A tough, scaly-capped gilled mushroom that causes brown rot in conifer wood. It is well known for fruiting on railroad ties and other treated timber. Despite its gills it is not closely related to Lentinus and belongs to the brown-rot order Gloeophyllales. Some North American foragers eat it, but it is tough and has little culinary value.
Edible when young according to many North American foragers, but tough and mild, and generally considered inedible in Europe. The stems are too tough to eat. Never eat specimens growing on railroad ties, poles or other treated timber, because mushrooms can take up the preservatives.
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Habitat
Saprobic brown-rot decomposer of dead conifer wood, especially pine stumps and partly buried logs, and of treated lumber. Occasionally on hardwood. Alone or in small groups, spring through fall, or year-round in warm climates.
Distribution
Widespread in North America and Europe. Also recorded from the Caribbean, Asia, Oceania and Africa.
Characteristics
Cap: 2-15 cm, convex with an inrolled margin becoming flat, dry, whitish with brown, flattened to triangular scales. Gills: broadly attached to decurrent, close, white, with serrated edges, bruising brownish to yellowish. Stem: 2-10 cm long, 2-4 cm thick, very tough, scaly with brown-tipped scales, with a fragile ring that is soon lost. Flesh: white, very tough. Odor: often like anise. Spore print: white. Spores: 8-11(-14) x 3-4.5 um, subcylindric, smooth, inamyloid.
