RHH's photos with the keyword: pinicola

These fungi, Red-banded Polypores, are so common in our area that we seldom stop to photograph them. They are often found with these secretions, however, and that always makes them more interesting. I've tasted the secretions (these fungi are not poisonous) and they are completely tasteless as far as I can tell. That fits with the explanation given below. The process of producing these drops is called "guttation." A friend here on Ipernity, Fizgig, explained it thus: "This is a great example of a process called Guttation --- a term used in botany to describe the process by which plants excrete excess water through drops from their leaves. For some mushrooms, like the Red-Banded Plolypore, this is so common that it is a reliable identification feature." This example was photographed at Goose Rock in Deception Pass State Park.

These red-banded Polypores are very common in our forests and are found on dead and dying trees, in this case on a stump. Often when we find them they are "sweating" and I have never been able to find an explanation of this phenomenon. The weather does not seem to have anything to do with it, or the humidity and I have no idea what the cause might be, nor do I know if the liquid is water or something else, not having dared to taste it. These were photographed in Wallace Falls State Park last autumn.

This shelf fungus, the Red-banded Polypore, Fomitopsis pinicola, is very common in our northwest forests, and when out on a summer morning we often find them "sweating" - covered with drops of moisture even though there has been no dew or rain. This example of a "sweating" Polypore was photographed on the Lake Serene trail.

This is one of the shelf fungi often found growing on dead trees or fallen trees.

This photo was taken on our recent field trip with the Washington Native orchid Society - the forest was very dry at the time, there was no dew or moisture on any of the plants except this immature shelf fungus. When we returned the next day we found the same thing and can only guess that the temperature of the fungus was cooler than the temperature of the air, causing the drops of water to form.

Just a big name for the Red-banded Polypore, a shelf fungus, that we see all the time on our hikes. My wife is fascinated by mushrooms and fungi and rarely misses an opportunity to photograph them. This is her photo, taken last spring on the grounds of the Au Sable Institute near Coupeville on Whidbey Island. The colors of this Polypore were enhanced by the rain which was falling at the time. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/07/another-tri...

No matter where we hike it seems we always find something to photograph. There were few wildflowers blooming when we hiked the Fragrance Lake trail in the Chuckanut Mountains, but we still came home with a lot of pictures. This was one of them, a photo of the Red-banded Polypore, Fomitopsis pinicola, a common sight in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-wet-walk-...