this is my contribution to #FungiFriday by 
i was getting down on my shroom stash so when the weather broke i set out in high hopes of finding fungi
at the edge of the forest i came upon a cat and a hare engrossed in an animated discussion on the merits of leaping. the hare insisted that the ability to make long hops was not only beneficial but essential to survival. the cat wasn't the least bit impressed and instead was snorting lines into the hare's long ears describing the advantages of being able to reach new heights where one can gain a wider perspective on the goings-on in the world. the down to earth hare retorted that he's much better off burrowing down into the depths of reality. neither of the two seemed the least bit interested in my view on the matter so i left them to it.
to my dismay, i found only a single fungi on the forest floor. perhaps it was no surprise given that the summer had been unusually dry but the recent rains had raised my expectations.
but then i came upon a fallen birch tree that had broken such that half of the uprooted dead tree was lying on the ground but the top of the tree had landed on higher ground such that a section of the trunk was suspended in the air.
the entire length of the log was infested with tinder polypore Fomes fomentarius. it's is said to be a rather common polypore here especially on birch trees but personally i have not found many of them on my walks.
tinder polypore was very much sought after in the days before matches were common. the processed dry pulp (called amadou) from the core of the polypore has the ability to catch and hold a spark which when blown gently becomes a flame. in my youth we could start fires by striking a flint stone with an iron file directing the spark onto the amadou just as in the age of the Vikings and even long before them, Otzi the iceman.
another common name for this species is horse hoof fungus or just hoof fungus so i was surprised to find so many variations of the shape and even color. it was first when i crawled under the fallen log that the distinctly hoof shaped specimens appeared. viewing from underneath also gave me a good view of the pore surface or hymenium
so even though my basket was empty i still manged to collect a surprising variety of one of the historically most treasured species of all fungi Fomes fomentarius
happy hunting
