Monday Mushrooms. #5

PLEASE NOTE: This post is intended for sharing fun and interesting facts on mushrooms. It is NOT INTENDED to be used as a guide for identifying edible mushrooms!

Greetings everyone and Happy Monday! I hope you are all enjoying your day! It is colder here again and very slippery out there after getting rain showers last night and then freezing. But, we are back with a warmer subject once again, that of mushrooms. That always reminds me of summer and fall when mushrooms are really growing.

Birch Polypore.

Today we will take a quick look at the Birch Polypore. As the name suggests, these mushrooms are found on Birch trees, mainly dead trees or stumps. They grow singly but there are usually several growing on the tree. It can be found in various colors and shapes such as a half dome, half bell, a disk or kidney shaped specimens.

Another one.

It first appears as whitish and puffy. They will have edges curled under as it grows, can be smooth at first with cracks forming as it matures. It can grow up to 10 inches (25cm) wide, but normally it is much smaller. It grows from summer through fall and can be found year round, often becoming darkened in winter.

This mushroom has been used for centuries in medicine, but it is inedible and bitter. It is NOT a good idea to try and use this in any way medicinally on your own. You may cause HARM to yourself doing so. Well, that is all for this mushroom, hope you enjoyed this post. Have a great week and God bless!

Steve. ©2026 Steve McLeod.