Dyer's Polypore

Rust-brown fungi with concentric bands and a brown pore surface. Central stem of the same shade attached. Dusting of spores appears white. Growing in a cluster along a root (under the soil).

Phaeolus schweinitzii is parasitic on the roots of conifers and saprobic on dead wood. Once it parasitizes the roots of live trees it begins to decay the lower trunk and heartwood of the tree, resulting in a hollowed out tree base. This can lead to weakening (and, ultimately, the death) of the host tree.