Clustered Bracket vs Polyphyllous Globe Thistle

Inonotus cuticularis compared with Echinops foliosus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clustered Bracket	Polyphyllous Globe Thistle
Kingdom	Fungi (真菌界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (担子菌门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Agaricomycetes (傘菌綱)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Hymenochaetales (锈革孔菌目)	Afrosoricida (非洲蝟目)
Family	Hymenochaetaceae	Tenrecidae
Genus	Inonotus	Echinops
Species	Inonotus cuticularis	Echinops foliosus

Conservation Status

Clustered Bracket

VU — Vulnerable

Polyphyllous Globe Thistle

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clustered Bracket	Polyphyllous Globe Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clustered Bracket

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Polyphyllous Globe Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Clustered Bracket

Inonotus cuticularis, the clustered bracket, is a polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae that grows on living and dead hardwood trees across the northern hemisphere. The fruiting bodies are bracket-shaped, overlapping in tiered clusters, with a yellowish-brown to rusty-brown upper surface that darkens with age, and a pale to golden pore surface beneath. This species causes white heart rot in its host trees, degrading the structural integrity of trunks and major branches. It commonly attacks living oaks, beeches, and other broadleaf trees, as well as occurring on dead wood. Inonotus cuticularis is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, reflecting its association with old-growth and veteran trees that are increasingly rare in managed European and North American landscapes. The decline of old-growth forest and the removal of veteran trees from managed woodlands and parklands has reduced suitable habitat for many bracket fungi. Conservation of ancient and veteran trees is therefore important for maintaining populations of this and many other wood-decay fungi with similar old-growth associations.