Family: Bankeraceae

Fungi:> Basidiomycota:> Agaricomycetes:> Thelephorales:> Bankeraceae:> Phellodon, Neosarcodon.

The Bankeraceae are a distinctive family of tooth fungi recognised by their spore-bearing spines on the underside of the cap. Unlike gilled or pored mushrooms, members of this family produce a dense layer of downward-pointing teeth, usually pale when young and darkening as they mature. Fruitbodies are typically stout, leathery, or corky, often with zoned, velvety, or scaly caps, and many species show dramatic colour changes as they age or dry. All known species are mycorrhizal, forming symbiotic associations with forest trees, and are therefore found on soil, never on wood..

The genus Phellodon consists of small, tough, leathery tooth fungi that fruit on soil in forest habitats. Easily recognised by their downward-pointing spines on the underside of the cap. Phellodon species are typically dark-coloured, often with a felted, zoned, or tomentose cap surface, and a distinctly tough, corky context.

Phellodon sinclairii

Phellodon nothofagi

Neosarcodon is a small genus of tooth fungi, separated from Sarcodon on the basis of molecular data and a suite of microscopic and macroscopic characters. Species of Neosarcodon typically have more delicate, softer fruitbodies, finer spines, and distinctive spore ornamentation compared with the more robust, fleshy species of Sarcodon.

Neosarcodon carbonarius