Sweetgrass Tooth; Fragrant Tooth
This member of the Bankeraceae family is unmistakable if one looks at the stalk, which is a surprising deep blue color and notes the odor, which is of anise or mint. It is found almost exclusively under Sitka spruce, with which it is ectomycorrhizal. Young caps are white to gray white, but and fairly smooth, but with time become tan or caramel in color towards the center and can be fairly lumpy. The undersurface features dense spines up to 6-7mm long that are decurrent and whitish becoming gray brown. The stalk can be over an inch thick and is blue, darkening to blue black if handled. Caps of the species range from 2-6 inches across. Hydnellum species are too tough to be edible.