Birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus)
Common host(s) Specific to birch. Colonisation strategy Spores enter via wounds. Symptoms Annual thick, fleshy, white/cream/greyish initially, become browner with age. Underside white. Horse-shoe or kidney shaped with convex bell-shaped top tapering to a stalk-like attachment to the tree. Type of rot Brown rot. Part(s) of tree affected Fruiting bodies usually some way up the trunk or occasionally on branches. Significance Rot severely weakens tissues and will eventually kill the tree. Brittle fracture.
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