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Project Noah Nature School
Laetiporus portentosus
A huge fungus that looked like a white fan coral rising edge-wise from the soil. Completely covered with large pores it was 400mm wide, 280mm tall and 180mm thick. It stood up like a fan and seemed to be fixed to the ground at one point (front, centre pic#1). Having no idea what it could be and being the only one there I decided to leave it attached?. It was moist and rubbery as a whole and I estimated the mass to be approximately 2.5 kg. (~5.5 lbs.)
Highway median strip planted with a variety of Aus. native plants and eucalyptus.
Pic#1 I will call the front, pic#2 is the rear and pic#3 is from above.
It took 3 weeks to find it again. It seemed attached to something within the ground so I assume it must have been on a tree root. Iy may have been simply grass growing through it though.
Thanks to martinl for help with an ID.
http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au...
Update... check this http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/115...
Also known as 'White punk'
Spotted on Jun 3, 2012
Submitted on Jun 4, 2012
13 Comments
Argybee, I have just spotted another older punk that is still on the stem of a redgum tree in Tocumwal (at least most of it is). I have added it to the gallery of my older spotting.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/120...
I have decided that this spotting of a very fresh and healthy looking bracket is most likely exactly the same species... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/115...
Thanks martin. I think my pink punk might be the same then. Pity somebody snapped it off before I revisited yesterday.
Argybee I just posted the same species. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/120... I am confident it is a bracket fungus http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au...
I finally found this thing again today (3 weeks later). It had been reduced to about half its size. I fully dislodged it this time (slight snapping sounds :) and convinced myself that it had been attached to something within the ground. So I would now be looking for a fungus which is fully white and textureless inside and of appropriate size, which grows from the earth (hard pale brown clay sparsely covered with grass).
That's by far the best suggestion so far. If it was a White punk at some stage it must have been a huge one. The nearest gum tree was about 1.5 metres away so it could easily have come from that. Didn't notice any bugs on it but can't say they hadn't been there. That's quite an impressive blog btw. I seem to end up there often.
Nice link thanks martin! They are looking convincing... researching...
Argybee, I believe this may fit your ID better. This is what I believe I remembered seeing when I was a boy. http://australianfungi.blogspot.com.au/2... Although it seemed to be rooted in the ground, that observation was not tested particularly thoroughly.
I have seen these on many walks - always wondered if they were edible - like the European "chicken of the forest" fungus
Well the mystery deepens. I have been back 3 times to check on this thing and cannot find it !!!
Well I assumed they were bracket fungi and growing on the trees but I actually always found them on the ground and thought they had fallen. I'd never asked the obvious question.....
Thanks for the links martinl. Interesting read especially some of the other things there. I'm still having a problem understanding how these relate to this 'above ground' thing. Were the ones you saw in your youth above ground ?
I remember seeing these as a child and called them "blackfellows bread"
Try this link for a possible ID (4th item) http://www.soilduck.com/2010/06/fanciful...
http://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/aboriginal....