Dryad's Saddle
This mushroom is often sadly overlooked and maligned as an edible with little value. But, if foraged when young, they can be prepared in many different ways - including sauté, incorporation into stocks, and being made into chips. Not to mention that they can be made into a kind of thick, stiff paper.
This species is easily recognized by its large size: the largest specimen that I found was close to 20 cm wide. They were fan-shaped, pale tan, and had large, flattened, brown scales that were somewhat radially arranged.
"Polyporus squamosus" aka "Cerioporus squamosus" is a basidiomycete bracket fungus, with common names including dryad's saddle and pheasant's back mushroom. It has a widespread distribution, being found in North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, where it causes a white rot in the heartwood of living and dead hardwood trees.
