Name that Fungus!
I think these are Artist’s Bracket, scientifically known as Ganoderma applanatum.
Caps can be 3–30 cm (1-12 in) wide × 5–50 cm (2-20 in) long and up to 10 cm (4 in) thick. New specimens are white but quickly turn a dark reddish-brown as they mature. Their shape is similar to a fan, and these mushrooms grow in a shelf-like formation individually or in groups. This is one of the largest mushrooms in Alaska.
Artist’s Bracket caps are hard to miss, as they grow directly out of tree trunks and are too large to overlook. They’re tough and woody, and the surface of this mushroom often feels like leather.
This could also be Fomes fomentarius, known as Hoof Fungus. The smooth caps are shaped like a horse’s hoof and vary from silver-gray to almost black with a yellowish, cream, or ochre edge. Their undersides are a light gray-brown with tiny pores, and the flesh is cinnamon-brown, corky, and fibrous. This fungus grows on dead and dying hardwood trees. It infects the trees through broken bark and causes white rot.
Name that Fungus!
I think these are Artist’s Bracket, scientifically known as Ganoderma applanatum.
Caps can be 3–30 cm (1-12 in) wide × 5–50 cm (2-20 in) long and up to 10 cm (4 in) thick. New specimens are white but quickly turn a dark reddish-brown as they mature. Their shape is similar to a fan, and these mushrooms grow in a shelf-like formation individually or in groups. This is one of the largest mushrooms in Alaska.
Artist’s Bracket caps are hard to miss, as they grow directly out of tree trunks and are too large to overlook. They’re tough and woody, and the surface of this mushroom often feels like leather.
This could also be Fomes fomentarius, known as Hoof Fungus. The smooth caps are shaped like a horse’s hoof and vary from silver-gray to almost black with a yellowish, cream, or ochre edge. Their undersides are a light gray-brown with tiny pores, and the flesh is cinnamon-brown, corky, and fibrous. This fungus grows on dead and dying hardwood trees. It infects the trees through broken bark and causes white rot.