A rare, protected bracket of ancient oaks. Woody, inedible, and should be left alone.
Side by side
Fomitopsis betulina
Piptoporus quercinus
In this game
Inedible / unclear
Inedible / unclear
Habitat
Only on birch, living or dead; often the whole tree carries them.
Ancient oaks only, in old parkland and wood pasture — one of the rarest fungi in this game.
Season
Annual, persisting through winter.
Summer to autumn.
Spore print
White.
White.
This comparison cannot make a mushroom safe to eat. It sets out the few characteristics this game records, in general terms, for two species that vary by region, age and growing conditions. Real specimens overlap in ways no table and no photograph can separate, and the deadly one here is deadly in a single meal. Ask a qualified local expert, every time.