Polyporus ID please

[Nettle Runner]

Clumber Park (10A) 12 August2007
Found polyporus squamosus growing on a fallen beech branch (correct me if I'm wrong)



Also found on same branch the following specimen. Is it a young version of polyporus squamosus or not?





Your comments and suggestions welcomed
Thanks
Les

[Fungus Ken]

Judging by the pale yellow-brown cap (lacking large scales) and blackened base of the stem, your second specimen looks like Polyporus varius to me (now Polyporus leptocephalus).

Your first could be Polyporus squamosos, or even Polyporus tuberaster (synonym Polyporus floccipes). Both have scaly caps but supposedly P. squamosus has a blackened base to the stem whereas P. tuberaster does not.

Did you happen to notice if the stem had a blackened base?

Ken

[chazzpott]

Judging from the photo's, I would suggest that all three could be Polyporus tuberaster (P.floccipes). This is an inedible fungus, though not poisonous. Hope this helps.
Happy foraging.

[Fungus Ken]

Polyporus tuberaster has a scaly cap and does not have a blackened base to the stem. The bottom two images are of a different species from the first image and I would put my money on Polyporus varius for the specimen without the scaly cap. This is a very common species.

Ken

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by Fungus Ken

Polyporus tuberaster has a scaly cap and does not have a blackened base to the stem. The bottom two images are of a different species from the first image and I would put my money on Polyporus varius for the specimen without the scaly cap.

I'll rephrase this because I'm feigning a confidence I don't really have!

Polyporus tuberaster should have a cap with distinctly darker scales and, according to the most up to date monographs on polypores, should not have a blackened base to the stem.

I would be fairly confident that the bottom two images are of a different species from the first image and Polyporus varius would be a reasonable bet for the specimen without the scaly cap. Having said that, P. varius tends to have a very smooth cap and the photos don't seem as smooth as I usually see. (Things are never straightforward with fungi are they?)

But the blackened base for the second specimen should rule out P. tuberaster for this one.

Ken

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Fungus Ken

Polyporus tuberaster has a scaly cap and does not have a blackened base to the stem. The bottom two images are of a different species from the first image and I would put my money on Polyporus varius for the specimen without the scaly cap. This is a very common species.

Ken

If these are the samples Les showed me at Clumber they were definately Polyporus varius.

I wasn't certain about the first species to be perfectly honest.

John

[Nettle Runner]

This is an shot of the base of the first image above.



Neither of the above two sample, which I retained, have shown an blackening at the base of the stem. The second fungi has dried with a slightly darker ring around the outer section of the cap. The cap does feel smooth to the touch.

This is a shot of another Polyporus that I found the day before the above images, but also on the same fallen Beech branch (it was large). There had been another larger specimen above the one in the shot, but it had been eaten, and the remains were on the ground. I thought that this was also Polyporus squamosus, but now have doubts following your commentary.



Les

[Nettle Runner]

Correction to the last post (I ran out of time on the edit)

This paragraph to be replaced
Neither of the above two sample, which I retained, have shown an blackening at the base of the stem. The second fungi has dried with a slightly darker ring around the outer section of the cap. The cap does feel smooth to the touch.

with this one
The first fungi, (I retained both samples), does not show an blackening at the base of the stem, only a darkening which I assume is the wood to which it was attached. The second fungi does have a distinct thin black ring at the base (as in the image above) and has dried with a slightly darker ring around the outer section of the cap. The cap does feel smooth to the touch.

Les

[Fungus Ken]

Your pale, smooth capped specimen, with a blackened base to the stem would seem to be confirmed as Polyporus varius, taking account of John's advice.

I'd say your first scaly specimen was likely to be Polyporus tuberaster because of the lack of any blackening to the base to the stem but I wouldn't be as confident of this just from a photo.

Polyporus tuberaster is generally smaller and less robust than Polyporus squamosus, and also much less common, so if you find very large specimens, these will almost certainly be the latter.

As for your third specimen ... Who knows?

Ken