Tuesday, January 17, 2012

What kind of fungus is this? I'll bet my sister knows.

It was growing on a dead limb in the woods next to my house. So pretty on the bottom. But what is it?
Posted by at 7:58 PM
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6 comments:

Margaret said...

It is gorgeous--I love the lacy look to it. No idea on what it is though.

January 17, 2012 8:32 PM
Kat said...

It's a type of shelf fungus, also called bracket fungus. Grows on dead wood, with "roots" that extend deep into the heartwood of the tree. By the time you see the fruiting body on the outside, you know the tree is well on it's way to the decomposed state. They have some good uses, besides being pretty. Some are yummy, and some are really good for starting fires. I don't know anything about mushrooms in your area of the US, though, and I'm definitely NOT saying that this type is edible. In fact, I don't know how to recognize ANY edible shelf mushrooms. I'm just saying that some types are known to be tasty.

January 17, 2012 8:59 PM
kayak woman said...

Beautiful photos. We love to look at fungus too. My husband is "into" identifying it, I just like to take pictures. Neither of us would ever eat wild mushrooms without the approval of an expert...

January 17, 2012 11:37 PM
cyradaria said...

It reminds me of close-up views of coral.

Does this have to do with chaos theory and fractal geometry -- the result (i.e., patterns) of dynamically changing sytems, like bee honeycombs? I wonder. Sort of.

Not a lot though. I can get past it.

January 18, 2012 10:06 AM
Pam J. said...

My sister guessed this about the fungus: Turkey Tail or Trametes versicolor.

January 19, 2012 8:19 PM
cyradaria said...

Whenever I come across this post, I hear Anthony Newley singing in my head, "What Kind of Fungus am I?"

January 20, 2012 3:44 PM

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