Hydnellum geogenium (Fr.) Banker syn. Hydnum geogenium Fr. Fruit body single or often fused with others. Cap 5-25cm across, irregular in outline, flattened; thin, pliant, rather zoned; olive-brown, deep brown to buff, and often with bright yellow tomentum, especially when young; surface fibrous, knobby, and pitted at center. Spines on undersurface decurrent for entire length of stem; olive-yellow to olive-brown, but usually brighter yellow at margin. Stem very short or almost absent, concolorous with cap, with numerous strands of yellow mycelium in soil around base. Flesh thin; olive. Odor not distinctive. Taste not distinctive. Spores angular to subglobose, tuberculate, 3-4.5 x 3-4µ. Deposit brown. Habitat in coniferous woods. Common. Found on Atlantic seaboard from Quebec to North Carolina. Season August-October also in Europe. Not edible