Bracket fungus II

I have observed the growth of this fungus from the beginning. It started growing on the dying plum tree by the gate in the spring. I eventually cut the tree but I left the trunk propped against the fence. It looks quite different to my earler bracket fungus. It has been photographed more than once, but today all else failed and I went out in the drizzle which has persisted all day and used the built in flash.

You may notice it is surrounded by lichen growing on the bark. The yellow ones are apparently toxic. Apparently recent research demonstrated that lichen can survive a few days in space without coming to harm. They even suggest it might grow on Mars. I suppose it might mean that reindeer may one day have the first chance to roam the red planet.

Again I'm not sure what kind of bracket fungus it is, but then maybe somebody kind out there could put us out of our misery... and it really has been a miserable and damp day.