the stump with Artist's Bracket fungi - a four year series

this is my contribution to #FungiFriday by Hive account@ewkaw

i have several areas locally where i frequently go for walks looking for mushrooms. for the most part i never know what i will find as the fungi are constantly changing. but there are a few spots with perennial bracket fungi that i pass several times a year so i can observe their progress. among the most interesting is a stump covered in artist's bracket Ganoderma applanatum. this series of photos starts in September 2022 and ends in May 2025. when i visited the area again later in the summer the stump had decomposed to the extent that the fungi had fallen off

in dry weather the artist's bracket is a dull brown with a clearly visible white edge. but when wet it becomes dark and shiny

the shelf like form of the upper bracket has protected parts of the ones below it from the rain so the dry parts have remained that typical dull brown

the underside is where the fungi get's it's common name. the smooth white pore surface can be used for drawing. a scratch quickly turns brown so it is simple and fun to make designs on them. the above shots were all taken in 2022

this photo of the entire stump is from February 2023. it is the only photo in this series that i have previously posted and have included it for the sake of continuity and to show the growth over the time period

here is the same stump in November 2024

they have all grown considerably and the largest bracket on the bottom has become huge. and what was once a clearly visible white edge has become a dull brown much like the rest of the bracket. i think that dull outer section is the annual growth

my hand from thumb to little finger is about 20 cm so the bottom bracket is at least 70 and probably closer to 75 cm long. i don't think they grow much bigger than that. again this is from November 2024

in this last shot from May 2025 the fungi are again shiny from being wet and the outer section has become slightly wider but without aa newly formed white edge they look old. and sure enough when i returned in the summer the brackets had fallen off the stump. i had become accustomed to looking forward to seeing how they were getting along and observing the changes and growth so i was a little sad to see them falling apart on the ground. at the time i didn't feel like taking a photo of their demise but now wished i had to complete the story