The
Hydnaceae are a
family of
fungi in the order
Cantharellales. Originally the family encompassed all
species of fungi that produced
basidiocarps (fruit bodies) having a
hymenium (
spore-bearing surface) consisting of slender, downward-hanging tapering extensions referred to as "spines" or "teeth", whether they were related or not. This artificial but often useful grouping is now more generally called the
hydnoid or tooth fungi. In the strict, modern sense, the Hydnaceae are limited to the
genus Hydnum and related genera, with basidiocarps having a toothed or
poroid hymenium. Species in the family are
ectomycorrhizal, forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the roots of trees and other plants.
Hydnum repandum (the hedgehog fungus) is an
edible species, commercially collected in some countries and often marketed under the French name
pied de mouton.