Fuzzy fungi

There are thousands of species of polypore mushrooms, about 230 (described; there are others hiding in the woods) in this corner of the continent.

I couldn't find a match to these; they are growing on a dead Douglas fir log, flat to the horizon. They're similar to the turkey tails, but larger than most (a hand's breadth across), hard and hairy, with feathery fringes like those on a moth's wings.

Brown polypores, back of the beaver lodge.

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Hay miles de especies de estos hongos poliporos, incluso 230 conocidos, quien sabe cuantos nunca vistos, en este rincón del continente.

No pude identificar estos. Crecen en un tronco tumbado de abeto Douglas, horizontalmente. Se parecen a los 'cola de guajolote', pero de un color café más o menos uniforme, y son más grandes que los 'cola de guajolote' que he visto por aquí. Son tiesos, duros, y peludos; los bordes se parecen a los de las alas emplumadas de las mariposas nocturnas.

Snow white hair

Growing on a fallen alder, I found a colony of fuzzy white polypore mushrooms.

The largest of the group, under 3 inches across. Before the snow fell and froze solid, slugs had been feasting on the fur.

The underside. This mushroom has large pores. Normally, the spores would develop inside these pores, then fall directly to the ground beneath. Now that the tree is fallen, the spores are trapped inside the mushroom. A few may escape to fall on the trunk.

 A few of the babies. These are all under half an inch wide, and as white as the snow beneath.

These are probably Trametes hirsuta. ("Hirsuta" means "hairy". Good name. They are hairy, although the hair is arranged in stiff peaks, as if someone used too much hair gel.)

These mushrooms grow mostly on dead hardwood, and slowly return it to the soil to nourish the next generation.

Somehow, I'm never tempted to taste a bracket mushroom, or wonder about its edibility (although some are edible, I know), but mushroom guides routinely mention this. On the E-Flora page about T. hirsuta, under the "Edibility" heading, a contributor has commented, "Too tough." Looks about right. Too hairy, besides.