Summary:
Phaeolus schweinitzii is a common, large, circular to fan-shaped polypore growing singly or in tiers from a common base on or around dead or living conifers, usually appearing terrestrial. When young, the color is orange to yellowish or greenish yellow, lighter colored on the growing margin, and the surface is felty or matted, often with concentric color zones and often knobby. When it is older it becomes rusty brown to very dark brown and smoother. The pores, which have similar colors, are angular, and may become torn or maze-like. There may be a central to lateral stem. Phaeolus schweinitzii is prized by dye-makers for the colors it gives to yarn: "green, yellow, gold, or brown", "depending on the material dyed and the mordant used", (Ginns(28)).

Chemical Reactions:
cap surface and cap flesh stain black in KOH, often with fleeting cherry-red intermediate phase (Arora)

Odor:
none (Miller)

Taste:
somewhat sour (Breitenbach)

Microscopic:
spores 6-9 x 2.5-5 microns, elliptic to oval, smooth, inamyloid, colorless; basidia 4-spored, 20-25 x 7-8 microns, clavate, simple-septate at base; cystidia frequent, 20-90 x 7-13 microns, projecting up to 75 microns, cylindric, yellowish, not incrusted, also slender gloeoplerous hyphae 3-6 microns wide, with dark brown contents, ending at surface of hymenium; hyphae monomitic, hyphae of context 3-17 microns wide, dark brown to yellowish brown in KOH, thin-walled, simple-septate, some with frequent branching, (Gilbertson), spores 5-9 x 3.5-5 microns, elliptic, smooth, (Arora)

Spore Deposit:
white or tinged yellow to green (Arora), white (Miller)

Notes:
It is found in BC, WA, OR, ID, AB, MB, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, PQ, SK, AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WY, and circumglobal, (Gilbertson).

EDIBILITY

possibly poisonous (Arora)

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Polyporus schweinitzii Fr.