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Berkely's polypore mushroom

Berkely's polypore mushroom (Bondarzewia berkeleyi)
Photo © Michael Kuo

Features and Behaviors

FEATURES
The fruiting body is about 10 to 30 inches wide and is composed of one to five caps from a single stem. The caps are about two and a half to nearly 10 inches across. Caps are kidney-shaped or irregularly shaped and are convex, flat or with a central depression. The cap is dry and velvety or leathery and is sometimes wrinkled but never scaly. The cap may be white, cream, yellow or tan. The cap does not bruise. The pores are white and can be found on the stem. The pore surface does not bruise. The stem is about one and one-half to four inches in length and about one and one-fourth to two inches wide. The stem develops centrally or just off-center on the cap. The stem is yellow to light brown, dry and tough with white flesh. There is no orange coloration on the cap. The flesh is yellow, and the spore print is white.

BEHAVIORS
This species is a parasite of hardwood trees, especially oaks. It also feed on the deadwood of hardwood trees. It grows singly or gregariously at the base of trees. The fruiting bodies can be seen in summer and fall.

Illinois Range

Taxonomy

​Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Russulales
Family: Bondarzewiaceae

Illinois Status: common, native