On beech. 15 October 2014 Hampshire. Photograph copyright Leif Goodwin. Common Name Hoof Fungus, Tinder Fungus Fruiting Body Broadly attached to the substrate, hoof shaped, upper surface layered, grey, underside brown, to about 25 cm wide Flesh Tough, pale brown Smell Fruity, faint Taste Acrid Season All year Distribution Common Habitat Parasitic on living deciduous trees Spore Print Yellow Microscopic Features Spores ellipsoidal, smooth (15-20) x (5-7) µm2 Edibility Inedible Notes Traditionally the fungus is used as tinder to start a fire. The Ice Man, a 5,000 year old corpse found preserved in snow in the Alps had on his person a prehistoric fire making kit, consisting of flint, iron pyrites, and strands of tinder fungus. He would have struck the pyrites against the flint to generate sparks in order to ignite the tinder fungus. |