While on a hike in Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, I noticed a fair number of these white organisms.

Looking at its Latin Name, Trametes suaveolens, Trametes means “one who is thin,” while suaveolens means “sweet-smelling” in reference to the anise scent of fresh specimens.

It is found mainly on living or dead broad-leaved trees – usually Poplar and Willow. This fungi is known as a polypore; a type that forms fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside.

Most polypores inhabit tree trunks or branches while consuming the wood. They play a very significant role in nutrient cycling and carbon dioxide production of forest ecosystems.

Bracket Fungus is also known as Shelf Fungus, because they produce shelf- or bracket-shaped fruiting bodies called conks. Most of the fungus is hidden from view within the body of the tree and it consists of an extensive network of filamentous threads.

Seeing these fungi on an otherwise dreary day added some brightness to the woodland environment where they reside.

Third Eye Herp
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