| Ecology & Habitat | Saprotrophic, Growing in Clusters, often with many rows of smaller shelves side by side overlapping one another. Dead or dying hardwood trees, stumps, and logs. |
| Cap | Cap is whitish, off-white, or cream colored. The surface is finely fuzzy or satiny with band of concentric ring zones. When fresh the margin is often purplish, but will be absent of color when aged. |
| Teeth | The teeth on the underside of the cap can be quite a vibrant violet when fresh, but will gradually age to white, cream, or light brown. |
| Spores | White |
This small polypore is so abundant that I see it every time I go into the woods growing on dead or decaying hardwood trees. There are two varieties. This one, which grows on hardwood, and a smaller variety (Trichaptum abietinum) that grows on conifers. For the most part they look identical. The cap is fan shaped and has a surface which is typically whitish, grayish, off-white or light brown, and will be smooth and covered with fine hairs. Their claim to fame though, is the violet colored margin, and violet colored teeth near on the underside of the cap. They usually have the most color at the margin, and fade to white or off white towards the attachment point. Outside of their peak growing season, they loose much of their violet color. So, during the off season, the margin may be pinkish or tannish at the margin rather than violet.
