A dryad is a mythical wood-nymph, and this large bracket does indeed look like a seat or ‘saddle’ made for a woodland fairy. An impressively large and attractive annual bracket fungus, circular or fan-shaped, ochraceous-cream covered in concentric dark brown fibrillose scales. The tubes and pores are large and honeycomb-like, irregularly oval, white in colour to begin with, turning yellow as the bracket matures. The stem is dark brown and woody.
Cap size: up to 60 cm across, up to 5 cm thick
When Seen
Spring to early autumn.
Habitat & Host
Deciduous woodland, parks and gardens. A parasitic species which attacks and grows in tiers on the trunks of broad-leaved trees like sycamore, willow, poplar, beech and walnut. It can also occur on fallen trunks and large branches, where it becomes saprobic, feeding on the dying or dead and rotting wood.
Status & Distribution
Common and widespread throughout Britain. A native species.
Classification
….Class: Agaricomycetes
…….Order: Polyporales – Polypores
……….Family: Polyporaceae – Brackets
………….Genus: Polyporus
……………Scientific name: Polyporus squamosus (Huds.) Fr.
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