(86 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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Turkey Tail
Inedible 
Autumn 
Spring 
Summer 
Winter 
A small size bracket fungus with multicoloured, zonated, faintly hairy skin and white pore surface.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Turkey Tail (EN), Cynffon Twrci (CY), Wrośniak Różnobarwny (PL), Lepketapló (HU) |
| Scientific Name | Trametes versicolor |
| Season Start | All Year |
| Season End | All Year |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | |
| Average Cap width (CM) |
Fruiting Body
2–8(10) cm across, fan-shaped, irregularly semicircular, or even rosette-like, usually in groups. Margin mostly white, off-white or buff. Its skin is faintly hairy (tomentose), velvety, often shiny when young, with concentric multicoloured zones, or covered by algae with age.
Pores
Tubes up to 3 mm long, white. Pores 3–5 per mm, circular to angular, white.
Flesh
Thin, up to 3 mm thick, flexible-leathery, white when young, creamy or buff with age.
Habitat
On dead hardwood logs, trunks and fallen branches, rarely on conifers too, in rows or tiers. Saprotrophic, causes white-rot.
Possible Confusion
Smoky bracket (Bjerkandera adusta), pictured, has a greyish pore surface.
Ochre bracket (Trametes ochracea) has less colour on its cap and different brown colours are the dominant, mostly found on Birch, but rather common on Beech and Poplar too, however it is a much less common mushroom.
Hairy curtain crust (Stereum hirsutum) has no visible pores at all, its underneath is smooth and yellow, while false turkey tail (Stereum ostrea) has smooth, reddish brown to reddish buff underneath, and its cap is less hairy (tomentose) than hairy curtain crust’s.
Spore Print
Spore print is white. Spores are colourless (hyalin), narrow-cylindric (sausage-like) and smooth.
Taste / Smell
Inedible, without distinct taste or smell.
Frequency
Very common and widespread.
Other Facts
In Southeast Asian countries turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) had been used to make decoctions for various health issues since 2nd century BC. If you want to make a tea of it, make sure that your ID is correct, also, be aware that it should be cooked for at least 30 minutes. Please don’t forget, if you have any health issues, consult to a qualified health professional before start self medicating!
8 comments for Turkey Tail
Hi do you know of any courses around the Anglesey area
Thanks
Peter
Hi Peter, we are hoping to run courses near Dolgellau and Betws-y-Coed next year so hopefully that’s not too far away from you.
Does anyone know where I can source some quality (pure as possible) Turkey Tail Mushroom suppliments in or around NE Hertfordshire?
Hi Garry,
As a company, we don’t have any preferred supplier, but personally I always go with the MycoNutri products, such as: https://myconutri.com/products-2/coriolus.html
hi I am looking to take turkey tail mushroom for my health and partner also can you tell me is there any side effects are they just like takeing vitamins and what is best to take power are tablet thank you so much..
If you have any health conditions that requires consuming turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) talk to a qualified nutritional therapist or a doctor. Turkey tail is an (otherwise) inedible mushroom, and it is consumed traditionally in Southeast Asian countries as decoction. I would prefer standardized extracts over home made remedies especially because there are 5-6 inedible, but not toxic lookalikes of turkey tail in the UK.
Interested in foraging courses in Cambridgeshire.
Kind regards
We run courses in Huntington and Thetford Forest around the Cambridge area. See below for details,
wildfooduk.com/foraging-trips/cambridgeshire-huntingdon-spring-foraging-courses/
wildfooduk.com/foraging-trips/suffolk-thetford-forest-spring-foraging-courses/