Hairy Curtain Crust

Hairy Curtain Crust, Stereum hirsutum.  Fungus.   On a rotting log in Hayes Common, 9 December 2011.

It's still a good time for fungi, though it is getting colder, and I see lots of them as I walk around. This one was on the trunk of a felled tree, lying on the ground. But I can only identify a few with any certainty, and I have to go elsewhere for most of my identifications.

This one was pinned down for me by the helpful people on iSpot, an Open University site. You can find many different fungi on decomposing wood; they are one of the main agents of that decomposition. This one was a bit floppy to the touch, though not jelly-like as some are, and tore fairly easily. I was intrigued by the hairiness of its upper surface, giving it a fringed look, which you can see clearly in the closeup below.  The thumbnail gives you the scale.

Hairy Curtain Crust, Stereum hirsutum.  A fragment. On a rotting log in Hayes Common, 9 December 2011.