365 Urban Species. #076: Turkey Tail

[urbpan]

Urban species #076: Turkey Tail Trametes versicolor

While split gill may have a claim on being the most widespread mushroom on earth, I'd lay money that turkey tail is the mushroom that more people have encountered. Any stump in the city, suburbs or elsewhere is likely to sprout them. This wood-digesting fungus is not especially particular to what species of tree the wood is from, and can appear almost any time of year, as long as it's above freezing. When the mushrooms do appear, there are dozens, sometimes hundreds of individual caps. At first they are chocolate brown with a white margin, but as they age they develop their characteristic bands of different colors. Different individual Trametes versicolor fungi will produce mushrooms with different colors, depending on it's genetics and environment. Older turkey tails in wet places are often colonized by green algae.

The leathery turkey tail mushrooms persist more or less year-round. They are thin, so they do tend to be worn and damaged from footsteps and other injuries when older. False turkey-tail is a look-alike covered here earlier, but is noticeably more orange, at least when fresh.








Fresh turkey tails.


Older turkey tails, colonized by green algae.

Comments

[anais2.livejournal.com]

I love having names for things I've seen all my life! Thanks!

It's so much better than referring to all of them as just a "cool fungus".

[vampyrusgirl.livejournal.com]

There's one of these kinds of fungus that my husband and I have a (very) stupid joke about - we call them 'land clams' (b/c they kind of look like clams) and pretend that they're vicious and that we're afraid of them.




hey, I warned you it was stupid!! :)

[anais2.livejournal.com]

Well, at least I'm not alone!

[bezigebij.livejournal.com]

Not such a crazy name "land clams" if you ask me. My first glance at the top picture left me thinking "Are those oysters?". Only when I looked closer and started reading could I place the image.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Geez, all of you land-bivalve officionadoes are going to be confused (or delighted?) when I do Oyster mushrooms Pleurotus sp.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

ahem.

"aficionados"

A little early for the big words.

[vampyrusgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's more the look of fear and doom that we fake that is the stupid part. :) Kind of like land shark.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

hee hee hee!

[bezigebij.livejournal.com]

I'm really enjoying this 365 species documentation. Thanks.
The top photo is also particularly nice because you can see the context so well. The blurred houses in the background are so distinguishably suburban New England.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thank You!

cottonmanifesto and I usually take these pictures in a city park, so the urban context is not always obvious (we have a really nice city park).

Some posts look more urban than others: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/224185.html

[barbmg.livejournal.com]

I love that first photo a ton. The composition and colors are just great.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

The perpetual dusk of March in Boston.

[sheridankm.livejournal.com]

I just want to say that I found your Livejournal a few minutes ago and it makes me incredibly happy. I love walking through Boston, especially along the river, and looking for what bits of nature manage to cling on to life in the city, so it's wonderful to have this guide. Your pictures are lovely. I'd like to add you to my friends/reading list, if you don't mind.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kind words!

Happy to add you back (keep in mind, my friends locked posts include me complaining, putting down everyone's favorite movies, and taking quizzes to see what kind of muppet I am or whatever--but I put that kind of crap behind lj-cuts.)

:)

[sheridankm.livejournal.com]

Livejournal was created for kvetching, so by all means, bring it on. Pleased to meet you, then.

[barn-swallow.livejournal.com]

Let's see if I can get my comment to work this time...

cottonmanifesto says that's what I have in this picture:

(There's a bit bigger picture here.)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I agree. Very lovely!