Summary: Features include 1) a nearly spherical convoluted fruitbody up to 2.5cm across that is dull reddish brown to purple-brown or salmon, 2) a white or yellowish spore mass penetrated by long, maze-like, branching, narrow canals, 3) typically a strong garlic odor when mature, 4) habitat often inside rotten wood, and 5) microscopic characters including round spiny spores and inamyloid 8-spored asci.
Interior: complex convoluted (Arora), "white or yellowish, penetrated by long labyrinthine, branching, narrow canals, the walls lined by hymenium; canals hollow but often so narrow that the tips of opposite paraphyses come in contact", (Gilkey)
Odor: typically strong garlic odor when mature (Arora), somewhat garlic-like, but pungent, (Trudell)
Microscopic: spores round, minutely spiny; asci inamyloid, (Arora), spores 25-32 x 25-32 microns, nearly round, minutely papillose, brown, (Gilkey), asci 8-spored, 200 x 28-32 microns, cylindric; canals often so narrow that tips of opposite paraphyses come into contact, (Gilkey)
Notes: Hydnotrya cerebriformis was reported from BC to the North American Truffling Society. It was reported for WA by Jumpponen(1). It was listed for ID by Hawker (in Fogel(7)). The type is from CA (Gilkey). It was recorded from CO by Fogel(7). A collection from OR was used by O''Donnell(2). It is not listed in Trappe(13).
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Hydnotrya variiformis also has a complex or convoluted interior (at least in large specimens), a fondness for growing inside rotten wood, and inamyloid asci, but H. cerebriformis has a more consistently complex or convoluted interior (not unlike Geopora cooperi), is usually slightly darker (dull reddish-brown to purple-brown), typically has a strong garlicky odor when mature, and has round minutely spiny spores, (Arora). Geopora cooperi has a fuzzy exterior. Genabea cerebriformis has warts. See also SIMILAR section of Hydnotrya inordinata, Hydnotrya subnix, and Hydnotrya tulasnei.
Habitat
often inside rotten wood, (Arora), leaf mold (Gilkey), in montane conifer forests (Trudell)