Auriscalpium umbella is a small, dark, hydnoid fungus producing an umbrella-like cap, often with a depressed to umbilicate center. With a spiny underside and a central to eccentric stem attachment, with paler spines, it is terrestrial. This species is native to New Zealand.

Fruitbody: Small, typically 25-30 mm across, with a rounded to umbrella-shaped cap and a depresed center.
Cap surface: Velvety to finely hairy, dark brown to blackish, sometimes paler at the margin.
Hymenophore: Underside covered in short, pale to brownish spines, characteristic of hydnoid fungi.
Stem: Slender, dark, lateral or off-centre, giving the cap a tilted, parasol-like posture.
Texture: Tough and leathery, persisting long after drying.
Colour: Cap dark; spines lighter; stem dark brown to black.