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Hexagonal-pored polypore Polyporus alveolaris
Before we moved I didn't see this mushroom very often. When I did find it, usually on a nicely portable stick, I would bring the whole thing home and let it dry. It dries very nicely and makes for a good biofact in those mushroom classes in drought years when fresh mushrooms are hard to come by. This past year I've been finding it frequently, and I just learned why.
Polyporus alveolaris can grow on nearly any hardwood, but according to one source "is very common on shagbark hickory." The largest tree in my front yard happens to be a shagbark hickory, and it regularly drops twigs bearing hex-pore mushrooms. This mushroom is a close relative of dryad's saddle, and is likewise edible to those who like a tough leathery mushroom to chew on. Dryad's saddle is much larger, and rots away into a black maggoty mess, while hex-pore fits in the palm of the hand, but the large angular pores are similar in both species.
Hex-pore grows solitarily or in little groups.
The cap is cream to orange in color, the pores are decurrent down the stipe.
