''Fibroporia bohemica'' is a species of poroid

crust fungus The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

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

The fungus was described as new to science in 2012 by mycologists Annarosa Bernicchia, Petr Vampola, and Antonio Prodi after it was confirmed that it was morphologically and genetically distinct from the similar North American species ''

Fibroporia radiculosa ''Fibroporia'' is a genus of ten species of poroid crust fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. The genus contains species similar to those in genus ''Antrodia'', but they are phylogenetically distinct. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 1968 ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''bohemia'' references

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, where the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected.

Description

Fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

of ''Fibroporia bohemica'' grow as an irregular crust on their

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

. They are initially smooth and whitish to slightly pinkish, sometimes with sulphur-yellow colouration on the vertical surface. The tubes, which are formed later, are up to 6 mm long and yellow. The round to angular pores number 2–4 per millimetre. Numerous

rhizomorph Mycelial cords are linear aggregations of parallel-oriented hyphae. The mature cords are composed of wide, empty vessel hyphae surrounded by narrower sheathing hyphae. Cords may look similar to plant roots, and also frequently have similar functio ...

s surround the crust, and penetrate deep into the substrate; they are most abundant on old fruit bodies growing on very decayed wood. The odour of the fungus has been described as "strong and unpleasant". The spores of ''F. bohemica'' are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, smooth, and

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

to somewhat cylindrical in shape. They typically measure 5–5.5 by 2.8–3

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

. The fungus has a

dimitic A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

l system, with thin-walled, richly branched generative hyphae with clamps at septa, measuring 2–4.5 μm in diameter. The

skeletal hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

e, measuring 3–6 μm in diameter, are thick-walled, and unbranched or only moderately so.

Habitat and distribution

Found in central European coniferous forests, ''F. bohemica'' causes a brown rot on stumps of

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...

, or, more rarely, on Scots pine.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q30693560 Fomitopsidaceae Fungi described in 2012 Fungi of Europe