About Phellodon melaleucus (Sw. ex Fr.) P.Karst.
Commonly called the grey tooth, Phellodon melaleucus is a small to medium-sized fungus that produces leathery or corky fruiting bodies. Instead of gills, it releases spores from pale grayish-brown spines located on the underside of its structure. While it can appear as a single convoluted fruiting body, multiple individual caps often fuse together, and each fused portion still has its own blackish stem. The cap is typically marked with concentric zones, with a reddish-brown to blackish-brown center and a pale edge. Its flesh is greyish-brown, darkening toward the base of the stem, and smells of fenugreek. This species occurs across various parts of Europe and has been recorded in North America. It is uncommon in the United Kingdom and very rare in Ireland. Phellodon melaleucus is an ectomycorrhizal species that forms a symbiotic nutrient exchange relationship with the roots of various plants, usually trees. The fungus's hyphae wrap around the host tree's rootlets, and nutrients are exchanged between the two organisms. It is typically found growing on the ground on mossy banks near its host trees. In the British Isles, it associates with a range of trees including oak, beech, sweet chestnut, birch, Scots pine and spruce.
