Bracket fungi

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Bracket fungi grow horizontally out of the trunk of a tree, rather than vertically out of the ground, and generally feed off the tree they are growing on, hastening its decay and sometimes causing its death. Some only attack one particular type of tree, such as the birch polypore, or a narrow range of trees, such as the silver-leaf fungus that attacks plum and other fruit trees.

Most are inedible because they are too tough, but there are a few exceptions, and notably the oyster mushroom, which grows on recently dead wood. It is also exceptional in that it has gills on its underside, whereas most bracket fungi have a sponge-like arrangement of tiny pores. Beefsteak fungus is edible too, but is not to everyone's taste. It's so called because it looks like a raw steak, not because it tastes like one!

Bracket fungi can reach a very large size, given time to grow, and dryads saddle is one of the largest, growing up to 60 cm across. The sulphur polypore is another large fungus.