Giant Polypore - Meripilus giganteus

Individual caps can be 20 to 80 centimetres across and they rise from a common basal stem. The colour of the cap surface is pale tan to dull chestnut brown in young specimens but darkens with age to show concentric zones of various shades of brown.

It is often found in large clumps at the base of broadleaved trees, although fruiting bodies are sometimes found some distance away from the trunk, parasitizing the roots.

Best seen in autumn.

It causes a white rot in various types of broadleaved trees, particularly beech.

Widespread and fairly frequent in Britain.

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland.