There is an oak snag on the hillside that has these interesting mushrooms cascading down the side that appear to have been crafted by forest gnomes—they resemble the pointy hats that they wear. Underneath each one is a maze that is the entrance into their mysterious world if you know how to solve it.
In Mushrooms Demystified, David Arora calls it Thick-Walled Maze Polypore, Daedalea quercia. According to iNaturalist, this species was transferred to the genus Fomitopsis in 2024. It also has the common name Oak Mazegill.
Under habitat in Mushrooms Demystified, David writes, “Solitary or sometimes in shelving groups on dead or living hardwoods, especially oak, chestnut, and chinquapin; widely distributed, but especially common in Eastern North America. I have seen it in Northern California and Oregon, but have yet to find it in our area. It causes a brown heart rot, and the tough fruiting bodies occur year-round.”
Mushrooms can be tricky to identify, for me. I haven’t really spent that much time identifying them and getting to know them. I do find them beautiful and fascinating and they always attract my attention this time of year. After all, the mushroom festival at the arboretum is this month. In Mushrooms Demystified, David writes, “Pores usually greatly elongated and pocket- or mazelike, sometimes even forming gills; whitish to buff, tan, or dull ochre; tube walls (or “gills”) thick (1 mm or more), the spaces between them at least 1 mm broad; tubes 0.5-3 cm long, the layers not distintly stratified.” What I find curious is that they are “pocket- or mazelike, sometimes even forming gills.” I found other mushrooms growing out of the end of a fallen oak tree that had been cut to clear the path. They were similar to the ones on the snag but the pores looked more like gills. iNaturalist also suggested they were the Oak Mazegill which would align with David’s description of sometimes forming gills. I am surprised that they can form so differently, as long as they are the same species. I included an example in the last photo below. Maybe I can catch up with a mycologist at the mushroom festival and ask about it.
Resource
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Second edition, Ten Speed Press, 1986.
