- Caps 5-30 cm across, light gray-brown to dark black-brown, semi-circular, with concentric zones.
- Tubes and pores whitish, darkens upon drying and bruising.
- Flesh is white, soft.
- The entire mushroom is soft, large, and heavy, bruising blackish.
Polypores
Giant Polypore
Meripilus giganteus
LC
Least concern
Inedible
1 images
Characteristics
Ecology
Grows at the base of trunks, stumps, or on hidden roots in the ground, of old damaged trees, primarily beech but also oak.
Similar species
Grifola frondosa may resemble, but it doesn't blacken upon bruising and drying. It also has clamp connections on the hyphae, a feature absent in Meripilus giganteus.
