The Hericiaceae are a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of fungi in the order Russulales

Russulales

The Russulales are an order of the Agaricomycetes,...

. The best known genus is Hericium, species of which are valued for their medicinal properties in Oriental medicine. Taxa are mainly known from north temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 regions, and are saprobic on rotting wood. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Hericiaceae belongs to the russuloid clade

Clade

A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

 of homobasidiomycetes, and morphological and molecular evidence links it with the families Auriscalpiaceae

Auriscalpiaceae

The Auriscalpiaceae are a family of fungi in the Russulales order. Like much of the Russulales, it has been defined through molecular phylogeny, and includes physically dissimilar species, such as the tooth fungus Auriscalpium and the gilled, often shelf-like members of Lentinellus. The family...

, Bondarzewiaceae

Bondarzewiaceae

Bondarzewiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Russulales. The type species for both its genus and the family as a whole, Bondarzewia montana, closely resembles members of Polyporales , but has ornamented spores like those of Lactarius or Russula...

 and Echinodontiaceae

Echinodontiaceae

The Echinodontiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Russulales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution, although they are especially predominant in north temperate zones...

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Description

Species of this family commonly have fruiting bodies with pegs, spines, or teeth hanging from the hymenium

Hymenium

The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some cells develop into sterile cells called cystidia or...

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