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Mushrooms in the Winter Woods

Phellinus ignarius, growing on this American Beech, is commonly called the False Tinder Polypore. Photo by Roy Lukes.

Winter outdoor classes I’ve taught here in bygone years, including the study of big trees, state natural areas, forest types of northern Door County, and winter botany, all included a topic most people don’t associate with the cold snowy season – mushrooms.

An observational skill I always emphasize in my outdoor classes is to “look around you!” Many sets of sharp eyes will invariably discover a host of fascinating and often quite colorful woody fungi growing on dead fallen trees, old rotting logs and stumps, in brush piles and even on perfectly live standing trees. Yes, the tough woody bracket fungi are technically mushrooms.

The more easily recognized woody fungi I have in mind go by a host of common names including Bracket Fungus, Shelf Fungus, Turkey Tail Fungus, Rainbow Conk, Red-banded Conk, Artist’s Conk, Horse’s Hoof Fungus and the False Tinder Conk. Most often they are tough and woody, in fact more woody than the very wood upon which they are growing. For the most part they are inedible simply because of their hardness.

These woody fungi (FUN-ji) belong to a group called polypores, meaning many-pored. The tube layer which lines the underside of the cap appears to consist of an incredible number of tiny pinholes, some so small that they have be seen with a hand magnifying lens. These are the tubes containing the spores.

The family group to which these polypores belong is the Polyporaceae (po-lip-o-RAY-see-ee). What’s so amazing about polypores is that they are the major group of absolutely indispensable wood-rotting fungi growing in a healthy woods. This will come as a surprise to those people who consider fungi to be damaging to trees.

These snow-dusted Hemlock Polypores, Ganoderma tsugae, appear varnished when fresh. Photo by Roy Lukes.

Even though there are some extremely detrimental fungi to trees, including our great eating favorite, the Honey Cap, most fungi are actually very important. Through the process of decay, they prevent build-up of forest debris reducing the chances of fire and also providing vital open spaces for the growth of new trees. It is through decomposition that they also contribute toward the build-up of the blanket of humus on the ground which adds protection to tree roots, slows down water runoff and, later, integrates with mineral soil aiding in seed germination and the growth of trees.

In the process of disintegration of dead materials, some of the carbon in them is changed to carbon dioxide, so vital to the growth of green plants, which in turn give off oxygen so critically important to living beings like you and me!

It is often the huge, shelf-like, woody fungus, the so-called Artist’s Conk, Ganoderma applanatum (gan-o-DER-ma ap-pla-NAY-tum) that draws so much attention to the hiker. It is not uncommon to find these conks with the diameter of a bushel basket. The white surface below turns brown when scratched, hence the name Artist’s Conk. By the way, “conk” is simply a woody, usually perennial polypore. With care one can make quite a delicate sketch which, when dry, will remain in this condition indefinitely. However, due to the great importance of these fungi, I strongly recommend that they be left intact where they grow, allowing their spores to be spread naturally.

This double Horse’s Hoof fungus has an older gray one and a fresh tan one growing joined together. Photo by Roy Lukes.

A favorite bracket fungus of ours is the Hemlock Polypore, Ganoderma tsugae (gan-o-DER-ma SOO-gee). Tsugae is the genus of Hemlocks. The top of this elegant fungus is a rich mahogany that appears to have been varnished yet is perfectly dry to the touch. It usually is found on the fallen rotting trunks of Hemlock trees.

One of the so-called tinder polypores is the Horse’s Hoof Fungus, Fomes fomentarius. Fomes is pronounced (FOE-meez). What a striking similarity they have to horses’ hooves. Frequently they grow on the trunks of dead hardwoods, especially Birch and Beech. Years ago, before the advent of matches, chunks of this fungus and a few other closely related species were soaked in a saltpeter solution, dried, then used in place of matches to start fires.

The amazing “Otzi” the Iceman, 5,300 year old Neolithic man, frozen into the ice, was discovered in 1991 during the summer snowmelt in the Austrian Alps. On his body were found two species of polypore woody fungi with leather strings tied through them. One, a Birch fungus, is known to have antibacterial properties and was likely used for medicinal purposes. The other was a type of tinder fungus used for starting a fire. Otzi the iceman’s leather kit bag also included flint and pyrite for creating sparks and starting a fire.

Turkey Tail mushrooms can be seen in all seasons on dead beech or birch trees. Photo by Roy Lukes.

One of the most fascinating of all woody fungi is the Turkey Tail or Partridge Tail fungus, Trametes versicolor. Trametes is pronounced tra-ME-teez. One might also call it the many-colored polypore. What a lovely array of earthy hues are included on a rotting stump literally covered by these thin, leathery, velvety little shelves. White, gray, tan, brown, yellowish-buff, black and even green from a thin coating of algae are included in multi-colored zones on the turkey tails.

As so often happens, objects of great beauty in nature are also of tremendous value. Such is the case with the intriguing variety of woody polypores. Some have good reason to fan their little “turkey tails” in proud pomposity!

(Note: An excellent, photographically-illustrated field guide to the mushrooms is: Mushrooms of Northeast North America, by George Barron.)