Trametes versicolor

(Also known as Coriolus versicolor, Polyporus versicolor)

Turkey Tail

Order Polyporales, Family Polyporaceae

FRUITING BODY OVERLAPPING LEATHERY STALKLESS CAPS WITH MULTICOLORED ZONES

Caps 2-10 cm wide, growing in rosettes; circular, semicircular, fan or kidney-shaped, often fused; flat or wavy; silky, hairy or velvety with smooth zones; colors extremely variable: mixture of white, gray, brown, reddish; flesh 1.2 mm thick, tough and leathery.

UNDERSIDE WITH SMALL WHITE TO YELLOW PORES

Tubes up to 3 mm long, 3-5 per mm, white to yellowish

SPORE PRINT WHITE

Spores 5-6 x 1.5-2 , cylindric, smooth, colorless

ON WOOD OF DEAD HARDWOODS, especially oak. Sometimes on live tree wounds or rarely on conifers.

NOT EDIBLE – TOO TOUGH TO TRY

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO KNOW…

This mushroom does look vaguely like a turkey tail. It is the most common polypore, and since it doesn’t decay rapidly, is used to make ornaments – necklaces, earrings, clips. There is a bewildering range of colors, which is its distinctive characteristic. As for edibility, David Arora suggests to “boil for 62 hours, squeeze thoroughly, and serve forth.”

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