A stalked polypore of dead hardwoods with a bald, dark reddish-brown cap that blackens from the center, a white pore surface of tiny pores, and a short stem that is black and velvety at the base. It causes a white rot. Its familiar name Polyporus badius is still widely used.
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Saprobic on deadwood of hardwoods (Acer, Betula, Fagus, Quercus, Salix, Tilia, Ulmus), occasionally conifers, usually after the bark has started to decay; causes a white rot. Alone or gregarious; usually spring and fall in temperate areas, in winter in warm climates.
Distribution
Widespread in North America from Mexico to Alaska and the Maritime Provinces; also in temperate Europe and Asia, with reports from Oceania and South America.
Characteristics
Cap: 4-20 cm or more (to 25 cm per Wikipedia), broadly convex to shallowly depressed, round, kidney-shaped or lobed; dry and bald, dark reddish brown to dark brown, paler toward the margin, blackening slowly from the center. Pores: decurrent, white becoming dingy whitish to brownish, not bruising; 4-6 per mm, often invisible without a lens; tubes 0.5-1 mm deep. Stem: central, off-center or lateral, 1-4 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, pale at the apex and dark brown to black and velvety below; tough. Flesh: white, thin, very tough. Spore print: white, hard to obtain. Spores: 6-8 x 3-3.5 µm, subcylindric, smooth. Hyphal system: dimitic.
