Inonotus hispidus

The fruiting bodies are semi-circular, laterally attached, buff-coloured, with a velvety surface that darkens with age. Solitary or in shelved clusters of 2–3 brackets, especially in upper sections of tree trunks (5 or more meters above ground). Incidental symptoms of the infection may be cankerous lumps, formed from wood on the trunk around the fruiting body. Trees are infected through thin branch stubs, physical bark wounds or frost cracks. The mycelium penetrates into the central matured section of the trunk, causing white rot. After 2 or 3 years fruiting bodies appear on the infected area. They grow from July to September, shrink in size in autumn and fall off the trunk in winter. The infection is not severe and trees are able survive for many years.