Scaly Tooth Sarcodon squamosus (Schaeff.) Quél. (illustrated 40% life size) Fruit body single. Cap 5–20cm across, flattened convex at first, later depressed; velvety then felty, soon cracking deeply into coarse, overlapping, upturned scales of a dark reddish- or purplish-brown, contrasting with pale pink or flesh-coloured background. Stem 50–80×20–50mm, tapering or swollen at the base; whitish at first, becoming brownish from the base upwards; taste slight but bitter after a few minutes, smell slight, not distinctive. Spines 1–10mm long; whitish, finally purplish-brown. Spores 7–8×5–5.5¼, irregular outline, warted. Spore print brownish. Habitat in coniferous woods, especially on sandy soils; autumn. Occasional, more frequent in Scottish pine forests; listed as a conserved species on the Biodiversity Action Plan. Edible. Note this was included in my first book as S. imbricatus, but that name is now restricted to the species found in Picea forests and not recorded for Britain; this is the species found with Pinus sylvestris.
