Oak Bracket

Phellinus robustus

Deciduous forests, oak woods, parks. Spring, summer, autumn (winter).

Fungi perennial, large, 5–30 cm across, up to 10 cm thick. Fruiting bodies hoof-shaped, firmly attached to the tree by the side. Surface of young fruiting bodies smooth, later rough, knobbly, zoned, greyish, yellowish, chestnut-coloured, blackish-brown. Pores round, very small, yellowish-brown, ochre. Flesh hard, woody, yellowish-brown. Grows on trunks of living oaks, rarely on snags and stumps, very rarely on other deciduous trees. A harmful parasite, causing a yellowish white rot of the wood. More common in old-growth forests and parks.