Giant Polypore

The Giant Polypore is a common bracket fungus that can grow rather large. I stumbled across one in the UEA forest which was easily 2ft across!

It is not known to be particularly tasty and is often confused with the more palatable Hen of the Woods bracket, which looks rather similar. However, I would be curious to harvest a little and try a few different recipes.. There is a lot of it after all!

They often grow at the foot of large trees, commonly the beech tree, and can digest the cellulose and lignin in the cells, causing potential weaknesses in the structure and stability of the tree.

Regards,

Elleni - East African Student Ambassador