Ganoderma applanatum
Bev Wigney: The Magickcanoe Website (http://magickcanoe.com)
Artist's Conk is a large
polypore,
also called a "shelf mushroom." Polypores are wide and flat,
and they usually grow on tree trunks
or on the sides of stumps and fallen logs. Artist's Conk can grow up
to 20 inches wide. They have a woody feel and are rough and
horny. Usually, they are fairly flat, but sometimes they are
hoof-shaped. These fungi are gray to
brownish in color, but can be green when covered with
algae
or moss. Artist's Conks grow
year-round. You can discover how old they are the same way
you can a tree. By cutting it in half, you can count layers.
Each layer represents a year. Artist's Conk can grow by
itself or in small groups. They grow on dead wood, and
sometimes on wounds in living trees. When it grows on living
trees it is a parasite. This fungi weakens the
wood it grows on, making places for insects and woodpeckers
to start holes. Copyright, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service Bev Wigney: The Magickcanoe Website (http://magickcanoe.com) Copyright, George Riner, Boston Mycological Club Artist's Conk grow on
many types of trees, especially maples, alders, birches,
beech, apple, poplars, cherry, plum, oaks, willows, and
elm. This fungi gets its name
because when you flip it over you can carve writing or
pictures in it. The picture will stay in the fungus and
cannot be erased. Like all fungi, Artist's
Conk releases spores,
which travel by wind and may grow into new fungi. Artist: Nancy Korslin of the Wisconsin Mycological Society (from TomVolkFungi.net)
Copyright, Clive Shirley