Growth Timeline
From inoculation to harvest - what to expect
Inoculation
Start your grow
Day 0
Colonization
30-60 days
Day 45
Pinning
5-14 days
Day 55
Harvest
Ready to pick!
Day 115
Distinctive Features
- Shiny, glossy, resinous surface that looks like it has been coated with varnish or lacquer
- Dimorphic growth forms: conk/shelf form or antler form depending on CO2 levels
- Woody texture & extreme bitterness make it inedibly hard
- White growing edge that hardens and turns reddish-brown when growth ceases
- Enormous quantities of spores released as rusty-brown to yellowish powder
Appearance
Cap
Kidney-shaped, fan-shaped, or semicircular; usually grows laterally from substrate. Young caps are cream to yellowish with white growing edge, maturing to reddish-brown to dark mahogany with characteristic shiny, lacquered/varnished surface. Surface has concentric zones with alternating light and dark bands.
Cream
Yellow
Reddish-brown
Mahogany
Dark brown
Black
Stem
Length varies widely, sometimes absent (sessile form growing directly on substrate). Usually lateral (attached to side of cap) rather than central; stem often curved. Same color and texture as cap.
Spore Print
Brown to yellowish-brown or cinnamon-brown