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Birch Polypore
Birch Polypore
Fomitopsis betulina
Fungi
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Annual
Size
Medium
Diet
Decomposer
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
Northern Hemisphere
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Spores
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

The birch polypore is a bracket fungus that grows almost exclusively on birch trees, producing smooth, pale kidney-shaped shelves up to 25 cm wide. It was carried by Ötzi the Iceman over 5,000 years ago, likely for its medicinal and wound-dressing properties.

Life cycle

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

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Basidiomycota
Class
Agaricomycetes
Order
Polyporales
Family
Fomitopsidaceae
Genus
Fomitopsis
Species
Fomitopsis betulina