Inonotus cuticularis (Bull.) P. Karst. (illustrated 30% life size) Bracket 5–20cm×3–10cm across, 0.5–2.5cm thick, single or in overlapping tiers; zoned, apricot at first then rusty, finally umber or tobacco-coloured; soft and fleshy when young, later becoming corky and fibrous, upper surface velvety, becoming smooth. Flesh rusty brown; fibrous. Tubes 3–10mm long; rusty. Pores 2–4 per mm, circular at first, becoming irregular; initially yellow-brown then rusty or cinnamon, glancing in the light. Spores 5.5–8×4–6¼, ovate-elliptical; brown. Hyphal structure dimitic; generative hyphae without clamp connections. Setae in tubes fusiform, with acute apex projecting beyond the basidia, dark brown; similar seta-like structures are found on the cap surface but these are branched, anchor-shaped, and dark brown. Habitat on deciduous trees, especially oak and beech; autumn. Occasional. Not edible.
