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Polypores (Polyporus) are a genus of annual and perennial basidiomycetes that differ in their morphological structure. Polypores live in close symbiosis with trees, parasitizing them or forming mycorrhizae with them. The lumpy polypore (Daedaleopsis confragosa) is a polypous fungus that lives on tree trunks and feeds on wood.It digests lingin, a tough component of plant cell walls, and forms what is called white rot.
The tinder fungus is lumpy, light brown in color, with radial stripes, warts and a white border along the edge visible on its surface
Description of the lumpy tinder fungus
Lumpy tinder fungus is a 1-2-3 year old mushroom. The fruiting bodies are sessile, widely adherent, semicircular, slightly convex, prostrate. Their sizes range from 3-20 cm in length, 4-10 cm in width, 0.5-5 cm in thickness. The fruiting bodies are formed by many thin threads-hyphae intertwined with each other. The surface of the tuberous polypore is bare, dry, covered with small grooved wrinkles, forming concentric color zones. Various shades of gray, brown, yellow-brown, reddish-brown alternate with each other.
Fruit body in gray-cream tones
The edges of the cap are thin, bordered with white or gray. Reddish-brown warts may appear on the surface; most often they are grouped in the middle. Sometimes there are tinder fungi covered with short hairs. The mushroom has no stem; the cap grows directly from the tree trunk. The hymenophore is tubular, initially white, gradually becoming beige and aging to gray. The pores are elongated and, depending on age, can be:
- round;
- form a pattern resembling a labyrinth;
- stretch out so much that they look like gills.
A pale coating forms on the surface of the pores of young mushrooms, and pink-brown “bruises” appear when pressed.
Hymenophore of Daedaleopsis rough
The spores are white, cylindrical or ellipsoidal. The tissue of Daedaleia tuberculata (trama) is corky and can be whitish, pinkish, or brownish.It has no characteristic odor and tastes bitter.
Where and how does it grow
The tuberous polypore is found in temperate latitudes: in Great Britain, Ireland, North America, most of continental Europe, China, Japan, Iran, India. It settles on deciduous trees, preferring willow, birch, and dogwood. Less common on oaks, elms and very rarely on conifers. Daedaleopsis rough grows singly, in groups or in tiers. Most often it can be found in forests with abundant dead wood - on old stumps, dry and rotting trees.
The lumpy tinder fungus lives on old, dying wood
Is the mushroom edible or not?
The tuberous polypore is an inedible mushroom: the structure and taste of the pulp do not allow it to be eaten. At the same time, Daedaleopsis lumbago has useful properties that determine its use in medicine:
- antimicrobial;
- antioxidant;
- fungicidal;
- anti-cancer.
An aqueous infusion of tinder fungus is taken to lower blood pressure.
Doubles and their differences
There are several varieties of polypores similar to Daedaleopsis tuberous. All of them are inedible due to the hard consistency of the trama and the bitter taste of the pulp, but are used in pharmacology.
Daedaleopsis tricolor
An annual mushroom with sessile, semi-prostrate fruiting bodies, different from Daedaleopsis tuberosity:
- smaller radius (up to 10 cm) and thickness (up to 3 mm);
- the ability to grow not only singly and in tiers, but also to form rosettes;
- lamellar hymenophore, turning brown when touched;
- high contrast of radial stripes, painted in rich red-brown tones.
The surface of the cap of Daedaleopsis tricolor is the same wrinkled, zonally colored, with a light rim along the edge.
Northern Daedaleopsis (Daedaleopsiss eptentrionas)
Small fruiting bodies with a radius of up to 7 cm are colored in dull yellowish-brown and brown colors. They differ from Daedaleopsis roughis in the following characters:
- the tubercles and radial stripes on the cap are smaller;
- there is a small tubercle at the base of the cap;
- The hymenophore is initially tubular, but quickly becomes lamellar.
The mushroom is found in mountain and northern taiga forests and prefers to grow on birch trees.
Birch Lenzites (Lenzites betulina)
The annual fruiting bodies of Lenzites birch are sessile and prostrate. They have a grooved-zonal surface of white, grayish, cream colors, darkening over time. They differ from Daedaleopsis tuberous:
- felt, bristly-hairy surface;
- the structure of the hymenophore, consisting of radially diverging large plates;
- fruiting bodies often grow together at the edges and form rosettes;
- the cap is often covered with a green coating.
This is one of the most common types of polypous fungi in Russia.
Steccherinum murashkinskyi
The fruiting bodies are sessile or on a rudimentary stalk, flexible, semicircular, 5-7 cm wide. The surface of the cap is uneven, bumpy, zonal, covered with hard hairs, and closer to the base - with nodules. The color of the mushroom is whitish at first, later darkens to light brown, and may be reddish-brown at the edge. It differs from the tuberous tinder fungus:
- spiny hymenophore of pinkish or red-brown color;
- cork-leather structure and aniseed aroma of trama;
- in very thin caps the edge becomes gelatinous and gelatinous.
In Russia, the mushroom grows in the Central zone, the south of Siberia and the Urals, and the Far East.
It belongs to the genus Phellinus. Grows on trees of the Rosaceae family - cherry, plum, cherry plum, sweet cherry, apricot.
False plum polypore
Conclusion
The tuberous polypore is a saprotroph that feeds on organic compounds formed as a result of the decomposition of wood. It rarely parasitizes healthy plants, preferring sick and depressed ones. Dedalea tuberculata destroys old, diseased, rotting wood, participates in the process of its decomposition and transformation into soil. Daedaleopsis rough, like many polypores, is an important link in the cycle of matter and energy in nature.
