Hairy Curtain Crust

Hairy Curtain Crust is an extremely common, widely distributed, wood decaying, bracket fungus. It occurs worldwide on every continent except Antarctica. It is saprobic, occurring on stumps, logs, and sticks of mostly hardwood trees, especially oak. It occasionally occurs on living trees and conifers. It is highly variable in form and somewhat variable in color. It may be found in groups, rows, shelves, dense overlapping clusters, or as the name suggests, as a crust.

There is no stalk.

The fruiting body is often a thin, semicircular or fan-shaped, 3 ⁄16″ to 1½″ wide or slightly wider bracket (cap). It is leathery and pliant when moist, rigid when dry. It may be flat, wavy, or curved up at the sides in the shape of a sliced funnel. Sometimes adjacent brackets fuse together forming a lobed shelf up to 4″ long or longer. The upper surface is dry and concentrically zoned with different colors and textures. When young and moist it is shades orangish-brown, reddish-brown, tawny, or cinnamon. When dry it is buff to gray. Older specimens may develop greenish shades due to a covering of algae. It is densely covered with velvety or appressed hairs but often hairless or nearly hairless near the margins. As it ages the hairs wear away.

The under surface is smooth or slightly bumpy, with no layer of pores or tubes. It is orange, orangish-buff or tawny to yellow or yellowish-orange with a brownish tinge. It often becomes dark brown to chestnut brown with age.

The flesh is thin, tough, and inedible. When cut, young caps do not bleed a red liquid.

The spore print is white but difficult to obtain.

False Turkey Tail (Stereum ostrea) caps are usually larger, 2″ to 3″ wide, and are more prominently zoned in concentric rings of contrasting colors. They usually form individual brackets and do not fuse together. The underside is buff to cinnamon-buff when young.

In groups, rows, or dense overlapping clusters on stumps, logs, and sticks of mostly hardwood trees, especially oak. Occasionally on living trees and conifers.

Year round

Sources

4, 7, 24, 26, 29, 30, 77.

Extremely common and widespread

Pevník chlupatý - Stereum hirsutum
Jiří Laštůvka - Kudláček

Stereum hirsutum - fungi kingdom
Nineli Lishina

Luciearl
April 2025

Location: Fairview Twp.

Location: Cass County