I’ll be honest, I know what shelf fungus is, but until we starting doing nature study in our our homeschool, I never really considered that there were different types of shelf fungus.
Oh sure, I had noticed differences, but we never really thought to find out why. You may feel the same way and it’s cool, I understand. But, let me tell you there is an awesome variety of shelf fungi out there. And today I am sharing about one of my newly name fav’s – turkey tail fungus.
Shelf fungus grows on dead tree stumps or fallen logs. It has a tough, woody fruiting body that resembles a shelf or bracket, which is that part we can see. Inside the decaying wood, though, there is a network of mycelium that act as the heartbeat of the fungi, transporting nutrients and water.
The turkey tail fungus is named for its resemblance to a turkey tail. I can be colored white, brown, red, orange, blue, purple, or a combination of those colors. The fan-shaped “tails” often overlap giving the appearance of a fan of feathers. It’s one of the most common species in the shelf fungus family, so chances are good you have seen one of these!
Fun Fact – In 2012, the FDA approved a clinical trial for the using a type of Turkey Tail fungus to fight cancer. Read the article here.
Want to learn more about this shelf fungus? Check out the following articles:
Keep the learning going with these science activities!
Learn about the Parasol Mushroom in an instant with this information and activities!
Learn about Blue Jay in an instant with this information, activity, and free printable!