Hairy Curtain Crust vs Turkey Tail
Stereum hirsutum and Trametes versicolor are confused for one another often enough to be worth putting next to each other.
Thin orange-yellow crusts on dead branches — no flesh worth speaking of.
Beautiful concentric bands, but thin and leathery. Used for tea and extracts, never as food.
Side by side
| Stereum hirsutum | Trametes versicolor | |
|---|---|---|
| In this game | Inedible / unclear | Inedible / unclear |
| Habitat | Dead broadleaf wood, especially oak and beech, in crusts and small brackets. | Overlapping tiers on dead broadleaf wood, stumps and fallen branches. |
| Season | All year. | All year, fresh growth in 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.
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Stereum hirsutum is also confused with Silverleaf Fungus.
Trametes versicolor is also confused with Smoky Bracket and Cinnabar Bracket.
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