Robust Bracket
Fomitiporia robusta
The Robust Bracket is a perennial fungus; it grows a new layer of spore-producing tubes every year, which can be counted like tree rings to determine its age.
- Scientific name
- Fomitiporia robusta
- Taxonomy
- Fungi › Basidiomycota › Agaricomycetes › Hymenochaetales › Hymenochaetaceae › Fomitiporia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous woodlands, specifically growing on the trunks of living or dead hardwood trees, with a strong preference for Oak (Quercus).
- Diet
- Saprotrophic and parasitic; it feeds on lignin and cellulose, causing a slow white rot within its host tree.
- Range
- Europe, North America, North Africa, Western Asia
- Size
- 10 to 30 cm wide and up to 20 cm thick.
- Lifespan
- 15-25 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Intensive forest management, removal of old-growth 'habitat' trees, and loss of ancient oak woodlands.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch. This fungus is extremely hard and woody, making it entirely inedible. It is best left undisturbed on the tree to serve its ecological role as a decomposer and habitat provider.
Photo: Peter de Lange, CC0, via iNaturalist
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