Bark Mushrooms

Mushrooms, fungi and lichen grow in many places including on trees.

Although a few mushrooms with stems grow on tree bark, most do not.

Bark mushrooms typically grow in the form of conk, also called a bract or shelf.

Although some varieties of bark mushrooms are harmless, some cause what is called white rot, and some cause the more serious brown rot.

A few mushrooms that grow on bark are edible, but most are not.

Bark mushrooms most often grow in cool, rainy coastal areas and on the shady, north side of trees.

Mushrooms that cause white rot break down the lignin in trees, leaving white cellulose behind. White rot mushrooms grow slowly, and the damage is typically limited, although sometimes it can kill a tree.

Brown rot mushrooms cause wood to turn dry and crumbly — a condition commonly called dry rot. Brown rot mushrooms grow more quickly than white rot mushrooms and cause more damage.

Mushrooms that grow on tree bark are spread by wind-blown spores. They usually infect older trees, or trees that have been injured by vandalism, pruning or storms. Boring insects, high winds, fire, ice, lightning and snow all can cause wounds that are susceptible to infection by mushroom spores.

Most bark mushrooms are hard, stringy, tough, toxic or otherwise inedible, but a few are edible and taste good.

Among them is the oyster mushroom, which often is found on supermarket shelves.

The oyster mushroom also causes white rot.

The golden-brown honey mushroom grows in clusters on the bark at the bottoms of tree trunks.

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