Which mushroom is commonly known as turkey tail?

Which mushroom is commonly known as turkey tail? Trametes versicolor is the answer.

Its common name comes from the fan-shaped, concentrically banded fruit bodies, whose brown, rust, cream, gray, and sometimes blue tones resemble a wild turkey’s spread tail. The species is a widespread polypore that usually grows in overlapping shelves on dead hardwood, especially logs and stumps.

Trametes versicolor is a white-rot fungus: it breaks down lignin in wood and helps recycle fallen trees. Its tough, thin flesh is generally considered too leathery to eat. The epithet versicolor means “of several colors,” an apt reference to its zoned caps.

A common mix-up is Stereum ostrea, often called false turkey tail. The safest distinction is underneath: true turkey tail has tiny visible pores, while Stereum species have a smooth underside. Extracts such as PSK have been studied and used medically in Japan, but supplement claims should not be confused with established treatment recommendations.