Hedgehog mushroom

How to recognise it: hedgehog mushroom

1. 1

   Cap cream to pale orange, like a chanterelle

2. 2

   Brittle spines under the cap instead of gills or ridges

3. 3

   Spines slightly decurrent down the stem

4. 4

   Brittle, white flesh

Description

Cap

4–15 cm, whitish, cream to pale orange, dry, smooth or suede-like, irregular in shape, margin inrolled; brittle, fruit bodies often fused together.

Spines

Crowded, brittle spines up to 6 mm, whitish to pale orange, slightly decurrent down the stem.

Stem

Up to 7 cm × 1.5–4 cm, often off-centre, solid, firm, whitish to cream.

Flesh

White, brittle; does not change colour.

Smell and taste

Smell and taste of young specimens pleasant; older ones bitter and sourish. Spore print white.

Where and when it grows

A mycorrhizal fungus of broadleaf, coniferous and mixed forests, most often with spruce and beech; prefers calcium-rich (alkaline, clayey) soils; often in large groups.

Most often with: spruce, beech

Where are conditions good today?

Look-alikes: what it can be mistaken for

• 

  Chanterelle Edible low risk

  The chanterelle has a similar cap colour, but underneath it has ridges running down the stem, not spines; both species are edible.

• 

  Shingled hedgehog Edible low risk

  The shingled hedgehog also has spines, but its cap is brown with coarse, dark scales.

In the kitchen

Pick young fruit bodies free of maggots; suitable for drying, preserves, soups and risotto.

Protection and sale

• Species protection: the species is not protected.
• Sale: the species is on the list of mushrooms approved for sale (it may be sold only with a mushroom inspector’s certificate).

Where you may pick mushrooms →