Species details
Benzoin bracket
Ischnoderma benzoinum
Inedible
Photo: dschigel · CC BY 4.0 · Photo source · License
Description
A large velvety brownish bracket on conifer wood with a white growing margin; soft when young and corky-hard when old.
Identification features
Cap 8–22 cm or larger, orange-brown to dark brown, velvety and often concentrically zoned. The pore surface is white at first, later ochre to brownish.
Identification checklist
Check conifer wood, a velvety dark-brown cap, pale growing margin and initially white pore surface.
Detailed features
- Cap
- Cap 8–22 cm or larger, orange-brown to dark brown, velvety and often concentrically zoned.
Size
- Cap diameter
- 8–22 cm
Habitat
Grows on dead conifer wood, especially spruce and fir, on stumps, roots and logs; most conspicuous in late summer and autumn.
Fruiting period
August, September, October
Ecology
- Host trees
- Spruce (Picea), Fir (Abies)
- Substrate
- Stumps, Roots
- Notes
- Grows on dead conifer wood, especially spruce and fir, on stumps, roots and logs; most conspicuous in late summer and autumn.
How to separate similar species
Ischnoderma resinosum is more associated with hardwood. Old darkened fruitbodies are harder to identify.
Similar species
- Ischnoderma resinosum
- Red-belted conk (Fomitopsis pinicola)
- Dyer's polypore (Phaeolus schweinitzii)