Trametes versicolor

Did You Know?

• It is a white rot fungus that degrades lignin from lignocellulosic materials such as wood.
• It commonly grows in tiled layers in groups or rows on logs and stumps of deciduous trees.
• Caterpillars of the fungus moth Nemaxera betulinella, maggots of the fly Polyporivora picta, and the fungus gnat Mycetophila luctuosa may eat this species.

Description

The fruiting body is tongue-shaped, lacks a stalk, and has tough flesh 1–3 mm thick. The flat cap reaches up to 10 cm across and is often triangular or round, with zones of fine rust-brown or darker brown hairs, sometimes with black zones. Beneath a tomentum layer lies a black layer above whitish flesh. Older specimens may show green algae on their zones. The bottom surface displays concentric color zones, with the lightest margin. There are 3–5 round pores per mm, whitish to light brown, becoming twisted and labyrinthine with age. Similar species include Stereum ostrea (false turkey tail), Trametes betulina, T. hirsuta, T. ochracea, T. suaveolens, Bjerkandera adusta, Cerrena unicolor, Lenzites betulina, Stereum hirsutum, other Stereum species (typically with smooth undersurfaces), and some Trichaptum species.

Uses

Trametes versicolor is too tough to chew, so it is commonly turned into powders or teas. Known as Yunzhi in China, it has been used there for millennia in traditional Chinese medicine and other herbal practices. While Japan has approved polysaccharide-K, a compound from this fungus, as a supportive cancer treatment, neither the extract nor the whole mushroom is approved for any medical use in the United States. It is widely sold as a dietary supplement promising various health benefits, but there is not enough solid scientific proof of its safety or effectiveness, and product quality often suffers from inconsistent processing and labeling.