Trametes sp.

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The fruit bodies appear on dead wood or live plants and are shelf-like growths of a corky to leathery texture. Most Trametes species are polypores, with the underside of the fruit body composed of pores. A few species, until fairly recently placed in the genus Lenzites, have been moved into Trametes and these have gills or a somewhat maze-like mixture of gills and irregularly shaped pores on the underside. However, thus far only polypore Trametes are known from the local area.

Fruit bodies are generally fairly small, some extending to 10 centimetres out from the wood, but often they extend only a few centimetres. At the wood surface the fruit body is no more than a few centimetres thick and it tapers outward. The upper surface is may be some shade of cream, brown or grey and often is concentrically banded in differed shades. It is hairy, though the hairs my be short (and so give only a velvety feel) and need not occur in all concentric zones. The pored lower surface is white to cream.

Spore print: white.

The genus is common and found in a wide variety of habitats.

Look-alikes

Species of Stereum are most likely to be confused with Trametes for they also have hairy, concentrically zoned fruit bodies but the undersides are smooth and lack pores. You may need to check with a hand lens to be sure.

Phaeotrametes decpiens is usually easy to recognized by the combination of its deep reddish-brown upper surface and the greyish-violet or darker pored lower surface.

Trametes sp. is listed in the following regions: