B. BRACKET-FUNGI AND THEIR RELATIVES

Key to major genera

A group of fungi which includes the bracket fungi, hedgehog fungi, fairy-clubs and their relatives; in the majority of species the margin continues to grow through the favourable part of the season and so often envelopes leaves, grass, etc.

1. Spore-bearing layer (hymenium) quite smooth, spread over veins or shallow pores; fruit-body top-shaped, fan-shaped or club-shaped, or spread over the substrate (resupinate) [2]
Spore-bearing layer lining the inner surface of tubes or borne on warts or spines [17]
2. Fruit-body club-shaped, coral-shaped or distinctly funnel-shaped, fan-like or resembling an agaric [3]
Fruit-body resupinate or with poorly developed cap [11]
3. Fruit-body coral-like or club-shaped with clubs grouped or branched [4]
Fruit-body resembling an agaric or funnel-shaped to fan-shaped [9]
4. Fruit-body large, branched with flattened and curled lobes and so resembling a cauliflower Sparassis
Fruit-body of single or grouped clubs or if branched then not resembling a cauliflower, the lobes being cylindrical or only slightly flattened and hardly bent [5]
5. Fruit-body small arising from a seed-like structure or growing attached to dead herbaceous plant remains [6]
Fruit-body medium to large, simple or branched and usually growing on the ground; one large species grows on wood [7]
6. Fruit-body arising from a seed-like body embedded in the plant-tissue or found loose in the soil Typhula
Fruit-body on dead plant-remains but seed-like structure absent Pistillaria
7. Fruit-body much branched; spores ornamented (see also [Thelephora] below) Ramaria
Fruit-body simple or if with well-developed branches then spores smooth [8]
8. Fruit-body branched irregularly with many to few branches, grey, white or drab-coloured; spores large, subglobose and smooth Clavulina
Fruit-body club-shaped or if branched then brightly coloured and spores not large and subglobose Clavaria, Clavulinopsis & Clavariadelphus
9. Fruit-body resembling an agaric with spores borne on fold-like, often forked and shallow ridges and veins, and often brightly coloured Cantharellus (compare carefully with [Craterellus] below)
Fruit-body funnel-shaped or fan-shaped [10]
10. Fruit-body often drab colour or greyed with smooth or slightly veined outer surface Craterellus
Fruit-body wrinkled, irregular or smooth and powdery, lilaceous to chocolate-brown in colour Thelephora
11. Fruit-body sessile or resupinate and fleshy; spores borne on veins united to form shallow pores [12]
Fruit-body resupinate or bracket-like, and spore-surface veined or rugulose but lacking distinct pores [13]
12. Spores colourless Merulius
Spores brown Serpula
13. Spore-bearing layer containing long, brown spines Hymenochaete
Fruit-body lacking spines although often having encrusted sterile cells [14]
14. Surface of fruit-body more or less radiately veined Phlebia
Surface of fruit-body not radiately veined [15]
15. Spores brown Coniophora
Spores colourless [16]
16. Flesh distinctly formed and fruit-body with or without a well formed cap Stereum & related genera
Flesh poorly differentiated and fruit-body lacking a cap members of the Corticiaceae (including Peniophora & Hyphodontia [p. 176])
17. Spores borne on teeth or spines [18]
Spore-bearing layer lining tubes or elongate pores [22]
18. Fruit-body with central stem; agaric-like but not attached to cones [19]
Fruit-body encrusting or bracket-like, or with lateral stem if resembling an agaric [20]
19. Fruit-body fleshy Hydnum and related genera
Fruit-body rubbery or tough Hydnellum and related genera
20. Fruit-body growing attached to cones and cap with lateral stem Auriscalpium
Fruit-body not on cones and distinct stem lacking [21]
21. Spores borne on a series of radially arranged knotches resembling gills Lentinellus
Spores borne on a resupinate layer of spines Mycoacia and related genera
22. Tubes free one from another Fistulina
Tubes united to form a distinct tissue [23]
23. Fruit-body perennial and exhibiting more than one layer of tubes [24]
Fruit-body annual although the fruit-body can persist in a dried depauperate form for several months [27]
24. Spores brown [25]
Spores colourless [26]
25. Large, brown, sterile cells present in the tubes; spores simple Phellinus & Cryptoderma
Brown, sterile cells absent from tubes; spores complex Ganoderma
26. Large woody fruit-body with crust-like top Fomes
Medium sized to small, fleshy-tough fruit-body with downy or crust-like top Oxyporus, Fomitopsis & Heterobasidion
27. Spores borne in labyrinth-like or elongate pores, or cap either poorly developed or absent, and only resupinate pore-surface present [28]
Spores borne in distinct pores on well-developed woody fruit-bodies [31]
28. Spores borne in labyrinth-like pores Daedalea & Daedaleopsis
Spores borne in elongate pores like very thick gills, or fruit-body completely resupinate [29]
29. Spore-layer lining elongate pores Lenzites (white) & Gloeophyllum (brown)
Spore-layer consisting of a resupinate pore-layer [30]
30. Pore-layer totally resupinate; flesh very poorly developed Fibuloporia and related genera
Fruit-body resupinate or developing ill-formed caps at the margin; flesh well-developed and quite tough Datronia, Gloeoporus & Bjerkandera
31. Fruit-body with a distinct stem [32]
Fruit-body sessile or with a poorly developed stem, or if merely with a basal swelling then pores bruising [33]
32. Pores dark-coloured but spores pale-coloured in mass Coltricia (also see [Phaeolus] below)
Pores white or creamy, foot often darkened or black, and spores hyaline Polyporus
33. Pores brightly coloured, red, lilaceous or orange to apricot-colour [34]
Pores never as brightly coloured, cream, white, grey or in some shade of brown [35]
34. Pores red to orange-red Pycnoporus
Pores lilac to violaceous, or lilaceous orange to apricot colour Hapalopilus (orange-apricot) & Hirschioporus (lilaceous)
35. Pore-surface brown or dark grey and spores often colourless [36]
Pore-surface white or creamy, or yellow; spores hyaline [38]
36. Pore-surface firm and grey Bjerkandera
Pore-surface greenish yellow, bruising brown or yellow-brown and darkening with age [37]
37. Fruit-body lacking a stem, rust-brown, breaking easily, cheesy and with silky sheen Inonotus
Fruit-body with a broad basal hump, fibrillose spongy with yellow margin to cap Phaeolus
38. Tubes forming a layer quite distinct from the flesh; fruit-body fleshy and tough [39]
Tubes not forming a layer distinct from the flesh; fruit-body woody or corky [43]
39. Pore-surface bright yellow; upper surface yellow or orange Laetiporus
Pore-surface white [40]
40. Fruit-body medium to large, shell-shaped, whitish brown or silvery grey on top; on birch Piptoporus
Fruit-body often frond-like, infrequently shell-shaped and if on birch then small [41]
41. Fruit-body fan- or frond-shaped, composed of innumerable more or less complete caps joined together at their base or to half-way Grifola & Meripilus
Fruit-body neither fan-shaped nor frond-shaped and compound [42]
42. Fruit-body wholly pale-coloured white, cream, ivory, etc. Tyromyces
Fruit-body except pores usually some shade of brown Polyporus
43. Cap thick, corky or woody and pores medium or large Trametes & Pseudotrametes
Cap thin but leathery and pores small Coriolus