Question: My daughter picked this off of a tree in a wooded area of our backyard in Westford, MA. The front …
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Question
My daughter picked this off of a tree in a wooded area of our backyard in Westford, MA. The front is such a pretty variagated green and the back I don't know how to describe except to say that it isn't flat and looks like it would be soft to touch with many little growths! Mushroom or fern-like or what exactly? !
Answer
twexler, you've photographed a polypore fungus. The underside (where the pores are) has deteriorated a bit, so it now looks more like soft spines or teeth than pores (which is usual for this species). It looks most like an aged Trichaptum biforme (violet-spored polypore), who has lost its purple coloration (it only demonstrates this when fresh, not in age). Best wishes.
