Tinder Fungus? Identification Please & Tips

[Chambers]

Not sure if this should or elsewhere but hoping someone can help.

I cam across a lovely dead silver birch yesterday, bark a little holey and broken but pick it up and the centre falls out leaving me with lots of flakey bark. Nice.

Anyway, on one of the live silver birches near by I found this growing and was wondering if its tinder fungus?

If so can someone tell me what I need to do to it to make it usable? Last thing, is is poisonous, dont fancy handling it to make fires and then cook food if its gonna kill me lol

Sorry for the poor pics

 

[xylaria]

it is birch polypore.

You can't make amadou with it, and isn't edible, but there is a long list of of what you can do with it. Use the search box on here and you know what I mean, you will find out more than I remember.

 

[addo]

What she said It will hold and extend an ember though, but hard to ignite from dull sparks.

Other common name is Razer strop.

 

[Silverhill]

I came across some polypore the other week when I was down in the Forest of Dean. I took a couple of decent bits for drying fishing flies as it's tremendously absorbent when it's damp.

 

[qweeg500]

Here's some tinder fungus I saw in Scotland last week.

 

[Miyagi]

Qweeg500

Well done!!!

Those look like horse hoof fungi or the devil's toenail as its also called.

I hope you collected some.

Liam

p.s.

if they have many different coloured layers when seen close up then they could be many zoned polypore but I think they're hoof.

 

[Chambers]

Thanks guys, in that case for the moment I will leave it (cant see it going anywhere)

 

[Miyagi]

Thanks guys, in that case for the moment I will leave it (cant see it going anywhere)

I only know birch polypore (birch omelettes I call them as that's how I recognise them), many zoned polypoyre and horse's hoof in a bushcraft sense.

The only other fungi I know (including Quorn) used to be delivered when I was a Chef, without the packaging I'd probably not recognise them in the cuds to be honest.

Liam

 

[JonathanD]

If you are a good artist then birch polypore is great for drawing pictures onto and then kept dried and varnished. The underside turns brown as you draw with a blunt sick. You can get amazing results if you have that talent.

And you never find anything like this by me...

 

[Miyagi]

JD, earlier on in March this year I harvested some birch omelettes - just a few wee ones - from Craigie Hill Woods, Dalmeny near me.

Some of them were as big as dinner plates, I've never seen the likes before and had no idea artists could use them!!!

I'm not much of an artist these days to be fair, but I keep my hand in as I draw the dole at the moment...

Liam

 

[JonathanD]

JD, earlier on in March this year I harvested some birch omelettes - just a few wee ones - from Craigie Hill Woods, Dalmeny near me.

Some of them were as big as dinner plates, I've never seen the likes before and had no idea artists could use them!!!

I'm not much of an artist these days to be fair, but I keep my hand in as I draw the dole at the moment...

Liam

You can make great impressions on it too, like braken, veiny leaves as well as other objects. You should give it a go. Wrong time of year of course, but come the Autumn. I know someone who sold one for £25 on Ebay. Maybe a career in crazy polypore drawings right there