Tinder Conk

Fomes fomentarius

Inedible

Also called hoof fungus, tinder fungus, horse's hoof fungus.

The tinder conk is a gray, hoof-shaped bracket fungus that grows on birch, beech and other hardwoods. It is hard and perennial, adding a layer each year. Its felt-like inner tissue, amadou, was used for thousands of years to catch sparks and carry fire.

A gray, hoof-shaped tinder conk with ridged growth bands on a mossy tree trunk

The tell

A gray, hoof-shaped, ridged and rock-hard bracket on birch or other hardwoods.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
Hoof-shaped bracket, hard and woody, gray to gray-brown or nearly black with age, with concentric ridges marking yearly growth and a hard crust.
Underside
Brownish gray to tan pore surface with tiny pores, slightly concave.
Stem
None. Attaches broadly to the trunk.
Flesh
Under the hard crust, a layer of tough, brown, felt-like tissue (amadou) over layers of brown tubes and a granular core where it meets the wood.
Spore print
White to pale yellow.
Size
Bracket 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) wide, occasionally larger, and 1 to 6 inches (2.5 to 15 cm) thick.

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Northern and mountain hardwood forests, on standing dead trunks and on weakened living trees.
Grows on
Dead and dying hardwood, especially birch, also beech and maple.
Season
Year-round. Brackets are perennial.
Range
Northern North America, south in the mountains; southern collections on other hardwoods are sometimes treated as separate species.

Lookalikes

What the tinder conk gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  2. False tinder conk (Phellinus igniarius group)

    Hoof-shaped and gray to black, often deeply cracked on top, with rusty brown flesh and a brown pore surface.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Inedible

Field guides list the tinder conk as inedible because it is woody. Its felt-like inner tissue, called amadou, was processed into tinder for starting fires, and a piece was among the fire-making kit carried by Ötzi the Iceman about 5,300 years ago. Amadou was also made into hats and fishing fly dryers.

This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.

FAQ

Questions about the tinder conk

What is tinder conk used for?

Its inner tissue, amadou, catches sparks and smolders, so it has been used as tinder since prehistoric times. Ötzi the Iceman carried it, and amadou is still sold for drying fishing flies.

Is tinder conk edible?

Field guides list it as inedible because it is woody. It is not known to be toxic.

What does tinder conk look like?

A gray, hoof-shaped bracket with ridges marking each year's growth, very hard to the touch, on the trunk of a birch or other hardwood. The underside is a brownish surface of tiny pores.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Fomes fomentarius

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Fomes fomentarius

    Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)

  3. Fomes fomentarius

    Index Fungorum

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