Earpick fungus
Auriscalpium vulgare · 耳匙菌
Occasional耳匙菌科❓ Inedible
Non-toxic, but woody or intensely bitter in texture — not eaten as food.
The same species can be described differently across regions and stages of maturity, and countless look-alike species cannot be told apart by eye. Never use the information on this page to judge whether a real mushroom is safe to eat.
How to Tell
- Cap small and brown, set laterally on a slender hairy stem
- Underside bears grayish white spines, not gills
- Grows only on pine cones buried under leaf litter
ID notes are compiled by AI from public sources, not reviewed by a mycologist, for learning only — never a basis for foraging.
Basics
- Family
- 耳匙菌科
- Hymenium
- Teeth
- Grows On
- Conifer Cone
- How Big
- 1–3 cm (cap diameter)
- Encounter Rate
- Occasional
- Habitat
- Pine cones buried in leaf litter
Fun Fact
It grows only on fallen pine cones, with a stem attached off-center to the cap, giving the whole thing the look of a tiny earpick.