Stats

Lifespan: Up to 1 yr
Size: Small
Diet: Decomposer
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A bracket fungus that tiles dead logs in overlapping, fan-shaped caps marked by bold concentric bands of brown, tan, and distinctive blue-gray — the exact pattern that inspired the common name. It produces the immunomodulatory compound PSK, making it one of the world's most-studied medicinal fungi.

Life cycle

1.
spore
A microscopic spore drifts on air or water and germinates where moisture and substrate meet.
2.
mycelium
A thread-like mycelium spreads through the substrate, breaking it down into nutrients.
3.
fruiting body
A mature fruiting body emerges to release the next generation of spores.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Polyporales
Family: Polyporaceae
Genus: Trametes
Species: Trametes versicolor