Dyer's Bracket Mushroom

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Dyer's Bracket is the common name given to the mushroom, Phaeolus schweinitzii.

It is a thick mushroom with a soft fuzzy texture on the top and pores on the bottom. It grows on both the ground (on the root system) and as brackets on the trunk of the tree.

The mushroom in the picture measured approximately nine inches in diameter. They are easy to spot walking through coniforous forests.

Dyer's bracket comes in a variety of colors that can be used for dying yarn.

Trees spotted with dyer's bracket need to be monitored. The mushroom is a natural wood decayer, eating away at the roots or trunk, eventually killing the tree or making it easier for the tree to be felled by wind.

© 2007 Patricia A. Michaels