''Nigrofomes'' is a
genus of
fungi in the family
Polyporaceae. It was
circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every po ...
by mycologist
William Alphonso Murrill in 1904 with ''
N. melanoporus'' as the
type species. This fungus, first
described as ''Polyporus melanoporus'' from collections made in Cuba, is common in tropical America.
''
N. nigrivineus'', found in
Papua New Guinea, was added to the genus in 2013
and ''N. sinomelanoporus'' from China was added in 2018.
The genus name combines the
Latin word ''niger'' ("black") with the name ''
Fomes
''Fomes'' is a genus of perennial woody fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Species are typically hoof-shaped (ungulate). New growth each season is added to the margin, resulting in a downward extension of the hymenium. This often results in a z ...
''.
Description
Murrill described the characteristics of the genus as follows: "
Hymenophore large,
perennial,
epixylous,
sessile; context woody, purple, tubes cylindrical, stratose, thick-walled, black; pores ovoid, smooth,
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 ...
." He noted that ''Nigrofomes'' was distinguished from similar genera by its purple
context and black tubes.
Chemistry
Drimane
Drimane is a bicyclic sesquiterpene. It is the parent structure of many natural products with various biological activity.
Among the notable drimanes are:
*Polygodial, found in several different plants
*Multiple compounds found in several members ...
-type
sesquiterpenes called nigrofomins have been isolated from the fruit bodies of ''Nigrofomes melanoporus''.
References
Polyporaceae
Polyporales genera
Taxa described in 1904
{{Polyporales-stub