Phellinus nigricans

Phellinus nigricans (Fr.) P. Karst. (illustrated 45% life size) Bracket 4–14cm×2–9cm across, 2–6cm thick at base, semicircular to elongated, triangular in section, no stem; zones of whitish, grey, or light cinnamon and concentrically grooved black zones; distinct crust, except on the margin, old parts deeply cracked, base often mossy. Tubes up to 5cm deep in layers; cinnamon to rusty brown, or filled with white mycelium in old parts. Pores 5–6 per mm, round; cinnamon to deep rusty brown or grey when weathered. Flesh rusty brown; up to 10mm thick, dense. Spores 6–7×5.5–6.5¼, globose to subglobose, smooth; nonamyloid. Habitat on living and dead birch. Rare in Europe, better known in Scandinavia; perennial. Not edible.