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Phellinus conchatus is a parasitic fungus growing on trees, belonging to the Hymenochetaceae family and the genus Polypores. It was first described by Christian Person in 1796, and was correctly classified by Lucien Quelet at the end of the 19th century. Its other scientific names:
- shell-shaped boletus;
- polyporus shell-shaped;
- phellinopsis conchata.
The fungus can settle at the very roots or climb up the trunk
What does Phellinus conchaeta look like?
Mushrooms are devoid of legs; with a rigid cap, they firmly adhere to the bark with their sides. The fruiting bodies that have barely appeared look like tiny round growths of brownish-red or beige color. They begin to grow, uniting into a single organism with a solid hymenophore and sinuous-wavy fused or free-standing caps. The surface is rough, covered with coarse bristles when young, but bare in older specimens. Radial stripes-bumps are clearly visible, often cracks extend from the edge.The color is striped, from grayish-ocher to black-brown. The edges are sharp, very thin, wavy, light beige, grayish or reddish-brown.
The shell-shaped polypore has a tubular hymenophore structure with rounded small pores. The spongy layer descends along the surface of the substrate, forming spread out uneven growth spots. Color can vary from gray-beige to milk chocolate, reddish, sandy brown and dark brown, yellow-purple or dirty gray in older specimens. The pulp is corky, woody, brown, red-brick or brownish in color.
The size of the caps can reach from 6 to 12 cm in width, the thickness at the base from 1 to 5 cm, and the area occupied by the overgrown tubular layer can cover the entire trunk of the host tree and spread down and to the sides for a distance of up to 0.6 m. The fused caps are sometimes 40-50 cm long.
A spongy spore-bearing layer descends down the trunk
Where does Phellinus conchataea grow?
Widely distributed throughout the globe. It is found on the American continent, in Asia and Europe, in the British Isles. In Russia it grows everywhere, especially abundantly in the northern regions, the Urals, Karelia and the Siberian taiga. Grows on dead wood and living trees, mainly deciduous trees: birch, ash, hawthorn, rowan, lilac, poplar, maple, honeysuckle, acacia, aspen, alder, beech. She especially loves goat willow. Sometimes it can be found on dead trees or stumps.
When infecting a tree, individual small fruiting bodies quickly grow, occupying new areas of the trunk.They grow in large, closely planted groups, forming roof-shaped and tiered growths. They can spread both in height, climbing up to the thinnest branches, and in width, covering the tree with peculiar “collars”.
The growths that Phellinus conchaeform forms look very impressive
Is it possible to eat Phellinus conchaeta?
This type of tinder fungus is classified as inedible mushrooms due to its woody pulp with low nutritional value. No toxic or toxic substances were found in its composition.
The mushroom often coexists with woody mosses, which frame the fruiting bodies with a fancy fringe
Conclusion
Phellinus conchaeta is a parasitic wood fungus that infects living deciduous trees. Causes dangerous diseases, often leading to plant death. Settles in cracks, chips, damaged and exfoliated areas of the bark. Prefers soft willow wood. Found everywhere in areas with temperate and northern climates, it is a cosmopolitan mushroom. Inedible, does not contain toxic substances. In Latvia, the Netherlands and France, Phellinus conchaeta is included in the lists of endangered species of mushrooms.
