#pseudoinonotus

[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. 

[mushroomgay]

Barnet, London, UK, September 2019

Weeping polypore / Oak bracket (Pseudoinonotus dryadeus)

I was excited to go on my first autumn mushroom walk and find so many of my favourite inedible mushroom species - including this fantastic polypore bracket fungus, which leaks amber droplets that slowly turn blue as they oxidise. Unfortunately, it’s far too tough and bitter to be edible, which is a shame because the droplets are appealing, in a honey-like way.

[mushroomgay]

Name ppz

[submitted by @white-dandelion-seeds]

Hi! This looks fairly certainly like a young weeping polypore (also known as oak polypore or oak bracket fungus), (Pseudoinonotus dryadeus), named for and easily identified by those amber droplets it ‘weeps’ from its felty pore surface. This is a lovely young specimen!

[mushroomgay]

Barnet, London, UK, August 2018

Weeping polypore / oak bracket (Inonotus dryadeus)

These ethereal fungi are among the most startling and beautiful common mushrooms, in my opinion. From their irregularly shaped body, they exude a thick, honey-like liquid that turns from amber to blue on contact with air. They can grow huge - up to 50cm in diameter - and can cover the base of broad-leaf trees in bodies, looking like the colony of some alien bee.