Order Polyporales, family Polyporaceae CAP COVERED WITH LARGE FLATTENED SCALES Cap: 6-40 cm broad, usually fan- to funnel-shaped, growing singly or more often in clusters, pale tan with brownish fibrillose scales which are often radially or concentrically arranged.
UNDERSURFACE WITH PORES Pores: large, angular, often irregularly shaped, whitish to cream, not discoloring, decurrent down stalk
STALK SHORT, OFF-CENTER OR ON SIDE OF CAP Stalk: 3-10 long x 2-6 thick, lateral or eccentric, tough, blackens especially at base as fruiting body matures
SINGLE OR MORE OFTEN CLUSTERS ON STUMPS OR LIVE TREES, IN SPRING
EDIBLE WHEN YOUNG AND SOFT
SPORE PRINT WHITE
Lookalikes: Polyporus arcularis – very small and tough
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO KNOW.... This surprisingly common urban mushroom make look a bit like shoe leather and taste like leather when it’s old, but urban mushrooms hunters don’t let that stop you from eating it. Just pick Dyad’s Saddle when it’s young, just after it emerges from a stump, when you can barely see the pores on the underside of the cap. Your knife must be able to easily slice through the fruiting body like butter, without any sawing. When it reaches the shoe-leather stage, try making a delicious broth by cooking them forever in a crock pot. Seriously, you won’t regret giving the slow-cook method a try with this mushroom.
If you don’t want to bother with the crock pot, the older mushrooms are still worth appreciating, not for their toughness, beautiful mottled appearance and earthy colors.
Mushrooms with pores under their caps, instead of gills, are relatively rare in urban areas. So finding Dyrad’s Saddle offers a good opportunity for beginners to see what pores look like.
Like any mushroom that grows on stumps in the urban setting, you’ll need to give Dryad’s Saddle a whiff to make sure that dogs (well-known enemies of the urban mushroomer) did not relieve themselves on it prior to your picking it. Unfortunately, Polyporus squamosus usually grows exactly at dog level, making it a prime target. So be on your guard for this, and protect prime stumps by creating dog-free zones.
DISCLAIMER: Do not eat any mushroom based solely on the content of this website, which is for informational purposes only. You are responsible for making sure you are 100% positive of a mushroom’s identity before consuming it. You must make sure of this yourself.
