''Climacocystis borealis'' is a species of poroid

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

in the family

Fomitopsidaceae The Fomitopsidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. Most species are parasitic on woody plants, and tend to cause brown rots. The name comes from ''Fomitopsis'' (meaning "looking like Fomes") + ''-aceae'' (a suffix used to form t ...

Taxonomy

First described in 1821 by Swedish mycologist

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired ...

, it has since acquired an extensive synonymy of alternate scientific names. Until 2014, it was the sole member of the ''

Climacocystis ''Climacocystis'' is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Until recently, it was monotypic genus, containing the single widespread species '' Climacocystis borealis''. In 2014, Chinese mycologists added the newly described speci ...

'', a genus circumscribed by Czech mycologists

František Kotlaba František Kotlaba (20 May 1927 in Vlastiboř – 11 June 2020 in Prague) was a Czech botanist and mycologist. Scientific career After his degree in Natural Sciences and Pedagogy at the Charles University in Prague, Kotlaba received a post at ...

and

Zdeněk Pouzar Zdeněk Pouzar (born 13 April 1932) is a Czech mycologist. Along with František Kotlaba, he published several works about the taxonomy of polypore, corticioid, and gilled fungi. Pouzar is a noted expert on stromatic pyrenomycetes. Until 2012, he ...

in 1958, when the newly described Chinese species ''

Climacocystis montana ''Climacocystis'' is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Until recently, it was monotypic genus, containing the single widespread species '' Climacocystis borealis''. In 2014, Chinese mycologists added the newly described speci ...

'' was added to the genus.

Ecology and distribution

''Climacocystis borealis'' is both a saprophyte and a secondary

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

that causes a

heart rot 300px, The bracket fungus '' Fistulina hepatica'' is one of many that cause heart rot. In trees, heart rot is a fungal disease that causes the decay of wood at the center of the trunk and branches. Fungi enter the tree through wounds in the bark ...

in the roots and bole of host trees. It is widely distributed, and has been recorded from Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North America. In China, it is found in

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. It is not edible by humans.

References

External links

* Fomitopsidaceae Fungi described in 1821 Fungi of Europe Fungi of Asia Fungi of North America Fungi of Oceania Inedible fungi Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries Fungi without expected TNC conservation status {{Polyporales-stub