Shaggy Bracket – Inonotus hispidus

Fungi of the Week

14th February 2020 | Info

Common name: Shaggy Bracket/ Inonotus Canker 

Scientific name: Inonotus hispidus 

Introduction: The Shaggy bracket is an annually forming bracket fungus that is native to the UK.  

Identification

Cap: When young, the caps of a shaggy bracket have a hairy, rusty-red upper surface which begins to darken with age. They also have a white underside and a broad and rounded margin. As the fungus then matures, the margin starts to narrow and sharpen. Caps can reach up to 30cm across and have a slightly wrinkled edge which becomes thinner before blackening. Younger fruiting bodies can also occasionally secrete a transparent, red liquid in droplets.  

Pores: Begin a cream-like colour before eventually turning brown as the fruiting body of the fungus starts to decay. 

Stem: Stemless. 

Spores: Are ellipsoidal and smooth. 

Flesh: Pale creamy-brown. As the fungus matures, it begins to dry out and in turn hardens the flesh, making it brittle. 

Habitat

Shaggy Brackets are saprobic, appearing on dead or dying broad-leaf trees such as Ash and Apple species.  They form between June and October. 

Impact on Trees

This bracket fungus is classed as a white rot decay fungus and can cause white rot, and occasionally soft rot in trees that it lives off. It is an aggressive decaying agent which weakens timber, trunks and branches.

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