birch polypore

Fomitopsis betulina (Bull.) B.K.Cui, M.L.Han & Y.C.Dai

Also called: Brown Cubical Rot of Birch

Safety first

Many edible mushrooms have toxic lookalikes, and some of those can be fatal. Have any mushroom identified in person by a local expert before you eat it.

If someone may have eaten a wild mushroom, call US Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911 right away. In Canada, call your provincial poison centre or 911.

Edibility

Inedible Source: Wikipedia: Fomitopsis betulina

Classification from Wikipedia: Fomitopsis betulina. Sources can be wrong or incomplete, and people react differently.

Never eat a wild mushroom based on this site or any app.

Photos

Photo: aberkov. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Dominique Menard. CC-BY. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Aidan Hamilton. CC0. Source (inaturalist)
Photo: Aidan Hamilton. CC0. Source (inaturalist)

Lookalikes

No lookalikes are recorded for this species yet. That does not mean there are none. Many mushrooms look alike, so never rely on appearance alone.

Season

When this species has been recorded, by month, from open-licensed US and Canada observations. It shows when people report it, not a guarantee it is fruiting.

The highlighted bar is the current month.

View season data as a table

Recorded observations of birch polypore by month
Month	Records
January	117
February	102
March	180
April	332
May	257
June	179
July	205
August	453
September	762
October	676
November	272
December	154

Where it is found

States and provinces with the most records. Check the foraging rules for the place you plan to visit.

Ontario 420 records · Foraging rules
Massachusetts 304 records · Foraging rules
New York 258 records · Foraging rules
Quebec 231 records · Foraging rules
Pennsylvania 221 records · Foraging rules
Minnesota 162 records · Foraging rules
Nova Scotia 159 records · Foraging rules
Wisconsin 154 records · Foraging rules
Vermont 152 records · Foraging rules
New Hampshire 146 records · Foraging rules
Prince Edward Island 135 records · Foraging rules
Michigan 135 records · Foraging rules
Maine 125 records · Foraging rules
New Jersey 100 records · Foraging rules
British Columbia 91 records · Foraging rules

Show 25 more

New Brunswick84 records
Connecticut82 records
Alaska65 records
Manitoba58 records
Ohio42 records
Virginia29 records
Alberta20 records
West Virginia19 records
Rhode Island19 records
Indiana16 records
North Carolina14 records
Maryland13 records
Washington11 records
Illinois11 records
Newfoundland and Labrador10 records
Saskatchewan8 records
Montana7 records
Tennessee5 records
Yukon3 records
Iowa3 records
Georgia3 records
District of Columbia2 records
Northwest Territories2 records
Idaho1 records
Kansas1 records

All state and province foraging laws

Identification traits

Underside (gills, pores or teeth)	pores
Ecology	parasitic
Spore print color	white

Traits vary. Use them to ask better questions of an expert, not to make a final call.

About

Fomitopsis betulina (previously Piptoporus betulinus), commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the original article.

More in the genus Fomitopsis

Never eat a wild mushroom based on this site or any app. See safety basics and the disclaimer.