Cramp ball

[freedom]

On Saturday Sar-ian kindly invited me down to his patch for wander. Ian spot a large cramp ball mushroom and some other mushrooms growing on a tree which we couldnt I/D.
909490959096

[Silverback]

thats a biggie there Phil....

[ADz]

The mushroom looks like the one I saw on River Cottage last night, Cant remember off top of head what its called.

[Geoff Dann]

The mushroom looks like the one I saw on River Cottage last night, Cant remember off top of head what its called.

Stereum hirsutum - Hairy Curtain Crust. (Tee-hee...) :rolleyes:

[fish]

nice dog!

[dannyreid1978]

Did you collect it pal?

[freedom]

Did you collect it pal?

No mate there wasnt that many only two others which were out of reach up the tree

[freedom]

9120912191229123 Here are some more photos of fungi can anyone i/d them, I found them wandering around this morning

[Geoff Dann]

Those'll be chicken of the woods.

[AdrianRose]

9120912191229123 Here are some more photos of fungi can anyone i/d them, I found them wandering around this morning

Yep, tis Chicken Of The Woods for sure mate. But I am a little confused, what is that phallus shaped object in the top left corner of the last picture??

Ade

[Silverback]

Yep, tis Chicken Of The Woods for sure mate. But I am a little confused, what is that phallus shaped object in the top left corner of the last picture??

Ade

Maybe its a male chicken ;)

[freedom]

Yep, tis Chicken Of The Woods for sure mate. But I am a little confused, what is that phallus shaped object in the top left corner of the last picture??

Ade

Hi ade,

That is fungi I found on the birch tree, remember the fungi you told me about which you could make a plaster out of when we were out in the Tockleholes. Sorry I cannot remember.
Phil

[Silverback]

Hi ade,

That is fungi I found on the birch tree, remember the fungi you told me about which you could make a plaster out of when we were out in the Tockleholes. Sorry I cannot remember.
Phil

Birch Polypore - Piptoporus betulinus

[freedom]

Birch Polypore - Piptoporus betulinus

Cheers Sapper thats it, have you any idea what else I can use it for or anyone else

[Silverback]

The global reach and ubiquity of the birch polypore did not go unnoticed by indigenous peoples of its native habitats. Over the millennia, trail and error experimentation has resulted in the fungus being used in a number of interesting practical applications. Perhaps the most unusual of these is the etiology of the alternative name of razor-strop fungus. The cap or pileus of the fruiting body has a hard, leathery upper surface. This surface can be peeled off in strips and was used in this form as a strop for sharpening razors and also as a natural emery cloth for polishing metal to achieve an ornamental sheen. A second major functionality is associated with the dense, corky mass of the interior flesh of the fruiting body. Like the Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius), the fibrous and sere mass of the Birch fungus was used with a spark producing implement to start a fire at a new campsite. It was also used and as a means to maintain and transport embers from one campsite to another in order to obviate the need to repeat the sometimes difficult fire initiation process. The corky nature of the Birch polypore was also employed in other applications in which absorption was required such as vulnerary dressings, ink blotters, haberdashery sweat bands , and even as a mounting platform for securing the impaling pins used in insect collections.






http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/BirchPolypore_100206R.htm

[freedom]

http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/BirchPolypore_100206R.htm

Cheers mate made very interesting reading cheers again

[Geoff Dann]

Yes, interesting link. It's such a common fungus too. One of the very few that I'm guaranteed to find every time I go out, and the most useful of the bunch by some margin. If only sulphur tuft was useful...for anything at all!