Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: P1150734 FZ40

Very large Artist's Conk / Ganoderma applanatum

29 Aug 2011 179
This really was a huge fungus, growing near the base of a tree in Brown-Lowery Provincial Park on August 20th. I think I have the ID correct! Note the typical brown staining around the bracket fungus. This really isn't the most photogenic fungus, but I wanted a record of it for my Fungi of Alberta set. Some Artist's Conks are used by artists to do their etching. The underside of a fresh artist's conk is white and turns brown wherever scratched or scored. Once it dries out it becomes very hard and the artwork becomes permanent. Must admit I'd rather know that they were still growing in the forest : ) mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomartist.html