''Irpex lacteus'' is a common
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 ...
distributed throughout
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
areas of the world. It is the
type of the genus ''
Irpex''. ''Irpex lacteus'' is considered a
polypore
Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypor ...
, but depending on growth conditions it can also produce a
hydnoid hymenophore. Due to this variability and abundance of the species it has been
described as a new species to science numerous times and subsequently has an extensive
synonymy
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
. The complete
genome sequence
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding g ...
of ''Irpex lacteus'' was reported in 2017.
''Irpex lacteus'' is a
white-rot fungus that inhabits mainly
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
branches and trunks. It is one of the most common wood-rotting fungi for instance in urban North America. It is inedible. The fungus has been identified as a cause of pulmonary infections in immuno-compromised humans.
Taxonomy
The fungus was first
described in 1818 by
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 ...
, who called it ''Sistotrema lacteum''.
Fries later made it the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
of the genus ''
Irpex'' in 1828.
Synonyms
*''Boletus cinerascens''
Schwein. (1822)
*''Boletus tulipiferae''
Schwein. (1822)
*''Coriolus lacteus''
(Fr.) Pat. (1900)
*''Coriolus tulipiferae''
(Schwein.) Pat. (1900)
*''Daedalea diabolica''
Speg. (1889)
*''Hirschioporus lacteus''
(Fr.) Teng (1963)
*''Hydnum lacteum''
(Fr.) Fr. (1823)
*''Irpex bresadolae''
Schulzer (1885)
*''Irpex diabolicus''
(Speg.) Bres. (1919)
*''Irpex hirsutus''
Kalchbr. (1878)
*''Irpex lacteus'' f. ''sinuosus''
(Fr.) Nikol. (1953)
*''Irpex pallescens''
Fr. (1838)
*''Irpex sinuosus''
Fr. (1828)
*''Irpiciporus lacteus''
(Fr.) Murrill (1907)
*''Irpiciporus tulipiferae''
(Schwein.) Murrill (1905)
*''Microporus chartaceus''
(Berk. & M.A.Curtis) Kuntze, (1898)
*''Microporus cinerascens''
(Schwein.) Kuntze (1898)
*''Polyporus chartaceus''
Berk. & M.A.Curtis (1849)
*''Polyporus tulipiferae''
(Schwein.) Overh. s 'tulipiferus' (1915)
*''Polystictus bresadolae''
(Schulzer) Sacc. (1888)
*''Polystictus chartaceus''
(Berk. & M.A.Curtis) Cooke, (1886)
*''Polystictus cinerascens''
(Schwein.) Cooke (1886)
*''Polystictus cinerescens''
(Schwein.) Cooke
*''Polystictus tulipiferae''
(Schwein.) Cooke (1886)
*''Poria cincinnati''
Berk. ex Cooke, (1886)
*''Poria tulipiferae''
(Schwein.) Cooke, (1888)
*''Sistotrema lacteum''
Fr. (1818)
*''Steccherinum lacteum''
(Fr.) Krieglst. (1999)
*''Trametes lactea''
(Fr.) Pilát (1940)
*''Xylodon bresadolae''
(Schulzer) Kuntze (1898)
*''Xylodon hirsutus''
(Kalchbr.) Kuntze (1898)
*''Xylodon lacteus''
(Fr.) Kuntze (1898)
*''Xylodon pallescens''
(Fr.) Kuntze (1898)
*''Xylodon sinuosus''
(Fr.) Kuntze (1898)
References
Fungi described in 1818
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Fungal plant pathogens and diseases
Inedible fungi
Steccherinaceae
Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries
{{Polyporales-stub