# Phellodon melaleucus

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{{Short description|Species of fungus}}
{{Speciesbox 
| image = Phellodon melaleucus 264419.jpg
| image_caption = 
| genus = Phellodon
| species = melaleucus
| authority = ([Sw.](/source/Sw.) ex [Fr.](/source/Elias_Fries)) [P.Karst.](/source/P.Karst.) (1881)
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="urlFungorum: Phellodon melaleucus"/>
| synonyms = *''Hydnum melaleucum'' <small>Sw. ex Fr. (1815)</small>
*''Hydnellum melaleucum'' <small>(Sw. ex Fr.) P.Karst. (1879)</small>
}}

'''''Phellodon melaleucus''''', commonly known as the '''grey tooth''',<ref name="BMS"/> is a species of [tooth fungus](/source/tooth_fungus) in the family [Bankeraceae](/source/Bankeraceae). It was originally [described](/source/species_description) by [Elias Magnus Fries](/source/Elias_Magnus_Fries) in 1815 as a species of ''[Hydnum](/source/Hydnum)''.<ref name="Fries 1815"/> In 1881, [Petter Karsten](/source/Petter_Karsten) included it as one of the original three species in his newly [circumscribed](/source/circumscription_(taxonomy)) genus ''[Phellodon](/source/Phellodon)''.<ref name="Karsten 1881"/> The fungus is widely distributed in Europe and North America, where it associates [mycorrhizal](/source/mycorrhizal)ly with a wide range of [host](/source/host_(biology)) trees. It is considered [vulnerable](/source/vulnerable_species) in Switzerland.<ref name="Senn-Irlet 2007"/>

==Description==
The grey tooth is a small to medium-sized fungus with a leathery or corky fruiting body. On the underside it has pale grayish-brown spines from which spores are released rather  than from [gills](/source/Lamella_(mycology)). It may look like a convoluted single fruiting body but in fact each part has a blackish stem, and several caps can fuse together. The cap tends to be concentrically zoned with a reddish-brown to blackish-brown centre and a pale edge. The flesh is greyish-brown, darker near the base of the stem, and smells of [fenugreek](/source/fenugreek).<ref name=NIPriority>{{cite web |url=http://www.habitas.org.uk/priority/species.asp?item=21218 |title=''Phellodon melaleucus'' – grey tooth |author=Allen & Mellon Environmental Ltd.|work=Northern Ireland Priority Species |access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
This species occurs in various parts of Europe and has been recorded in North America.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/phellodon-melaleucus.php |title=''Phellodon melaleucus'' (Sw. ex Fr.) P. Karst. - Grey Tooth |publisher=First Nature |access-date=7 March 2020}}</ref> It is uncommon in the United Kingdom and very rare in Ireland. This is an ectomycorrhizal species that forms a [symbiotic relationship](/source/symbiosis) with the [root](/source/root)s of various [plant](/source/plant)s, usually trees; the [hypha](/source/hypha)e of the fungus wrap round the rootlets of the host tree, and there is an exchange of nutrients between the two.<ref>{{cite book |title="Mycorrhizae." Encyclopedia of Microbiology |last=Dighton |first=J. |year=2009 |pages=153–162 }}</ref> It is typically found growing on the ground on mossy banks in the vicinity of its hosts. In the British Isles it is associated with various trees including [oak](/source/oak), [beech](/source/beech), [sweet chestnut](/source/sweet_chestnut), [birch](/source/birch), [Scots pine](/source/Scots_pine) and [spruce](/source/spruce).<ref name=NIPriority/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="BMS">{{cite web |url=http://www.fungi4schools.org/Reprints/ENGLISH_NAMES.pdf |title=Recommended English Names for Fungi in the UK |publisher=[British Mycological Society](/source/British_Mycological_Society) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716083053/http://www.fungi4schools.org/Reprints/ENGLISH_NAMES.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-16 }}</ref>

<ref name="Fries 1815">{{cite book |author=Fries EM. |title=Observationes mycologicae |year=1815 |publisher=Gerhard Bonnier |location=Copenhagen |volume=1 |page=134 |language=la |url=http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/01532/0134.htm}}</ref>

<ref name="Karsten 1881">{{cite journal |author=Karsten PA. |title=Enumeratio Hydnearum Fr. Fennicarum, systemate novo dispositarum |journal=Revue mycologique, Toulouse |year=1881 |volume=3 |issue=9 |page=19 |language=la |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11599314}}</ref>

<ref name="Senn-Irlet 2007">{{cite report |vauthors=Senn-Irlet B, Bieri G, Egli S |title=Lista Rossa Macromiceti. Lista Rossa delle specie minacciate in Svizzera. UV-0718-I |year=2007 |location=Bern |publisher=Ufficio federale dell’ambiente |language=it |url=http://www.bafu.admin.ch/publikationen/publikation/00055/index.html?lang=fr&lang=it}}</ref>

<ref name="urlFungorum: Phellodon melaleucus">{{cite web |title=GSD Species Synonymy: ''Phellodon melaleucus'' (Sw. ex Fr.) P. Karst. |url=http://www.speciesfungorum.org/GSD/GSDspecies.asp?RecordID=414466 |publisher=Species Fungorum. CAB International |access-date=2015-09-18}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
*{{IndexFungorum|414466}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q10626909}}

Category:Fungi described in 1815
Category:Fungi of Europe
Category:Fungi of North America
Category:Inedible fungi
melaleucus
Category:Fungus species

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Phellodon melaleucus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phellodon_melaleucus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phellodon_melaleucus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.