Fomitopsis mounceae

Red-belted Polypore

A large, hard, hoof- to shelf-shaped brown-rot conk of dead and living conifers and hardwoods across northern North America, usually with a resinous red to reddish-brown band near its pale margin. North American red-belted conks were long called by the Eurasian name Fomitopsis pinicola. Haight et al. (2019) showed that F. pinicola in the strict sense does not occur in North America and described F. mounceae and F. schrenkii as new.

Species profile

Edibility

Not edible

Not edible; a hard, woody conk. Medicinal uses and studies published under the name Fomitopsis pinicola may involve this or other North American species.

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Characteristics

Cap: up to about 45 cm wide, shelf- to hoof-shaped, concentrically grooved; covered at least partly with a red, brown or blackish resinous crust that ages gray, reddish brown or nearly black; usually with a reddish laccate band near the thick whitish to cream margin, though not always. Pore surface: creamy white to yellowish, browning with age, not receding; 4-5 pores per mm. Flesh: woody. Growing specimens may exude droplets. MushroomExpert reports that the crust bubbles when heated with a match flame, unlike F. ochracea.