Umbrella Polypore

Polyporus umbellatus

Root collars of oak, hornbeam, linden, maple and other deciduous trees. Summer, autumn.

A many-capped, annual mushroom, very large, massive. Fruiting bodies grow up to 50 cm across. The fruiting body consists of a multitude, up to 100 and more, of branched, well-developed white stalks, each topped by a small umbrella-like cap 1-4 cm across, whitish, ochre, yellowish, pale or greyish-brown, fibrous. Tubes white, very short. Flesh firm, white, cream, with a pleasant smell and taste. Characteristic features: very similar to Hen of the Woods, differing in smaller caps, flesh that is not bitter and larger spores. The sclerotium from which this mushroom grows is perennial, so the Umbrella Polypore grows in the same place for many years. Found rarely, but more common than Hen of the Woods. Protected. Edible, tasty.