Woody Fungi Identification Entices Maine Lakefront Property Owners

Out and About for the Sebago Lakes Region of Maine Dec. 4-10
December 3, 2014
More Woody Fungi Found Near Maine Lakefront Properties
More Woody Fungi Found Near Maine Lakefront Properties
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Woody Fungi Identification Entices Maine Lakefront Property Owners

Woody Fungi Identification Entices Maine Lakefront Property Owners

Locate Woody Fungi Along Wooded Lakefront Property in Shapleigh, Maine

by Leigh Macmillen Hayes
Walk through the woods surrounding your lakefront property and your eyes may cue in to mushrooms growing on the soil, rocks and trees. Woody fungi are among my favorites because they’re easier to identify and visible all year–no matter how deep the snow gets.

 

 

 

 

 


In his informational and fun book, Fascinating Fungi of New England, mycologist Lawrence Millman writes, “Fungus depends on organic material in its environment, but that material doesn’t need to be living . . . Saprobes feed on dead or dying plant tissue . . . their hyphae release enzymes that break down the cellular structure of their host into easily digestible carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.”
Saprobic means that the mushroom dines off dead tissue on living trees or logs, snags and stumps.
Millman continues, “Saprobic fungi perform a valuable ecological service in New England. By recycling wood, they not only enrich the soil, but they also help create that soil. For the region still hasn’t recovered from the scouring it received from Ice Age glaciers 10,000 or so years ago, and thus its topsoil is very shallow compared to, say, the topsoil of the Midwest. Thanks in part to saprobic fungi, that topsoil is now slowly returning to its pre-glacial luxuriance.”
I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorites that I’ve discovered lately on tramps in the woods. Whether these are edible or not doesn’t matter to me. I don’t eat mushrooms. I do, however, enjoy their function in the ecosystem. If you choose to forage, find a mycologist to accompany you. Some poisonous mushrooms resemble edible ones.
Back to a few on my list:

 

Birch polypore

 


Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) This polypore, aka bracket, conk or shelf fungi, grows on dead and dying birch trees. Occasionally, you may see it on a living tree. It’s so common, that you should be able to identify it while driving at 60 mph. The cap is smooth and colored white to grayish brown. The upper rim curves around the pore surface. When young, the underside lacks pores. As it matures, the pores become toothy. Interesting note: This is one of the two polypores found with the 5,300-year old Tyrolean Ice Man Otzi in 1991.

 

Tinder Polypore


Hoof Fungus or Tinder Polypore (Fomes fometarius) This is the other polypore that was found in the Ice Man’s pouch. Notice the hoof shape and concentric zones of gray divided by rounded, wavy ridges. As it ages, it grows taller. It does look like a horse’s hoof, doesn’t it?

 

False Tinder


False Tinder Polypore (Phellinus ignarius) I’m sure you can see the similarity with the Tinder Polypore. Here’s the difference. The False Tinder’s cap is usually fissured with a charred-like appearance. And the pore surface on the underside is usually angled downwards from the rim to the tree.
Photo credit: Leigh Macmillen Hayes

 

There’s more to share, so be sure to check back again.
To learn more about lakefront properties for sale in Shapleigh, Maine, click on the green box above.
To learn more about the York County/Sanford Lakes Region of Maine, check out the blog links below.
Granny Kent Pond, Silver Lake (Poverty Pond), Little Poverty Pond and Pine Springs Lake: Four Small Lakes in Shapleigh, Maine
Great Fishing on Mousam and other Lakes in Shapleigh, Maine
Kennebunkport Christmas Prelude™ Near Lakefront Properties in the Sanford Lakes Region of Maine

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