Brackets on Trees

Look up, not down!

So far we looked for mushrooms on the ground. But some fungi grow somewhere else. They grow right on the side of a tree!

These are called bracket fungi, or shelf fungi. Can you guess why? Because they stick out like a little shelf.

Next time you walk past a tree, look up and down the trunk. You might spot one!

Shaped like a shelf

A bracket fungus does not have a tall stem. It grows straight out of the wood, flat and wide.

It looks like a shelf you could put a tiny cup on. Or like a step for a fairy to climb. Some grow one on top of another, like a little staircase going up the tree.

Underneath, many brackets have pores, those tiny holes we learned about. That is where they keep their spores.

Tough and bumpy

Mushrooms in the grass feel soft and squishy. But brackets are different. Many feel hard and tough, almost like wood or leather.

Run your eyes over one and you might see:

• Bumpy rings, like the lines on a seashell

• Stripes of brown, orange, grey, or white

• A smooth top, or a rough furry top

Some brackets are so tough they stay on the tree all year long. Each year they grow a little bigger.

Nature's tidy helpers

Bracket fungi have a big job. They eat old, dead wood. Bit by bit, they help a fallen log turn soft and crumbly and become part of the soil.

This makes room for new plants to grow. So brackets are like nature's tidy-up helpers in the forest.

Safety rule: brackets can look like tempting little shelves, but we never pick or eat wild fungi. We look with our eyes and leave them for the forest. Only an expert grown-up knows which fungi are safe.

Now you can be a tree detective and spot shelves in the woods!