Sarcodon
Genus of fungi
Sarcodon is a genus of fungi in the family Bankeraceae, which is part of the order Thelephorales, known for its almost universal ectomycorrhizal ecology. The genus owes its name to the presence of teeth-like spines on the hymenophore, from ancient Greek; sarco = flesh and odon = tooth. For this reason they are commonly called "tooth fungi", or "Hydnoid fungi".
01Description
Sarcodon species have yellow to brown tinted basidiospores, with lengths in the range of 7.4-9 μm. The basidiomata are often soft and fleshy.
02Species
In 2019, Larsson et al. transferred 12 species into the genus Hydnellum. In 2024, Douch et al. transferred Sarcodon carbonarius to the genus Neosarcodon. As of February 2026, Index Fungorum listed 42 valid species of Sarcodon.
- Sarcodon aglaosoma
- Sarcodon atroviridis
- Sarcodon austrofibulatus
- Sarcodon bubalinus
- Sarcodon caliginosus
- Sarcodon calvatus
- Sarcodon catalaunicus
- Sarcodon conchyliatus
- Sarcodon cyanellus
- Sarcodon cyrneus
- Sarcodon dissimulans
- Sarcodon excentricus
- Sarcodon flavidus
- Sarcodon giganteus
- Sarcodon harrisonii
- Sarcodon humilis
- Sarcodon ianthinus
- Sarcodon imbricatus
- Sarcodon lanuginosus
- Sarcodon leucopus
- Sarcodon lobatus
- Sarcodon nauseofoetidus
- Sarcodon neosquamosus
- Sarcodon nigrosquamosus
- Sarcodon praestans
- Sarcodon procerus
- Sarcodon pseudoimbricatus
- Sarcodon quercinofibulatus
- Sarcodon quietus
- Sarcodon regalis
- Sarcodon rimosus
- Sarcodon roseolus
- Sarcodon rutilus
- Sarcodon scabripes
- Sarcodon squamosus
- Sarcodon stereosarcinon
- Sarcodon subfelleus
- Sarcodon thwaitesii
- Sarcodon ussuriensis
- Sarcodon ustalis
- Sarcodon wrightii
- Sarcodon yunnanensis
03Human uses
Several species within the Sarcodon genus, including S. imbricatus (see figure), are edible. The fungus can be bitter, but that is less apparent in younger specimens. In China, it is a popular edible mushroom and it is used to reduce cholesterol, relax the muscles, and improve blood circulation. Isolates from the genus, called scabronines, may increase nerve growth factor synthesis in vitro.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Sarcodon”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Sarcodon imbricatus0.jpg by mountainamoeba from Seattle, USA, CC BY 2.0
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