Photo: Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Hairy Curtain Crust

Stereum hirsutum

Also known as False Turkey Tail, Hairy Stereum, Golden Curtain Crust

At a glance

Family

Stereaceae (the crust fungus family, order Russulales)

Type

Wood-decay bracket and crust fungus

Parts used

Not eaten or taken as medicine; fruiting body observed and occasionally used in nature crafts and natural dyeing

Size

Thin, tough caps 1 to 4 cm across, often fused edge to edge in overlapping tiers spanning several inches along a branch

Bloom

No flowers; produces its wavy, shelf-like fruiting bodies mainly in the cool, damp months of autumn through spring, though old growth can persist year-round

Habitat

Dead and dying hardwood branches, stumps, and fallen logs in temperate woodlands, hedgerows, and gardens across nearly every continent

Acquisition

Forage (to observe and identify in the woods, not to gather for eating)

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Breaks down fallen deadwood

Recycles nutrients back to soil

Signals a healthy woodland edge

Feeds countless insects and microbes

Traditional uses

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Stereum hirsutum has no real place in traditional herbal medicine or the kitchen; it is far too thin, tough, and leathery to eat, and old herbals simply pass over it. Its true value has always been ecological rather than medicinal. Foresters and naturalists have long read its cheerful orange fans as a sign that a fallen branch is doing exactly what it should, quietly rotting down and returning its nutrients to the forest floor. Some natural dyers and mushroom crafters have also gathered its tough, weather-resistant brackets for pressed nature displays and mild dye work, prizing it more for its ruffled shape and color than for any curative reputation.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
✦Witch's Butter (Tremella mesenterica)
✦Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae)

Substitutes

✦Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), a true pored polypore often confused with this species from a distance

Choose it when

“Look for it after an autumn rain, when a fallen oak or hazel branch is suddenly ruffled with tiers of small, fuzzy, orange-edged fans, as if the wood itself had grown feathers.”

Did you know?

The species name hirsutum is Latin for "hairy," a nod to the fine, felted down that covers the upper surface of each cap. Run a thumb across a fresh one and you can feel it, while the smooth underside beneath stays bright egg-yolk orange until it dries and weathers to a dull gray-brown.

Safety

Hairy curtain crust is not poisonous but isn't eaten either, since it's thin, tough, and has no culinary use; handling large dried collections can release spores that bother people with mold or asthma sensitivities.