Hairy curtain crustStereum hirsutum

The hairy curtain crust (Stereum hirsutum) is one of the most widespread bracket fungi in Europe, a small yellow-orange fungus on dead hardwood. The Latin epithet hirsutum means "hairy, bristly" — capturing its signature trait exactly: the upper surface of the fruiting body is covered in dense, short, stiff hairs, like felt or fur. The fruiting bodies are small, 1-4 cm across, thin, spatula-shaped to fan-shaped, leathery, attached to the substrate by the side or back — with no distinct stem.

Inedible — the flesh is very thin, leathery, cardboard-like, with no culinary value. Nobody forages it. A saprotroph of dead hardwood (beech, oak, hornbeam, birch, willow) — one of the key wood decomposers in forests, important for the natural cycle of decay.

A distinctive feature — the fungus is very resistant to drying out: dried fruiting bodies stay on branches and stumps for years, and after the first rains they revive and start producing spores again. Old descriptions even called the species a "long-lived fungus" — a single fruiting body can last up to 5-7 years.

Key features of Stereum hirsutum: A small (1-4 cm), fan-shaped fruiting body with no stem Upper surface densely covered with short, stiff hairs (like felt) Yellow-orange to rusty-brown coloring Underside (hymenium) smooth, with no pores, gills or spines — typical of the genus Stereum Flesh very thin, leathery Grows on dead hardwood Often grows in groups or overlapping, tile-like tiers on a single trunk

Its main interest is mycological (an indicator of the stage of wood decay) and artistic/photographic (the fungus is very photogenic, with a striking banded pattern on the upper surface).

In Ukraine, Stereum hirsutum is common everywhere on dead hardwood: the Carpathians, the Carpathian foothills, Polissia, the forest-steppe, the steppe (in shelterbelts). Season — year-round (the fruiting bodies withstand drying out).