Stats

Lifespan: 1-3 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Decomposer
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Worldwide
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Armor
Status: Common

About

A shelf-like bracket fungus that fans out in overlapping tiers on dead hardwood, its hairy upper surface banded in concentric rings of gray, brown, and tan. Unlike its look-alike cousin the bleeding curtain crust, Stereum hirsutum's smooth orange underside stays dry when cut — a reliable field test that separates the two species.

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: Russulales
Family: Stereaceae
Genus: Stereum
Species: Stereum hirsutum