actually, not E. tinctorum so much as one of the bracket fungi in the Fomes genus. Fomes pini is an indicator when cruising timber that the timber value of the tree is a cull for the first 32 foot log. It destroys the timber/lumber value of the tree, but if there are not a lot of them, the rotted, softened wood makes a good portal of entry for cavity nesters. The old growth i cruised on the coast range in california as a pup was huge in diameter, but the conks seemed to run in patches, and when you saw the bracket fungi, you knew the tree was weakened enough to not stand up to severe winds. Then sure enough, an unusual wind storm, and the salvage loggers would go "WTF" as most of the blown-over trees had cull butt logs. But i digress.
