Hackleman Old Growth Trail
Best guess. Desiccated, branching structure emanating from wood chips. No obvious gills on underside.
upper montane region. growing on trees.
Upper temperate environment. Growing on a tree stump. Fully exposed to sun. Ferns and miss also growing on stump.
Has an amazing amount of little thorns all over it including leaves, very painful. It comes back every summer too. Southern West Virginia.