One of the tinder mushrooms found in “Otzi the Iceman”s possessions, cloned from a native specimen right here in the Southeastern US. This beautiful polypore has been used for centuries to fight bacterial and viral infections, and can also be used to transport fire, as it tends to smolder a long time. Grows best on birch, grows very slowly and harvest time is usually in mid to late summer. Great for making extracts, tinctures, and fiber for a variety of projects. In Romania they still make hats, purses, and other clothing items after soaking the hard conks in water and pounding them into a fiber. We use this mushroom for medicinal extracts and also for studying the production of novel antibiotics.
| Edibility and Taste | Bitter and fibrous, better for tinctures |
| Grows On | Birch |
| Fruiting Temps | 45-60F |
| Availability | Year-Round |
