Turkey Tail
(genus Stereum)

Note: Turkey Tails are genus Trametes and
False Turkey Tails are genus Stereum

The main difference is on the underside:
the spore-bearing surface in Trametes has pores,
while in Stereum it is smooth.

Thus, Trametes is a polypore and Stereum a crust fungus,

Posted by Chris 10/4/13

Sava Said: There are Turkey Tails (genus Trametes) and False Turkey Tails (genus Stereum),
and what you have here looks like Stereum.
The main difference is seen on the underside:
the spore-bearing surface in Trametes has pores, while in Stereum it is smooth.
Thus, Trametes is a polypore and Stereum a crust fungus,
so you usually find them in different chapters of mushroom guides, despite the apparent similarity. I couldn't see the details of the underside in the photos, but there is something about the habit that's also telling: in the third picture, we can see some of the fruitbodies are resupinate (laying flat on the substrate). That says "crusts".

Taylan said:
Totally True Turkey Tail Test from http://www.mushroomexpert.com/trametes_versicolor.html


1) Is the pore surface a real pore surface? Like, can you see actual pores? Yes:
Continue.
No: See Stereum ostrea and other crust fungi.


2) Squint real hard. Would you say there are about 1-3 pores per millimeter (which would make them fairly easy to see), or about 3-8 pores per millimeter (which would make them very tiny)?
3-8 per mm:
Continue.
1-3 per mm: See several other species of Trametes.


3) Is the cap conspicuously fuzzy, velvety, or finely hairy (use a magnifying glass or rub it with your thumb)? Yes:
Continue.
No: See several other species of Trametes.


4) Is the fresh cap whitish to grayish?
Yes:
See Trametes hirsuta.
No: Continue.


5) Does the cap lack starkly contrasting color zones (are the zones merely textural, or do they represent subtle shades of the same color)? Yes:
See Trametes pubescens.
No: Continue.


6) Is the fresh mushroom rigid and hard, or thin and flexible? Rigid and hard:
See Trametes ochracea.
Thin and flexible: Totally True Turkey Tail.