This very useful medicinal ‘shelf’ or ‘bracket’ fungus grows on dead or dying trees, breaking them down by digesting all the beneficial polyphenols, polysaccharides and triterpenes in the tree, which then accumulate in the mushroom. Artist’s Conk (Ganoderma Applanatum) gets its name from the pure, white, canvas-like underside which bruises brown when scraped.

Turkey Tail mushroom (Trametes Versicolor) has been in use in Chinese medicine for at least the last 2000 years. It has a lovely, mild, mushroomy aroma with a slightly bitter taste, and whilst, technically, I guess Turkey Tail is edible, I wouldn’t exactly call it palatable.