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Winter Polypore
Polyporus brumalis
50.8843, 5.98617
Field Notes
Description:
This small, dark brown polypore distinguishes itself from similar species by having a stem which does not become black, a smooth (rather than hairy) cap margin, and tiny circular pores. It fruits on the dead wood of hardwoods, and has a special affinity for birch. The tough fruiting bodies are persistent and can be found year-round, but it tends to come up fresh in fall and spring.
Description:
Ecology: Saprobic on decaying wood of hardwoods and especially frequent on dead birch wood; growing alone or gregariously; fall and spring, but found nearly year-round; widely distributed in North America.
Cap: 1.5-10 cm; broadly convex, often with a sunken central depression; round in outline; dry; smooth or finely hairy; yellowish brown to dark brown or reddish brown; the margin usually inrolled, at least when young.
Pore Surface: Whitish; not bruising; running slightly down the stem; 2-3 round pores per mm; tubes to 3 mm deep.
Stem: Central or somewhat off-center; 2.5-5 cm long; 2-5 mm wide; equal; dry; smooth or finely hairy; whitish to grayish or pale brownish; tough.
Flesh: Whitish; thin; very tough.
Spore Print: White.
( http://www.mushroomexpert.com/polyporus_brumalis.html )
Habitat:
location: North America, Europe
edibility: Inedible
fungus colour: Brown
normal size: 5-15cm
cap type: Convex to shield shaped
stem type: Lateral, rudimentary or absent
flesh: Pore material cannot be seperated from flesh of the cap
spore colour: White, cream or yellowish
habitat: Grows on wood
Polyporus brumalis Fr. Fruit body annual. Cap 1.5-10cm across, circular, convex or depressed with an inrolled margin; yellow-brown to reddish brown or blackish brown; dry, densely hairy when young, becoming almost smooth. Tubes 1-3mm deep, slightly decurrent. Pores 2-3 per mm, circular to angular; whitish. Stem 20-60 x 1-5mm, central or off center; grayish or brownish; minutely hairy or smooth. Flesh 1-2mm thick; white. Spores cylindrical to sausage-shaped, smooth, 5-7 x 1.5-2.5µ. Deposit white. Habitat on dead hardwoods, especially birch. Common. Found in eastern North America, west to the Great Plains, and occasionally in the Pacific Northwest. Season June-October. Not edible
( http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6671.asp )
Notes:
Medicinal effects
Anti-tumor properties
An extract of culture mycelia was able to inhibit the growth of Sarcoma 180 solid cancer in mice by 90% (Ohtsuka et al., 1973).
Antibacterial activity
Using the streak-plate method (a test for antibacterial activity), this species did not inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus nor Escherichia coli on either thiamine peptone medium or malt agar
( http://healing-mushrooms.net/archives/polyporus-brumalis.html ), ( http://www.mycobank.org/MycoTaxo.aspx?Link=T&Rec=142023 )
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