polypore harvesting and preperation

[some like it cold]

Hi ive found what i believe to be birch polypore and horse hoof fungus while out on my travels

heres what i believe is polypore

and this the hoof fungus

so my question is on hte harvesting and procesing of them. I know john fenna uses polypore as an ember extender in his dragon breath kits and was wondering if anyone else uses them like this and do you just slice the whole thing up and put it somewhere to dry?

i also read somewhere (ive forgotten where now) that polypores dont last long on the tree so am i better collecting them all and drying them now or will they be there if i need to go back in a month, 2 months etc? I also have the same question about the hoof fungus collection

i know the horsehoof is supposed to be better tinder do many people use this and is there any preperation work or particular parts of the fungus to use?

sorry for all the questions a complete nebie in terms of fungus related matters

cheers adam

 

[Grooveski]

Birch polypore I believe die off in spring. Only basing that on having seen quite a few drying and curling up at that time of year though, I could be wrong.

Fomes fomentarius are perennials. Each of the bands mark a years growth. Left alone they'll keep growing until the host stump disintegrates. It's not unusual to see twenty year old or more examples.
Those ones look young.

 

[Adze]

I did some checking in my field guide and I'm not convinced by the ID of the second one - it seems too thin for Fomes Fomentarius and Fomes is usually more colourful than that and young ones are potato shaped not flat. If you cut a small section what colour are the pores when first cut? If they're not a reddish brown then it's not horses hoof.

Heterobasidion Annosum is a close match for colour and shape.

Worth getting it checked properly/expertly before investing lots of time and effort trying to get the amadou out of.

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

The first one is the Brich Polypore Piptoporus Betulinus they pretty much grow all year but do start to get old and woody at this time of year,

it's not what I would choose as an ember extender, you would be much better getting some Cramp Balls Daldinia Concentrica start checking out dead and dying ash trees and you will find loads, these will take a spark when dry and burn like charcoal, they can also be used to produce a "Smudge" fire to keep insects away as they produce a thick, really fragrant smoke.

only real uses for The Brich Polypore are you can cut a section, dry it out and use the underside as a knife strop (which is why you'll hear some folk call the the Razor strop fungus)
the other is for plasters by cutting out a strip of the underside and wrapping it around, the spores are also anti-septic as JonathanD shows nicely here - http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46751


But the second one is'nt Horses Hoof fungus fomes fomentarius one its just not the right shape and it's Very rare for it to grow in the more Southern UK, Scotland is where you need to be.

As for the processing of Horse Hoof, you use the 'Trama' layer of the fungus which is the layer just under the outer skin but above the spore tubes, it can be used just dried out as an ember extender but really excels when made into 'Amadou' which is made by pounding the Trama layer and boiling in a Lye (Alkali ie. Pot ash) solution.

 

[John Fenna]

I include Birch Polypore in the Dragons Breath Kits not as an ember extender (at which Cramp Balls are much better) but to actually take the ember to flame.
Sliced thinly the dried BPP, wrapped around a strong ember can easily be blown up to flame and then it burns as well as a candle! - see the instructions in my Dragons Breath sales pitch....

 

[John Fenna]

Horses hoof grows in West Wales, the Soft South as well as in the North.
In the Hard as Nails North it grows mainly on Birch but in the Effete South and Wet West Wales it grows mainly on Beech and Sycamore.....

As a certified Survival Instructor (I must be certified to accept the piece of paper that the cowboy outfit who made me an Instructor gave me!) I have verified these facts in the field on several occasions as well as learning them from hard practical practice over 30 years of being a proffessional outdoor dosser, sorry, Outdoor Skills Instructor, Expedition Leader, Fashion Designer and Bon Viveur...so I know it is true!

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

I include Birch Polypore in the Dragons Breath Kits not as an ember extender (at which Cramp Balls are much better) but to actually take the ember to flame.
Sliced thinly the dried BPP, wrapped around a strong ember can easily be blown up to flame and then it burns as well as a candle! - see the instructions in my Dragons Breath sales pitch....

That sounds good, will have to give that a go :You_Rock_

 

[John Fenna]

Matt - I love your sig line!

 

[MartinK9]

Matt - I love your sig line!

I think it is incendiary....


I'll get my coat..:sulkoff:

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

Matt - I love your sig line!

Haha, it amused me

That's Interesting about finding the Tinder fungus far South, it is a fungus that originates in the far north & colder environments such as Norway.

I have been told before by some very experienced people that you very rarely find it outside of Scotland in this country.

Even on this site -
http://data.gbif.org/species/143883...=-11&minMapLat=51&maxMapLong=9&maxMapLat=61&c[0].s=20&c[0].p=0&c[0].o=14388369

http://www.aie.org.uk/fungi_base/fomes/aie_fungi_fomes.html

but that was last updated in 2005 (I imagine Tinder fungus isn't top of their priorities.......wonder why)

a sign of the times maybe, climate change? adaptation? or just error in the first place?

 

[rancid badger]

Top one is birch polypore-agreed
second one looks nothing like the horses hoof we get round here
I only ever see horses hoof on willow, at least locally, never yet seen it on birch, anywhere.

New/fresh polypore have been sprouting all over the wood here, for the last few weeks, same as last year.

In my experience; polypore erupt and grow, around about this time of year, then towards the back end of the spring, begin to deteriorate. You can still find fairly good ones in the summer but they normally end up full of small maggots and beetles and eventually shrivel up, turn to powder inside, then collapse.

As far as prepping polypore for tinder goes; I gather them, cut them up into thin slices and let them dry. I've also dried the whole thing, then sliced it up, this just takes a bit longer.

polypore also makes a good smudge to keep insects at bay

R.B.

 

[John Fenna]

Well I have harvested HHF in Pembrokeshire for several years and know of examples as big as my head - so they must be fairly old...
In his book An Illustrated Guide to Mushroms and other Fungi of Britain and Northern Europe (snappy title!) first published 1992, G. Kirby mentions the South and Beech and Sycamore. Also mentioned in Survival Weaponary and Techniques March 1987 (page 43) with a picture of the fungus on Beech but does not mention Sycamore....so it has been known about for a while...

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

Must be the "Urban Legend" of Fungi

abit of trawling on the web has revealed quite a few conflicting sources.

I have found that there are quite a few Variations of Fomes..

especially Fomes fomentarius var. nigrescens

which has only been found in scotland, lines crossed I guess

Sorry gone abit off topic but I thought it was interesting......

Back to it.

1.) Brich PolyPore

2.) not Tinder fungus which has nothing to do with location just doesnt look like it

 

[some like it cold]

any ideas of uses for the second one if its not hoof fungus

 

[Humpback]

Athletes foot fungus?

(Horses hoof species harvested at Cannock Chase, West Midlands 2009)

The King Alfred's Cakes I collected and dried (or thought I had) went mouldy in the zip lock bag I stored them in. I will dry them longer next time and store in a breathable bag.

Alan

 

[some like it cold]

i cant find any king alfreds cakes grrrr they would be good in a tinder kit the second fungus has a very hard woody texture to it will post a photo of its cross section when i find the camera it may yet make good tinder

 

[Seoras]

Just wondered if the second one was an Artists fungus (Ganoderma applanatum). It has a slight look of a Ganoderma about it.

If it is the trama layer can still be used for firelighting and it makes an excellent drawing board.

 

[xylaria]

Just wondered if the second one was an Artists fungus (Ganoderma applanatum). It has a slight look of a Ganoderma about it.

If it is the trama layer can still be used for firelighting and it makes an excellent drawing board.

The bottom photo is diffenatly ganoderma. Ganodermas depost brown spores on the top of themselves when the temprature rises first thing in the morning.