The Beefsteak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica) looks uncannily like a slab of raw meat. This soft, red, tongue- or kidney-shaped bracket is sticky when wet, and when cut its marbled flesh bleeds a red juice. Underneath, the cream pores are the ends of tiny separate tubes that can be pulled apart, a feature found in no other British bracket.
It grows low on the trunks of standing trees, and sometimes on logs, especially oak and sweet chestnut, from July into November. It is widespread and quite common. Its rot stains oak a rich brown, and this Brown Oak timber is prized by woodworkers.
The Shaggy Bracket (Inonotus hispidus) is reddish-brown but hairy on top, with no bleeding flesh or separate tubes. The Beefsteak Fungus is edible when young, though sour and rather tough.
| Season | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Distribution
Widespread and quite common
Habitat
Usually on trunks of standing trees and sometimes on logs. Frequent on Quercus, Castanea and more rarely Fagus.
Etymology
Fistulina means 'little pipe', from the Latin fistula, after its separate tubes. hepatica is Latin for 'liver-like', after the look of the mature bracket.
Fruiting Body
A rounded, tongue-shaped or kidney-shaped annual bracket, 5-20 cm across, in red to deep blood-red. The upper surface is soft and spongy, sticky when wet, and rough and warty when mature.
| Cycle | annual |
|---|---|
| Colour | |
| Shape | Rounded, Tongue-shaped, Kidney-shaped |
| Width | 5 - 20 cm |
Pores
The pores are cream to white and medium-sized, 2-3 per mm. They bruise reddish-brown and darken to reddish-brown with age.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Size | medium |
| Bruising |
Tubes
The tubes are cream and are not fused together, so they can be easily separated. Each tube stands free, a feature that is distinctive among British fungi.
| Colour |
|---|
Flesh
The flesh is meat-like and soft, bleeding a red liquid when cut, much like raw beef. It is yellowish when young then blood-red, with a pleasant smell and an acidic, sour taste.
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Odour | Pleasant |
| Taste | Acidic, sour |
Spores
| Colour | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Ovate |
| Size | 5-6 x 3.5-4.5 μm |
Classification
- ↳ Phylum: Basidiomycota
- ↳ Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
- ↳ Class: Agaricomycetes
- ↳ Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
- ↳ Order: Agaricales
- ↳ Genus: Fistulina
Synonyms
- Boletus hepaticus Lightf.
- Boletus hepaticus Schaeff.
- Ceriomyces hepatica Sacc.
- Confistulina hepatica (Lloyd) Stalpers
- Fistulina hepatica (Schaeff.) ex Fr.
Reference Sources
T. Læssøe, J. H. Peterson (2019) Fungi of Temperate Europe Vol. 2. Princeton University Press.
G. Kibby (2020) Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe Vol. 1. Geoffrey Kibby.
Genus Fistulina
No other species found in this genus.
