Turkey Tail
Order: Polyporales
Family: Polyporaceae
Genus: Trametes
Species: T. versicolor
General Characteristics: The interior surface of each pore bears spores, and this arrangement allows for a very large spore-bearing surface area, which is equally effective at deploying vast numbers of spores as the gills found in many more familiar mushrooms. Turkey tail fruiting bodies are thin and pliable when fresh. The pores on the white or cream-colored undersides are fairly easy see. The upper surface, in addition to being nicely colored, is velvety. There is a somewhat similarly shaped banded fungus, Stereum ostrea, the false turkey tail, but its undersurface has no pores and it has a tougher, more leathery texture.
Special Adaptations: Turkey tails, on the other hand, are consummate generalists; they are found on more than 70 genera of hardwoods in the U.S. and occasionally attack conifers as well. The dead sapwood of most tree species has relatively little resistance to decay organisms, and turkey tails take advantage of this throughout the temperate zones of the world. Most of the time, the turkey tail decomposes dead wood, using enzymes to deconstruct cell walls.
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