false turkey tail ~ 04/06/14 ~ Garland Ranch

false turkey tail

Stereum hirsutum complex

Look how smooth it is on the underside!  No pores!  From the top, it looks very similar to turkey tail with both having strips of fuzz, but the false's sparser fuzz is longer, even hairy looking. However, I tend to notice the false turkey tail's orange tinge from a distance and thinner edge, like a potato chip.  Plus, during the rainy season, I often see witch's butter with false turkey tail. This batch was growing on a fallen oak, which is typical.

I normally don't go around pulling fungi off wood to take pictures of the underside, but this comparison endeavor was for Cindy @ Dipper Ranch.  I have no idea if these comparisons can be made beyond my local CA range.

false turkey tail ~ 07/14/11 ~ Garland Ranch

false turkey tail
Stereum hirsutum

I thought I'd try my hand at ID'ing these older mushrooms. Ha! The other possibility is turkey tail (Trametes versicolor). Even in fresh specimens, it can be very difficult to distinguish between the two unless you look closely at the underside and look for pores. False turkey tails lack pores, and turkey tails have pores. I'm leaning towards a S. hirsutum ID based on the dead oak it's growing on and the obviously hairy surface. T. versicolor cap is described as finely fuzzy or velvety, which I'm not sure how to tell the difference. I may have to revisit this ID in the future when I get more comfortable with mushroom ID.

false turkey tail ~ 12/21/10 ~ Mt. Madonna

false turkey tail with lanky moss/Pacific forest moss/goose neck moss
Stereum hirsutum with Rhytidiadelphus loreus
more information
Hylocomiaceae

ps 09/03/11 - I originally posted this in another initial post. I'm making a general guess as to the moss species. For a cool Norwegian moss ID site, check out Kristins Lav Og Moser. Also, check out California State University, Northridge's CA bryophytes page.

witch's butter ~ 12/21/10 ~ Mt. Madonna

witch's butter parasitizing false turkey tail
Tremella aurantia parasitizing Stereum hirsutum
for more information click here and here

ps 09/03/11 - I originally posted this in another initial post and split all the fungi out into separate IDs.

pss 02/09/12 - Oh dear. I see John at Sinbad and I on the Loose has linked to my 2 witch's butter posts, so I feel I should offer a little more information considering I sent him an e-mail IDing his very cool jelly fungi (for more information click here and here). John has much better pictures than mine, btw. For North America (I can't really say for the rest of the world, you know?), I'm only aware of 3 species of witch's butter: Tremella aurantia (as linked above), Tremella mesenterica (confused superficially, but most easily differentiated by different fungal hosts), and Dacrymyces palmatus, which (not witch) Wikipedia says is now named Dacrymyces chrysospermus.

witch's butter ~ 03/14/09 ~ Fort Ord

witch's butter parasitizing false turkey tail with fiesta flower leaves
Tremella aurantia parasitizing Stereum hirsutum
for more information click here and here
Boraginaceae (formerly Hydrophyllaceae)

I'm almost certain the beautiful orange is witch's butter. The bracket fungi looks a little confusing to ID to species. And I believe those are fiesta flower leaves gracing the picture.

ps 12/30/10 - I had this originally identified as another witch's butter Tremella mesenterica. I've made the corrections to the ID below the picture above. This was my original blog profile pic.

pss 02/15/11 - Thanks to DDD, across the pond they call T. mesenterica yellow brain fungus!