''Rigidoporus ulmarius'' is a fungal
plant pathogen
Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...
found mainly on broad-leaved trees.
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
is considered particularly susceptible.
The fruiting bodies are white, knobbly and relatively hard, requiring a fair amount of force to break. Older bodies may be covered with green algae, or partially covered with vegetation and leaves making them difficult to spot. They often encapsulate grass, twigs and other debris.
Tubes are 1–5 mm long in each layer, pinkish to orange when young, browning with age, each layer separated by a thin contrasting band of white flesh. Pores 5–8 per millimeter, red-orange fading to clay-pink or buff with age. Spores pale yellow, globose, 6–7.5
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 ...
in diameter. Hyphal structure monomitic; generative hyphae lacking clamps. Habitat at the base of trunks of deciduous trees, usually elm. Season all year, perennial. Common. Not edible. Found in Europe.
A fruit body of ''R. ulmarius'' discovered in
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
of London in 2003 was, for a time, the largest known fungal fruit body ever discovered, measuring in diameter, and had a circumference of . However, in 2011, a specimen of ''
Phellinus ellipsoideus
''Phellinus ellipsoideus'' (formerly ''Fomitiporia ellipsoidea'') is a species of polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae, a specimen of which produced the largest fungal fruit body ever recorded. Found in China, the fruit bodies produced ...
'' (formerly ''Fomitiporia ellipsoidea'') significantly larger was discovered in China.
See also
*
Largest fungal fruit bodies
The largest mushrooms and conks are the largest known individual fruit bodies. These are known as ''sporocarps'', or, more specifically, ''basidiocarps'' and ''ascocarps'' for the Basidiomycota and Ascomycota respectively. These fruit bodies have ...
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1311011
Fungal tree pathogens and diseases
Meripilaceae
Fungi of Europe
Fungi described in 1952
Taxa named by James Sowerby