen trunks, logs and stumps. European records are often on conifer wood, but the wider genus also occurs on broadleaf wood in other regions.

Food safety

Inedible.

Photographs

A glimpse of the research.

Weather response

A repeatable weather association was found in the records, alongside the usual seasonal pattern.

Higher or lower ground?

Records tended to come from higher ground relative to other fungal records in the study.

These are patterns in recorded observations, not rules, forecasts or identification evidence. Local conditions and recording patterns can affect the findings.

Read six species examples →