The Silent Forest Recycler

While out and about, I spotted this large bracket fungus clinging to the side of an old tree. I couldn't walk past without snapping a photo; the contrast between the rugged, deep-fissured bark and the smooth, pale surface of the fungus really caught my eye. The camera, on this occasion didn’t capture it with the detail I had hoped due to the poor light, but I figured it was worth sharing anyway.

It’s fascinating to think that these polypores are actually the forest’s cleanup crew. I recently read that they are some of the only things in nature capable of breaking down lignin (the tough stuff that makes wood hard). They slowly turn old timber back into nutrients for the soil.