Bracket fungi are those tough, shelf-like growths you’ve probably seen on tree trunks and fallen logs in the woods.
They belong to a large, heterogeneous group of fungi commonly called polypores, whose classification is complicated and still in flux. The brackets (“conks”) arise from an extensive network, or mycelium, of tiny threads growing unseen below the surface of the wood. Look on their undersides and you’ll see numerous tiny pores (hence the term polypore), through which enormous numbers of spores are released.
The spores are blown far and wide by the wind and, under suitable conditions, they’ll germinate and grow rapidly. Like other fungi, bracket fungi don’t produce, flowers, seeds, or fruits. Most species produce new brackets every year, but in others, the existing brackets grow ever-larger, and their upper sides are marked by concentric ring-like lines representing successive seasons of growth. In some species, the same brackets keep growing for decades. And some can get as hard as rocks, forming surfaces for paintings and other works of art.
Since bracket fungi lack chlorophyll, they don’t make their own food by photosynthesis. Instead, they feed by decomposing lignin and cellulose, the major components of wood.
In natural environments, bracket fungi play a vital ecological role as efficient decomposers of stumps and fallen branches and trees. In the process, they recycle nutrients and make them available to the roots of green plants. Unfortunately, and to the dismay of homeowners, some bracket fungi also invade living trees such as walnut, beech, ash, and elm, particularly if the trees are otherwise injured or damaged.
Unlike portabellas and other distant cousins, bracket fungi don’t typically make it to the dinner table, but most are said to be edible, though not necessarily palatable. A few, though, are definitely poisonous, so it’s common sense to never eat any wild fungus, bracket or otherwise, unless it’s been properly identified by an expert.
One common bracket fungus in South Carolina, and in fact throughout much of the world, is called turkey tail (Trametes versicolor), and it forms velvety brackets, up to four inches across, marked with alternating layers of gray and brown.
Turkey tail has a long history of use in Chinese and other traditional medicines to reduce inflammation and boost the immune system. Its potential for safe use in Western medicine is still under study.
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 5:57 AM.