Devil's Tooth
Hydnellum peckii
Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth.
Photo: iNaturalist: (c) Morten Ross, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Morten Ross
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Basidiomycota
Class
Agaricomycetes
Order
Thelephorales
Family
Bankeraceae
Genus
Hydnellum
Devil's Tooth belongs to the family Bankeraceae, order Thelephorales, within the Agaricomycetes class.
Species Profile
Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth.
Devil's Tooth (Hydnellum peckii) is declining primarily due to habitat loss from deforestation and forest fragmentation, which destroys the old-growth coniferous forests it requires. Additionally, air pollution, particularly nitrogen deposition, alters soil chemistry and disrupts the delicate mycorrhizal relationships this fungus depends on for survival.
Key Facts
Habitat & Distribution
Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal fungus, and as such establishes a mutualistic relationship with the roots of certain trees (referred to as "hosts"), in which the fungus exchanges minerals and amino acids extracted from the soil for fixed carbon from the host. The subterranean hyphae of the fungus grow a sheath of tissue around the rootlets of a broad range of tree species, in an intimate...
Threats
IUCN Red List: Endangered
Devil's Tooth (Hydnellum peckii) is declining primarily due to habitat loss from deforestation and forest fragmentation, which destroys the old-growth coniferous forests it requires. Additionally, air pollution, particularly nitrogen deposition, alters soil chemistry and disrupts the delicate mycorrhizal relationships this fungus depends on for survival.
Air pollution and nitrogen deposition
Habitat loss and forest fragmentation
Loss of mycorrhizal host trees
Climate change affecting forest ecosystems
Forest management practices reducing old-growth habitat
Community Sightings
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Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Devil's Tooth (Hydnellum peckii). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/devils-tooth