Firestarter Mushroom - Fomes fomentarius

[FASTMOVINGBROOK]

you can also soak it in water or alcohol and make extracts or teas . very great for health!

[cujomojo2007]

You mention the Alps Iceman, he had seven different tinders on him at the time of his death. Does anyone know what the other six were?

[charneena]

They are also thought to have been used to transport spark to aid in fire-starting.

I appreciate these conks for the hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of animals they support each year of growth. You will often find large 20+ year old conks with evidence of the beetles and flies that inhabited the past perennial layers of growth. We have hundreds of species that require conks just like this! Many of this guild are now threatened in areas with intensive forest management in Europe...

[OutdoorsLiving]

I was an Eagle Scout years ago. I guess I just paid attention to whatever anyone would teach me. =) A love for the outdoors and what it has to offer helps too!

[OutdoorsLiving]

If you are wondering about processing horse hoof polypore into tinder, Fomes fomentarius has a larger trauma layer than Phellinus igniarius its look alike, the trama layer is the layer between the surface crust and the tube layer, this is the layer that you want to cut out, after you remove it add either a 2% soak solution of saltpeter and dry it, or boil it in a slurry of ash from a fire. After you have dried it pound it thin for use. I have found that Inonotus obliquus works better for fire.

[sporeprints]

The best way is to sun dry them naturally. They are fairly dry by themselves and wooly on the inside even when fresh!