posted 5 years ago
I've got a ton of what I think must be Trametes gibbosa or elegans (a.k.a. Lumpy Bracket, Lenzites elegans, Daedalea elegans) growing on all my felled sweetgum logs. It starts out looking like a lump of rubbery grey chewing gum, then grows into a shelf bracket with lumps close to where it affixes itself to the tree. It's white and sometimes greyish, slightly yellowing when the pores are rubbed when fresh, has a white spore print, very large spores, and that slot-like look to the pores on the underside. I read that it's European in origin and has been identified as a possible invasive in North America.
If somebody wants to see it, I'll post some photos, but mainly I'm wondering: for those who have identified this polypore, have you found any decent uses for it as tea or extracts? I've read several scientific studies online that show T. gibbosa is far less potent than T. versicolor or T. hirsuta, but is it completely worthless medicinally? One foraging site said it's inedible (too woody, bitter). But it seems to be calling to me to ingest it somehow. Of course, I am suspicious of such siren songs....
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