#inonotus

[mushroomgay]

Cambridge, UK, October 2023

Shaggy bracket (Inonotus hispidus)

This tough, inedible fungus is pretty rare in the UK, and always a really cool find. It is as hair and soft on top as it looks, and the guttation (droplets exuded from underneath) has always been prolific on every bracket I've found.

[briery]

Weeping polypore, (Inonotus hispidus). (Larger 1, 2).

[mushroomgay]

Cambridge, UK, September 2022

Shaggy bracket (Inonotus hispidus)

Beeeeautiful specimen growing on an ash tree, their preferred hosts, along with apple trees. Young brackets will exude drops of moisture, ranging from clear to amber to deep orange, as you can see here - known as guttation. It’s not clear exactly why some species of fungi do this, though it’s speculated that it may be a way to get rid of excess water. 

[mushroomgay]

London, UK, September 2022

Shaggy bracket (Inonotus hispidus)

Another, older this time, as you can tell by the toughening and darkening topside of the bracket, example of guttation in the shaggy bracket - the drops of amber coloured moisture exuded from the underside.

[briery]

Weeping polypore, (Inonotus dryadeus) by Steve Cox.

[briery]

Guttation of a weeping polypore (Inonotus dryadeus) by Frédéric Suffert on Twitter.

[briery]

Weeping polypore (Inonotus dryadeus) by Colin Varndell.

[mushroomgay]

Sussex, UK, August 2020

Weeping oak bracket (Inonotus dryadeus / Pseudoinonotus dryadeus)

This gorgeous polypore weeps an extremely bitter, honey-like liquid that slowly turns a deep blue, and finally almost black on contact with air in a process known as guttation, which seems to be a way of getting rid of excess water during periods of rapid growth, although not much is known about guttation in fungi (as opposed to plants). 

Weeping brackets belong to a group known as ‘butt rot fungi’ as they attach themselves primarily to large trees at the thickest part, attacking the weakly protected area at the base of a tree’s trunk, just above the root.