I came across this cherry (Prunus sp.) last week, with six sporophores near to the base on one side only. It was evident that it was a species of the Trametes genus, given the general morphology and colouration the brackets had, though I was not sure which species – it wasn’t the very common Trametes versicolor, that was for certain.
My initial thought here was Trametes suaveolens, as it seemed to have the markings of that species (the flesh is also meant to smell of aniseed, which I thought I could smell on this bracket but perhaps it was just my imagination!). Given that species is rare, I sent the samples off to Kew for identification. Two days later I heard back, with a confirmation that it wasn’t that species, but instead Trametes gibbosa. Granted, the pores on the underside were not typical of the species, though it nonetheless was Trametes gibbosa.
Obviously, that’s not at all as ground-breaking as if it were the suspected species, but Kew had no prior sample of Trametes gibbosa on Prunus sp. so the samples will be stored in their collection still – this is, of course, good news.
The below photos are the best ones of the bunch. As for the cherry? Well, it’s getting removed, though it’ll reside in one piece nearby to the side of a hedgerow, enabling the fungal mycelium to continue to degrade the tree.
Arboriculture 