Polyporus umbellatus (Pers.) Fr. 1821
“Umbrella Polypore” Saprobic or parasitic. White rotter on hardwoods. Reappears often. Edible. Consists of many individual smoky gray-brown caps attached to separate stems joined to a basal structure which emerges from a sclerotia below the ground. Small white pores beneath the caps. Found at base of oaks, beech and other hardwoods. Edible when young and soft. It is in the Polyporaceae family of the Polyporales order.