Community find

Oak Bracket / Maze Polypore

Daedalea quercina

Group

polypore

Season

Perennial, though it produces new spores mainly in the summer and autumn. The fruiting bodies can persist for several years.

Habitat

Typically grows on dead wood or stumps of deciduous trees, specifically favoring oak (Quercus species). It is often found in woodlands and parks.

Key characteristics

Thick, corky, fan-shaped or semicircular brackets. The upper surface is grayish to ochre-brown, often zoned and finely hairy when young. The underside features a distinctive labyrinth-like or maze-like pore surface (daedaleoid), which is creamy to brownish. It is tough and woody in texture.

Look-alikes

Trametes betulina (Gilled Polypore) which has clearer gill-like structures rather than a maze; Daedaleopsis confragosa (Thin-walled Maze Polypore) which has thinner brackets and often turns reddish when bruised.

Ecological role

Saprophytic fungus that causes brown rot in the heartwood of hardwood trees, breaking down cellulose and leaving behind lignin which contributes to soil health and forest structure.