Recently on my morning trip out walking the dogs I noticed something out of the corner of my eye hiding on a pile of old logs leaning against a chainlink fence. Upon closer inspection I found a lovely little clump of TURKEY TAIL mushrooms growing on the logs themselves. I,ve not found these mushrooms before so as you can imagine i was a happy bunny with this find. I didn’t harvest any as they were only small but i will keep a check on them from time to time and if they get to a decent size then a few will be coming home with me.
Here is a little information about this particular mushroom for you. The Turkey Tail is a small, tough, bracket fungus that grows in tiered layers on dead wood – mainly hardwood, such as beech or oak. It is very common and can be found throughout the UK on rotting stumps and branches. The fungus forms semi-circular caps around tree trunks and the caps are thin and tough, with very clear, velvety, concentric rings of colour. Colours are variable mixes of brown, yellow, grey, purple, green and black, but the outer margin is always pale – either cream or white. The caps are often layered together, forming tiers.
Its not a mushroom that is known for its eating qualities as its meant to be tough, leathery and tasteless. What it can be used for is making mushroom teas or for using as an additive to soups, sauces etc. Its also said to have medicinal purposes but I,m not really interested in that sort of stuff, as all I care about is if I can use it in my cooking.
