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Birch Polypore
An annual birch polypore with a light brown, kidney-shaped cap and firm flesh. The pores were tan and showed signs of age.
Interestingly, the surface of the fruiting body was traditionally used as a strop for sharpening the edges on razors. It also makes good tinder for fires. "Ötzi the Iceman" (the 5,000-year-old mummy found in Tyrol) was carrying this fungus.
''Fomitopsis betulina'', commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is one of the most common polyporous bracket fungi and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruiting bodies can last for more than a year.
Similar species: Polyporales
By Christine Young
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Uploaded Jan 23, 2018. Captured Jan 20, 2018 15:13 in 80 Main St, Sharon, CT 06069, USA.
