A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Fomitopsis Pinicola
I came across this massive specimen during my weekend mushroom collecting excursion. I believe it to be a horse's hoof fungus but am still unclear on its exact species. Great find though! This one is a grandpa polypore mushroom for sure, it definitely is more than a season old. Any help with an ID would be greatly appreciated!
Saprobic on the dead wood of conifers and sometimes hardwoods (including birch and aspen); also sometimes parasitic on living trees; causing a brown cubical rot; growing alone or gregariously; perennial; fairly widely distributed in North America where conifers are present, but apparently rare to absent in the southeastern United States.
Large polypore fungus, 13" long, 6" thick, smells earthy and musty, the rim of the body has a sticky residue secreting from its sides, no gills, have not tried tasting - probably no poisonous but not very tasty either
Spotted on Apr 7, 2013
Submitted on Apr 11, 2013
