Here is a bunch of turkeytail for this #mushroommonday
I went out looking for morels emerging for spring but I think I am still a bit too early for the season. Instead I found lots of turkeytail (trametes versicolor).
Quite a few dead logs were completely covered in turkeytail. With so many carpeting this dead log it has a fractal pattern that tricks the eye. This would look extra trippy if you had just eaten a psilocybin mushroom...
Against the leaves they look quite camouflage but the pattern is too similar and bold compared to the leaves.
Around here this is a very common mushroom that also has medicinal uses. I like to boil it for a few hours then mix the boiled water with herbal tea to get the anticancer and vitamin D benefits.
This chipmunk house is starting to get infested by turkeytail. I'm sure they help serve as little steps for the chipmunks and squirrels to scurry into safety quickly.
This batch is a slightly different color that's why their Latin name is Trametes versicolor, they vary in color quite a bit.
Here is a more tan and orange version with a bit of false turkeytail crumbles on the edge of the log.
This version has some blue coloring in it and coppery stripes.
As turkeytail gets older it starts getting infested by algae and moss and usually starts turning white.
I found some super ancient turkeytail as well. This stuff has turned black and crumbles into dust if you touch it. This dark crust version of turkeytail almost reminds me of what happens to a birch polypore when it gets infested by chaga fungi. Maybe after a mycologist researches it perhaps this ancient form of turkeytail might have all the medicinal properties of both chaga and turkeytail.
That's all for now, hopefully I'll be able to find some morels this year... Thanks for looking :-)