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''Fomitopsis pinicola'', is a stem decay fungus common on softwood and hardwood trees. Its
conk The conk was a hairstyle popular among African-American men from the 1920s up to early-mid 1960s. This hairstyle called for a man with naturally "kinky" hair to have it chemically straightened using a relaxer called congolene, an initially ...
(fruit body) is known as the red-belted conk. The
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
is common throughout temperate Europe and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. It is a decay fungus that serves as a small-scale disturbance agent in coastal rainforest ecosystems. It influences stand structure and succession in
temperate rainforests Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Pac ...
. It performs essential
nutrient cycling A nutrient cycle (or ecological recycling) is the movement and exchange of inorganic and organic matter back into the production of matter. Energy flow is a unidirectional and noncyclic pathway, whereas the movement of mineral nutrients is cycli ...
functions in forests. It has been reported that mushrooms have significant antioxidant activity.


Description

The cap is hoof-shaped or triangular, and sometimes shelflike. It is hard and tough, and up to 30 cm or more across and 15 cm thick. Its surface is more or less smooth, at first orange-yellow with a white margin, later dark reddish to brown and then frequently with an orange margin. The pore surface is pale yellow to leather-brown, 3–4 pores per mm. It grows as thick shelves on live and dead coniferous or (less commonly) deciduous trees. The spores are pale yellow and smooth. The species also grows as a layer of tubes on the bottom of fallen wood. The
fruiting body 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 cy ...
of ''Fomitopsis pinicola'' is called the ''conk''. It is a woody, pileate fruiting body with pores lined with
basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-c ...
on its underside. As in other polypores, the fruiting body is perennial with a new layer of pores produced each year on the bottom of the old pores. The pores are whitish when young and become somewhat brownish in age. This mushroom is inedible due to its woody texture, but it is useful as tinder. There is currently a splitting of ''F. pinicola'' occurring to isolate distinct species that have all previously been classified as ''F. pinicola.'' DNA analysis supports splitting ''F. pinicola'' into three groups- ''F. pinicola, F. mounceae, and F. schrenkii''. ''Fomitopsis pinicola'' is found in Europe and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, ''Fomitopsis mounceae'' is on the east coast of the US, west coast of the US and midwestern US, and ''F. schrenkii'' is found at higher elevations in the latitude of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to central Mexico.


Similar species

Similar species include ''
Ganoderma lucidum ''Ganoderma lucidum'' is a red-colored species of ''Ganoderma'' with a limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, where it grows on decaying hardwood trees. Wild populations have been found in the United States in California and Utah, but ...
'', ''
Laricifomes officinalis ''Laricifomes officinalis'', also known as agarikon, eburiko, or the quinine conk, is a wood-decay fungus that causes brown heart rot on conifers native to Europe, Asia, and North America, as well as Morocco. The fungus is in the order Polyporal ...
'', and '' Heterobasidion annosum''.


Stem decay characteristics

Most of the stem decay (heart rot) in mature forests that results from this fungus does not interfere with the normal growth and physiological processes of live trees since the
vascular system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
is not affected. It is classified as a brown rot, which primarily degrades
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
in tree stands. Wood impacted by this fungus may become more brittle and prone to breakage in high winds, and cannot be used for pulp production. This species requires exposed wood of wounds for entry, continuing their decay after the tree dies. The fruiting bodies of the fungus disperse airborne spores, but the actual degradation of the wood is by the thread-like vegetative part of the fungus inside the trees. The fungus can occur anywhere on roots or the stem, but is most common low on the bole, where frequent wounds promote infection.


Ecology

This stem decay fungi is found on live conifer trees in
southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province o ...
such as
Western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...
,
Mountain hemlock ''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California. Description ''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...
,
White spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...
, Lutz spruce and
Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...
. The tree stem decay is caused by the fungus when it invades and colonizes the wood of living trees and decomposes the wood before the tree is dead. This brown rot fungus degrades only cellulose, leaving the other primary constituents of wood, lignin, as a considerably less dense but fairly stable residual structure that is suitable for excavation by
woodpeckers Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions ...
. This fungus is normally found on dead conifers, but can also be observed growing on large stem wounds, broken tops, and dead tissue of live trees. In mature forests, these stem decay fungi cause enormous annual wood volume loss of Alaska’s major tree species. Approximately one-third of the old-growth timber board-foot volume in Southeast Alaska is defective, largely due to decay from this type of fungus. Conversely, there is very little decay in young-growth stands without prevalent wounding from commercial thinning activities, wind damage, or animal feeding. By predisposing large old trees to bole breakage and windthrow, stem decays serve as important small-scale disturbance regimes in these temperate rainforest ecosystems where fire and other large-scale disturbances are uncommon. This stem decay creates canopy gaps, influences stand structure and succession, increases
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...
, and enhances wildlife habitat. The fungus also performs essential nutrient cycling functions in these forests by decomposing stems, branches, roots, and boles of dead trees. Cavities created by the fungus in standing trees provide crucial habitat for many wildlife species including bears, voles,
squirrels Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
, and a number of bird species. The lack of disturbance in these areas and longevity of individual trees allows ample time for this slow-growing decay fungus to cause significant decay. There is a growing interest in acquiring methods to promote earlier development of stem decays in second-growth stands to achieve wildlife and other non-timber objectives.FS-R10-FHP. 2014. Forest Health Conditions in Alaska 2013. Anchorage, Alaska. USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region. Publication R10-PR-035.81 PAGES 40-42. Image:Fomitopsis_pinicola_2.JPG, Underside of conk showing the typical round pores. Image:Fomitopsis_pinicola_3.JPG, Younger specimens like these often show more orange colours.


References

* "Danske storsvampe. Basidiesvampe" key to Danish basidiomycetesJ.H. Petersen and J. Vesterholt eds. Gyldendal. Viborg, Denmark, 1990.
Entry of ''Fomitopsis pinicola''
at Fungal Databases, Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory Nomenclature Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.

{{Commons
pinicola The pine grosbeak (''Pinicola enucleator'') is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Pinicola''. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Can ...
Fungi described in 1810 Inedible fungi