I came across this fungus growing off a log during a walk through Grouse Mountain a few days ago. Lengthwise, it was longer than my hand. Black cap that looked like obsidian with no stem. Orange rim separates the cap from the yellow gill area. I'm not familiar with mycology, so this was one of the most striking fungus I've come across. I would like to find out more about it. Thanks.
Actually it may be Ganoderma's kissin' cousin Fomitopsis pinicola: The "Red Belt Conk" does not always have a visible red belt but in this case perhaps yes! If you scratch the underside, and make a black line, then it would be Ganoderma. I like Red Belts quite a bit, partly because of the fairy perches/steps up the tree look, but also because in a world where white rotters (can eat both lignin and cellulose) are generally dominant, this polypore is very widespread and successful in the PNW, despite "only" being a brown rotter (cellulose eater). When we had the big storms a few years back, examining the wreckage of some big trunks in Lighthouse Park the mycelial mats inside the trunks were huge thick flexible egg noodles, big ribbons you could peel up, feet long and several inches wide. Smelled tasty, but well I couldn't prove any ID or edibility. cheers! frog
