Polypore variable

Description:

The cap of Polyporus varius is 2 -10 cm in diameter and is cinnamon tan, or paler. It is broadly convex to flat, round in outline, or kidney-shaped. When dry it is smooth or finely fibrous sometimes radially lined. The margin is frequently wavy. The pore surface is white when young, becoming dingy brownish in age and often runs down the stem. Central or off-center to lateral the stem is 5 -7 cm long and 2-10 mm wide, often curving. When dry it is smooth or finely velvety, pale tan at the apex but black below or at least at the base, and usually for half or more of the stem's height.

Habitat:

Saprobic on decaying hardwood sticks and small logs, rarely on conifer debris, causing a white rot. Growing scattered or alone in the summer and fall, or year-round in warmer climates.

Notes:

Spotted on a dead beech (Fagus sylvatica) tree stump in a broadleaf forest in rural area of Colmschate, Holland. (sources:see reference)