Trametes versicolor (L.) Pilát - Turkeytail

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Polyporales

Turkeytail (also known as the Many-Zoned Polypore), Trametes versicolor can be found all through the year, but it is most abundant in winter. This very variable fungus grows mainly on dead hardwood.

Trametes versicolor is tough and inedible but it makes attractive table decorations.

A synonym commonly seen in older reference books is Coriolus versicolor.

Identification Guide

	The wide range of colour variations of this attractive and durable fungus have given it many uses; at one time it was even used as a hat decoration. You may also see references to this species as Coriolus versicolor or as Polyporus versicolor. (At one time a great many of the bracket fungi were grouped under the genus Polyporus.)
	Size Caps can be up to 10cm in diameter, and they frequently overlap in layers to form much larger compound fruiting masses. These brackets are 1 to 3mm thick.
	Description While the upper surface comprises concentric zones of red, yellow, green, blue, brown, black and white, the underside, which is covered in tiny shallow pores, is white or cream. The pores do not stain when bruised. The range of colours from one sample to another of this fungus is tremendous.
	Spores Curved cylindrical (sausage-like!), smooth, 4-6 x 1.5-2.5µm; inamyloid. Spore print White.
Odour/taste	No distinctive smell or taste.
Habitat	This thin, leathery fungus attacks dead wood, fallen or standing. It is most commonly found on hardwoods such as beech and oak.
Season	These annual bracket fungi can be found all the year round, but are at their best in autumn and winter, which is when they release their spores.
Occurrence	Frequent.
Similar species	Trametes suaveolens is a much paler bracket and does not usually grow in overlapping tiers.

Reference Sources

Fascinated by Fungi, Pat O'Reilly 2011

Dictionary of the Fungi; Paul M. Kirk, Paul F. Cannon, David W. Minter and J. A. Stalpers; CABI, 2008

Taxonomic history and synonym information on these pages is drawn from many sources but in particular from the British Mycological Society's GB Checklist of Fungi and (for basidiomycetes) on Kew's Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota.