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Tag Archives: bracket fungi

Humongous fungus

05 Friday Aug 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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bracket fungi, British fungi, Dryad's saddle, fungus, Polyporus squamosus, summer fungus

During Monday’s local meander I was hugely surprised to spot this humongous fungus, though I shouldn’t have been. Dryad’s saddle (Polyporus squamosus) is actually one of the first bracket fungi to appear each year, often sprouting its saddle-shaped ledges during the summer months when you’d least expect fungi to appear. This one was in a shady woodland, in an area less affected by the scorching sun that’s parched much of the land around here, so it was certainly a much more fungi-friendly location.

220805 dryads saddle

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A cascade of brackets

04 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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bracket fungi, British fungi, Trametes versicolor, Turkeytail

One positive from all the recent rain has been the rehydration of resident fungi. The last time I visited this dead tree its brackets were looking dry and shrivelled. Now, it’s like a flood of fungi, six feet of rippling rapids, a veritable cascade of colourful brackets.

220304 brackets

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Oozing brackets

26 Friday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi, insects

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Alder bracket, bracket fungi, British fungi, Fungus gnat larvae, Inonotus radiatus

It was the weak sunlight filtering through the almost-leafless overhead branches that drew my eyes to these fungi, their droplets of oozing liquid glinting as the light fell on them.

211126 alder brackets (1)

These are Alder brackets, Inonotus radiatus, a common species which, as you might expect from the name, is most often found on dead and dying Alder trees, though it does also grow on other species of hardwood trees.

211126 alder brackets (2)

According to the First Nature website, ‘Inonotus, the genus name of the Alder Bracket fungus, comes from ino– a prefix meaning fibrous, and ot which means an ear; the ending –us merely turns it into the form of a Latinised noun. The specific name radiatus comes from the Latin radi– meaning a ray, spoke or plate, and it is probably a reference to the radial wrinkles that are often evident on the upper surfaces of mature Alder Brackets.’

211126 alder brackets (3)

As you can see from my last photograph, these particular brackets were also home to several tiny larvae, perhaps of fungus gnats, though I can’t be sure of that.

211126 alder brackets (4)

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Chicken-of-the-woods

10 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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bracket fungi, British fungi, Chicken-of-the-woods, Laetiporus sulphurous

This glorious cascade of brackets was a delightful surprise during a recent woodland meander.

210910 chicken-of-the-woods (1)
210910 chicken-of-the-woods (2)

This is the wonderfully named Chicken-of-the-woods (Laetiporus sulphurous), which apparently tastes like chicken, hence the name. However, as Pat O’Reilly writes in Fascinated by Fungi: ‘Young caps taste rather like chicken; old ones taste more like the wood!’ and ‘Never eat Chicken of the Woods gathered from Yews’ because, of course, almost every part of the Yew is poisonous.

210910 chicken-of-the-woods (3)

I’ve only seen these bright yellow-and-orange brackets growing on Oak, though they can also be found on Beech and Sweet chestnut as well as Yew. They are large, growing up to 40cm across, with a velvety upper surface and pores below.

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Phellinus pomaceus

12 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi, trees

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blackthorn, bracket fungi, British fungi, fungi on Blackthorn, Phellinus pomaceus, Prunus spinosa

Though I haven’t been able to verify its identification, I’m fairly sure today’s fungus is Phellinus pomaceus.

210312 Phellinus pomaceus (1)

It’s a hard, woody bracket fungus that grows on Prunus tree species – in this case, it’s growing on Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

210312 Phellinus pomaceus (2)
210312 Phellinus pomaceus (3)

The NBN (National Biodiversity Network Trust) Atlas entry for this species (which also includes a map showing where in Britain the fungus has been recorded) says ‘It is not aggressively pathogenic but can cause considerable decay in trees suffering from other stress factors’, so you wouldn’t want to find it in a commercial fruit orchard. In my case, the fungi were only showing on two adjacent trees in a large copse of Blackthorn, and the trees looked quite elderly, so I don’t think it’s causing a problem.

210312 Phellinus pomaceus (4)
210312 Phellinus pomaceus (5)

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Bands of colour

19 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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#FungiFriday, bracket fungi, British fungi, Trametes versicolor, Turkey tail

I can never go past Turkey tail fungi (Trametes versicolor) without checking out their wonderful rings of colour.

210219 turkey tail (1)

These are neither as vibrant nor as varied as some I’ve seen but there is a hint of blue in one of those outer bands that doesn’t really show up well in my photos, as the light was very dull this day. I figured they were still worth sharing for Fungi Friday.

210219 turkey tail (2)

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353/366 Old Alder brackets

18 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in fungi, trees

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Alder, Alder bracket, bracket fungi, British fungi, Inonotus radiatus

Back in December 2016, I blogged about Alder brackets (Fungi Friday: Alder bracket) and showed then the gorgeous golden globules of liquid that ooze out of them when they’re young. Today’s Alder brackets (scientific name Inonotus radiatus), found in the woodland at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, have a longer history.

201218 alder bracket (1)

There is certainly some newer growth amongst these brackets but most have been on this Alder tree a long time, as you can tell from the luxuriant growth of moss on the top bracket of the tier.

201218 alder bracket (3)
201218 alder bracket (4)

201218 alder bracket (2)

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278/365 Happy National Fungi Day!

05 Saturday Oct 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, fungi, nature

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#NationalFungiDay, bracket fungi, British fungi, Candlesnuff, fungus, National Fungi Day, oysterling fungi, Stump puffballs, Sulphur tuft, waxcaps

As today was National Fungi Day in Britain and we’ve had good quantities of the rain needed to stimulate fungal growth, I caught the train in to Cardiff today for a fungi foray around Heath Park and the new part of Cathays Cemetery. Here are some of the fungi I found …

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191005 fungi (21)

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Dead but full of life

22 Monday Oct 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, fungi, nature, trees

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

autumn fungi, bracket fungi, dead tree full of fungi, fungi on tree, gilled fungi, Lycogala sp., slime mould

181022 fungi on log (1)

This tree may be dead but it’s teeming with life.

181022 fungi on log (2)
181022 fungi on log (3)
181022 fungi on log (4)
181022 fungi on log (5)

I’m sure it’s chock full of a huge variety of bugs and beetles, slugs and centipedes, and many other mini-beasties, but what caught my eye was the number of different types of fungi it was supporting.

181022 fungi on log (7)
181022 fungi on log (8)
181022 fungi on log (9)
181022 fungi on log (10)
181022 fungi on log (11)
181022 fungi on log (12)

As well as several species of gilled mushrooms, there were also various intriguing brackets, some oozing golden droplets, and a wonderfully vibrant orange Lycogala species of slime mould. Fungi may often be difficult to identify but they never cease to amaze me.

181022 fungi on log (6)181022 fungi on log (13)

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Patterns in Nature, 5

05 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in leaves, lichen, nature, trees

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bark, bracket fungi, lichen, nature's patterns, patterns, patterns in nature, reeds, water, wood

The ‘undiscovered country of the nearby’ ~ Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places

180205 patterns in nature (1)
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180205 patterns in nature (6)
180205 patterns in nature (7)
180205 patterns in nature (8)
180205 patterns in nature (9)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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