Tyromyces chioneus?

[mushroom mike]

Hello,
I wonder if anyone can shed some light on this for me. The closest I can get is Tyromyces chioneus. Details below:
1. Found on the West Wales coastal path, trackside.
2. On dying branch of what appears to be Crataegus monogyna.
3. Cap : Resupinate, white lumpy, inrolled to 4mm wide, uneven margin,inrolled. spongy almost Styrofoam context which is 13mm thick.
4. Pores : White/cream, isodiametric. 4 per mm
5. Tubes : 1mm x 0.5mm
6. Smell : None.
7. Spores : No spores released.

[Steve]

It could well be Mike, but without spores it's not an easy call as there are a few white Postia -types.
We found a very similar one at Longshaw on Thursday, on pine. That one produced no spores overnight, so I left it in a damp container on top of a slide for 3 days. It produced an excellent spore deposit, and the spores weren't germinating. It was Postia stiptica (Oligoporus stipticus) confirmed by a reluctant taste (it has made me ill in the past).

I also collected a resupinate poroid which I mixed up with a white crust, so I needed to re-check the spores. But I had dried it at 40 deg C for 12 hours! However, I revived the dried specimen, covered it with a wadge of wet tissue in a damp box, and got a good deposit of spores overnight. It turned out to be a resupinate form of Trichaptum abietinum which had no purple colour at all. So it might be worth having another go at getting spores from your bracket. Other microscopy on such brackets is tricky (for me).

From "Poroid Fungi of Europe" by Ryvarden and Melo for T. chioneus:
Crataegus is OK
Cap shape not too diagnostic
Pores angular to circular, 3-4 (5) per mm, surface white to pale cream
Tubes to 8 mm
Slight aromatic scent
So it could fit yours.

Oligoporus tephroleucus is rather similar, but the spores are just slightly different.
Oligoporus stipticus is bitter tasting and can be found on a variety of substrates.

Cheers,
Steve

NB I bought the Poroid book hoping it would make things easy!
NB I am no expert on brackets, just a fellow-learner

[mushroom mike]

Hi Steve, Thanks for the information.I will return to the site to get another sample after my holidays and try the damp container technique. I once tried wrapping a specimen in damp paper overnight but without success.I have the Poroid fungi of Europe by L.Ryvarden & Melo which set me on the path to T.chioneus but as you say no spores, no I.d. Cracking book but the key does ask for spores to progress so obviously a very defining feature. I must say how impressed I am with all of your resupinate posts, your a real expert as far as im concerned, way beyond my meagre attempts.
Thanks again,
All the best,
Mike.