''Panus fasciatus'' (common name includes hairy trumpet) is a species of fungi in the family

Polyporaceae The Polyporaceae are a family of poroid fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruit bodies varies from soft (as in the case of the dryad's saddle illustrated) to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymeniu ...

in the genus ''

Panus ''Panus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Species * (Senthil. & S.K.Singh) Senthil. (2015) *'' Panus bacillisporus'' Kauffman (1930) *'' Panus bartlettii'' Massee (1907) *'' Panus biersianus'' Har. & Pat. (1914) *'' Panus brunnei ...

'' of the

Basidiomycota Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

. ''P. fasciatus'' has a fruiting body in the shape of a funnel with a velvety texture, hence the nickname "hairy trumpet." When it was identified by D. Pegler of Kew, he created a subgroup of the ''Lentinus'' fungi, called ''Panus'' based on their hyphal systems. For this reason, ''Panus fasciatus'' is sometimes referred to as ''Lentinus fasciatus''. ''Panus fasciatus'' has been described with numerous other names which were combined by Pegler in 1965.

Morphology

The fungus has a unique shape, with the cap in-rolled when the fungus is young, and then developing a funnel (or infundibuliform) shape over time. It is also known for having pale brown hairs that cover the cap. In dry conditions, the stalk peels like bark but returns to normal following rain. ''P. fasciatus'' also has deeply

decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, a velvety pileus, and dense hairs. The fungus can have purple

that turn brown as they mature. The spores have a white print.

Reproduction

Basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are pro ...

of ''P. fasciatus'' reside on the

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

of the gills of the fruiting body. When two germinating basidiospores of opposite mating types fuse via

plasmogamy Plasmogamy is a stage in the sexual reproduction of fungi, in which the protoplasm of two parent cells (usually from the mycelia) fuse without the fusion of nuclei, effectively bringing two haploid nuclei close together in the same cell. This sta ...

, the two nuclei remain unfused while a basidiocarp fruiting body is formed. On the gills beneath the cap, numerous basidia are formed.

Karyogamy Karyogamy is the final step in the process of fusing together two haploid eukaryotic cells, and refers specifically to the fusion of the two nuclei. Before karyogamy, each haploid cell has one complete copy of the organism's genome. In order for ...

and meiosis occur and give rise to mature basidiospores. These are then released via the Buller's drop method of spore dispersal.

Ecology

''Panus fasciatus'' is a wood-decaying

saprotroph Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi (f ...

that feeds on rotting logs or small branches.

Habitat

''Panus fasciatus'' is commonly found in drier woodland environments, amongst the grass, and beneath eucalypts,

acacias ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

, and

casuarinas ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

. It is usually exposed to sunlight most of the day.

Distribution

''Panus fasciatus'' has been recorded in southern and eastern Australia, Africa, Cameroon, Oceania, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia, however, much of its distribution is unknown. It has been recorded in low numbers in the

Jarrah forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...

region of western Australia.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Miles J. Berkeley in 1840 as ''Lentinus fasciatus.'' It was later renamed by David Pegler of the

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

Royal Botanical Garden in 1965 in the Australian Journal of Botany. Pegler treated ''Panus'' as a subgroup of ''Lentinus,'' however another mycologist, Corner, considered ''Panus'' and ''Lentinus'' as two separate genre based on their

hyphal 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 ...

systems, so their relationship is controversial. These subgroups were identified based on morphology, but held true for the most part upon more molecular research. Pegler's identification of ''P. fasciatus'' was based on collections from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

gathered by R.C. Dunn and R. W. Lawrence. ''P. fasciatus'' was among the first fungal species to be identified in Australia.

References

Polyporales Fungi described in 1965 Taxa named by Miles Joseph Berkeley {{Polyporales-stub