New to this

[dp_paul_dp]

Having no idea about fungi I came across these bracket type fungi I have looked in the Gallery but I'm still no better off, please help. The 1st two pic's are of the same fungi one with camera flash and one without.
Thanks

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Paul,

The first (2-pics) show Dryad's Saddle - Polyporus squamosus.

I would say that the other photos look like Ganoderma sp., possibly G.australe, and G.applanatum, but I'm by no means confident of that.
Regards,
Mike.

[flaxton]

Paul
I would agree wholeheartedly with Mike. The only way to be sure that the Ganoderma are two different species is to check the spores.
Mal

[dp_paul_dp]

Thanks for helping out guys. The Dryad's Saddle was huge, really impressive. As for the Ganoderma sp., possibly G.australe, and G.applanatum do they have a common name ie horse's hoof or such as one certainly looks like one to me

[flaxton]

They are the Southern Bracket and the Artist's Bracket.

Mal

[dp_paul_dp]

So is the Southern Bracket G.australe an introduced species and the Artist's Bracket G.applanatum as native one ?

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by dp_paul_dp

So is the Southern Bracket G.australe an introduced species and the Artist's Bracket G.applanatum as native one ?

not at all: Fries described Polyporus australis (as this fungus was originally known) from material "Ad truncos arborum in insulis Oceani pacifici" - which even those with no Latin should be able to understand; so you can see it does have a very widespread distribution

for a long time it was known as Polyporus adspersum Schulzer (described in 1878), later (1969) transferred to Ganoderma; Steyaert muddied the waters by describing Ganoderma europaeum in 1961; all these later names have been reduced to synonymy - australe is the earliest valid name (but you may find the fungus in older books under one of the others)

interestingly Leif Ryvarden in Vol. 1 of Polyporaceae of Northern Europe states that it was not then known in Fennoscandia; that situation may have changed since 1976 of course, but a northern limit to its distribution seems likely

Chris

[dp_paul_dp]

Thanks Chris,
your reply was really informative even if a little bit out of my league but I get the measure of it.