Phellinus igniarius

Willow Bracket, Fire Sponge, False Tinder Polypore

The willow bracket, a perennial, woody, hoof- to disc-shaped polypore in the Hymenochaetaceae that grows on living and dead broadleaf trees, especially willow. It causes a white rot and adds a new pore layer each year, so a single bracket can persist for many years. Historically used as tinder.

Species profile

Edibility

Not edible

Inedible: woody and bitter. Not a food species.

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Habitat

On bark of living trees and on dead logs of willow, also birch, alder and other broadleaf trees; a white-rot fungus that decays the host's wood. Woodpeckers often excavate nest holes in the softened wood.

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Characteristics

Fruit body: perennial, woody-hard, hoof- or disc-shaped bracket, 5-20 cm across (rarely about 40 cm) and 2-12 cm thick; can show up to about 80 annual growth layers. Upper surface: dark gray to blackish, often cracked crust. Pore surface: grayish brown, about 4-6 pores per mm; tubes 2-7 mm long, layered yearly. Flesh: brown, woody; blackens with KOH. Spore deposit: whitish. Odor/taste: mushroomy odor; bitter taste.