True Turkey Tail vs False Turkey Tail

Time and time again, nature lovers, fungi fanatics, *and even experienced mycologists!* mistake False Turkey Tail for True Turkey Tail.

Well after reading this you won't ever make that mistake!

Its actually very simple to differentiate the two. Observe the 4 photos below:

TRUE Turkey Tail has white porous underside while the FALSE has colored underside. Additionally TRUE Turkey Tail has a thicker, finely hairy flesh while the FALSE has flesh more paper-like and unsubstantial. A simple way to remember this is that TRUE Turkey Tail is a polypore, while FALSE is a crust fungus.

"True Turkey Tail," or Trametes Versicolor, is a great mushroom for harvesting, dehydrating, and grinding into a powder due to its medicinal benefits. "False Turkey Tail," or Stereum Ostrea, is a very common fungus lacking any consumable benefits, so it's just for admiring!