Description
Fruit-body perennial, fan- to console-shaped, usually with additional caps beside each other or stacked, 10-20 x 6-20 cm, to 10 cm thick. Upper surface tuberous-wavy, smooth, matt, when young fine velvety, cream to light ochre-coloured, later bald and brown to almost black, the centre often covered by green algae, with an irregular waved and notched, sharp cream to orange-brown growing zone.
Tubes up to 6 mm long, cream. Pores 3-5 per mm, round to angular, cream, when dry with a reddish lilac shade and when bruised turning lilac-brown, with a sterile rim zone. Flesh corky tough, cream. Smell unpleasant.
Spore-print colour white.
Occurrence
At the base and on trunks of live deciduous trees (Ash, Hornbeam, Plane, Robinia).
Parasitic.