Fomitopsis pinicola

(Sw.) P. Karst.

Young fruiting bodies on a fallen birch stem at Hatfield Forest, Essex.
Young fruiting bodies on an alder stump along the River Great Ouse, Bedfordshire
A large bracket on a beech monolith at Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire
A young bracket exuding water droplets on fir in Kungalv, Sweden
A cross-section of the flesh and tube layer

Young fruiting bodies on a fallen birch stem at Hatfield Forest, Essex.
Young fruiting bodies on an alder stump along the River Great Ouse, Bedfordshire
A large bracket on a beech monolith at Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire
A young bracket exuding water droplets on fir in Kungalv, Sweden
A cross-section of the flesh and tube layer
Brown banding on mature bracket on fallen birch at Hatfield Forest, UK.
Emerging fruit body on pine at Brownsea Island, UK.
Developing fruit bodies with distinct banding on fallen alder in Maidstone, UK.
Slotted creamy white pore surface.
Wedge of a mature fruit body showing distinct banding.

Common name

Red-banded polypore.

Often found on

Alder, beech, birch, pine (currently – host range is greatly expanding, in the UK).

Sometimes found on

Many other angio- and conifers.

Location

Found growing at locations along the entire above-ground scaffold structure of the host.

Description

Perennial . Rubbery when young though becoming tough and woody. Begins as a yellow-white mass before developing an orange-red upper surface – sometimes varnished. Growth increments mature to a purplish-brown colour. Often banded with red. Rimmed white when new growth increments being laid down. Pore layer off-white – sometimes exuding water. Flesh creamy-beige white. Tube layer deep and yellow-white.

Confused with

Daedaleopsis confragosa (often growing in similar locations – this fungus has maze-like pores and often blushed reddish brown); Ganoderma australe (brown flesh).

Significance

Attributed to a cubical brown rot of the wood. Parasitic though may not be able to breach reaction zones. Exists as a vascular endophyte, prior to colonisation – entry can be via beetles and wounds. Colonises when host tree becomes stressed. Presence therefore signals physiological stress and decline. Where targets exist, consider tree removal or hollowness investigations , because the tree may fail locally to the decay. Becoming more prevalent in England.