Stereum hirsutum - Hairy Curtain Crust

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

No matter how many of these attractve bracket fungi you see, there will always be another Stereum hirsutum with significantly different coloration. The variability of this fungus makes its identification at first rather difficult.

Hirsute, the basis of the specific epithet, means hairy, and the upper surfaces of these irregularly-shaped tiered brackets are distinctly hairy when the fruitbodies are young and fresh; however, they do become smoother with age.

Identification Guide

Description	Individual brackets are 2 to 8cm across and have irregularly wavy edges. The colours, which are zoned and generally paler towards the margin, darken with age and vary considerably with location, but yellow, orange and brown are most common. There is no stem.
	Spore-bearing surface The lower spore-bearing surface is smooth, without pores, and rather paler than the upper surface; it is less distinctly zoned. The flesh is 0.5 to 1mm thick.
Spores	White.
Odour/taste	No noticeable odour; tough, tasteless and inedible .
Habitat	On dead hardwood trees and fallen branches; occasionally on conifers.
Season	All through the year, but shedding spores in autumn.
Occurrence	Common.
Similar species	Stereum subtomentosum has an upper surface that is zoned in various shades of greyish-orange or greyish white. There is no stem, but the attachment region is usually much narrower than that of Stereum hirsutum.