How to identify Mossy Maze Polypore

To correctly identify Mossy Maze Polypore (Cerrena unicolor), check each of these features in order. Misidentification is the most common cause of mushroom poisoning, so cross-reference multiple sources.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Cap

   Shape, color, surface texture, and diameter.

   The upper surface is concentrically zoned, often with shades of gray, brown, and sometimes greenish due to algal growth. It is densely hairy or velvety, especially towards the margin, becoming smoother with age. The margin is thin and often wavy or lobed.

2. 2

   Gills

   Attachment to stem, color, and spacing.

   Not true gills. The underside features a poroid surface that is labyrinthine (maze-like) to daedaloid (gill-like but interconnected) or even somewhat irpicoid (tooth-like) near the margin. The pores are white to grayish, becoming darker with age. Pore mouths are irregular, elongated, and often split, measuring 0.5-2 mm long.

3. 3

   Stem

   Length, shape, surface, and any ring.

   Absent (sessile), directly attached to the substrate.

4. 4

   Flesh

   Color, texture, and bruising reaction.

   White to cream-colored, tough, leathery, and fibrous. It does not change color when bruised.

5. 5

   Fruiting body

   Overall growth pattern.

   Semicircular to fan-shaped, often fused laterally, forming shelves or rosettes. Typically 2-10 cm wide and 1-5 cm deep, with a thickness of 0.5-1.5 cm at the attachment point. The texture is tough and leathery.

6. 6

   Habitat

   Where it grows and on what substrate.

   Saprobic, growing on dead hardwood logs, stumps, and branches. Occasionally found on living but weakened trees. Prefers deciduous trees, especially oak, maple, birch, and beech.

Key Facts

Cap surfaces

Hairy to velvety, concentrically zoned, often greenish with age due to algae.

Growth Form

Sessile, effused-reflexed, or resupinate, often in overlapping clusters.

Spore Print

White

Body color

Upper surface gray, brown, greenish; pore surface white to grayish.

Odor

Mild, indistinct.

Flesh bruises

No color change.

Height

Not applicable (sessile)

Cap Diameter

2-10 cm wide, 1-5 cm deep

Fruit body characteristics

• Gill attachment: Not applicable (poroid)
• Stem shape: Absent
• Stem surface: Absent
• Ring: Absent
• Stem cross-section: Absent

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