Tinder conk (Fomes fomentarius), mushroom

The tinder conk (Fomes fomentarius) is a wood-decay fungus.

It is most often found growing on beech trees or decaying tree trunks and stumps. As a saprophytic mushroom it takes nourishment by decomposing organic matter of dead wood (e.g. lignin), leaving behind a white rot. It also performs essential nutrient cycling functions in beech forests – it protects the tree it grows on, and when it dies new fruiting bodies emerge and help break down the wood. Thus, its ecological function contributes to the dynamic and changing nature of the forest and maintains the stability of the forest ecosystem.

The tinder conk is recognised for its dark grey, hoof-shaped fruiting bodies that get harder and furrowed with age. It forms perennial brackets that grow slowly, so it is best to pick younger specimens. Tinder conks are knocked off the tree trunk so that a new fruit body can sprout from the mycelium. This method is nature-friendly and does not endanger the species. As one of the most common wood-decay fungi in Slovenia, the tinder conk is not subject to any restrictions other than the one that applies to all mushrooms (that are not protected or red-listed), namely that only two kilograms of mushrooms can be picked per person in a single day. Because its tough woody texture prevents culinary uses, it is classified as inedible, but is still recognised for its healing properties. Dried and milled it is believed to stop bleeding; extracts (teas and tinctures) are used to treat oral and gastrointestinal ulcers. As it contains substances that regulate blood sugar it is also beneficial for diabetics.

The mushroom got its name for its use to start, maintain, and carry fires. Ötzi the Iceman, whose mummy was found under the Alps, carried it with him in his girdle, together with the birch bracket. A very-well preserved fruiting body was found also with the oldest wooden wheel in the world, in the Ljubljana Marshes. Both finds date back to the same period, 3400 BC.

The tinder conk spores are released only in a certain period, so they are not always available for study, which is a considerable drawback for mycological research. Various research is involved in obtaining knowledge of the mushroom and its uses: mycological as well as anthropological, ethnobotanical, and archaeological. Recently, its historical uses in folk medicine have received scientific attention as well. Laboratory tests have confirmed its preventive and/or therapeutic, antiseptic, antibacterial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycaemic properties

Before the invention of matches (mid-19th century) the fire-starting kit consisted of a tinder mushroom, flint, and a fire striker (steel).

The tinder came from tinder conk fungus that was pounded flat and boiled or soaked in a solution of saltpetre, and left to dry. A single piece can smoulder for a night or even longer. The mushroom as a fire starter was so important that it even became a smokers’ accessory, and was even decorated. People could buy them from hawkers and in different shops. The tinder conk is also used in beekeeping to calm bees with the pleasant smell of its smoke. Similarly, the smoke works as a mosquito and moth repellent that can help sanitize people’s homes. The tinder conk plays a part also in rituals and customs. Kurents, traditional Shrovetide carnival figures, tie it on a chain and burn it. To this day, large specimens of the tinder conk are found missing from mushroom exhibitions, and it is believed that this is owing to the enthusiasm of some to be kurents. Smouldering tinder conks were used also to carry blessed fire from the church to people’s homes (between Christmas and New Year or just before Easter). In the past, healers used the absorbent trauma layer of the tinder conk to stop bleeding, and it is even said to heal the umbilical stump in newborns. To this day it is used as an effective home remedy, for tinctures, teas, and lotions; it can also be dried and milled, and used as a wound dressing. Also promising is its application in pharmaceutical mushroom extracts.

In the past, craftsmen made felt-like fabric for hats from the tinder conk. Until the 19^th century it was very popular with mushroom hunters and foresters who foraged for tinder conk around the Javorniki Hills and the Snežnik Mountains. At the beginning of the 20^th century, Hinko Dolenc reported that these mushrooms were bought by traffickers who sold them to buyers in England, where mushroom felt fabrics were produced in factories. Mushroom felt hats were so widespread that the knowledge behind the making of them was not specially protected, and has been more or less lost as a result (at least in Slovenia). In Transylvania and in certain regions of Eastern Europe craftsmen still make fabric and caps, belts, broaches, and other everyday items from the tinder conk. As a natural material, the fungus is a promising proposition in contemporary design and craftsmanship, so it has been receiving more attention recently also as a craft that is being revived and developed.