Shaggy Bracket Fungus

Description:

Bright yellow and orange bracket fungus with yellow pores beneath. Pores ooze dark amber droplets. Inonotus hispidus is a tree pathogen that leads to bark death, brittle timber, and branch fractures. It is considered a white rot fungus as it equally breaks down both cellulose and lignin in trees. It develops in the heartwood of hosts trees and grows into the cambium--killing the host tree and causing visible cankers. Host trees include ash, walnut, and apple. Despite how nasty these characteristics may seem, there is some evidence that this fungus contains anti-cancer compounds, hispidin and hispolon, which diminish activated T-cell proliferation in the presence of apoptosis and increase natural killer cell activity (see my third reference).

Habitat:

On a hardwood tree at the base of a ridge in a dense mixed hardwood forest

Notes:

It has come to my attention that this could be Inonotus quercustris. I need to look at microscopic features to confirm.