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The tinder fungus or gleophyllum fence is known in mycological reference books as Gloeophyllum sepiarium. The mushroom has several Latin names:
- Daedalea sepiaria;
- Agaricus sepiarius;
- Lenzitina sepiaria;
- Merulius sepiarius.
The species belongs to the genus Gleophyllum of the small family Gleophyllaceae.
What does gleophyllum fence look like?
More often, gleophyllum fence has a one-year biological cycle; less often, the growing season lasts two years. There are single specimens or fused laterally, if the fruiting bodies are located tightly at the same level of a common plane. The shape is half-shaped in the form of a rosette or fan with a wavy ridge along the edge.The fruiting bodies are convex at the beginning of growth, then flat and prostrate with a tiled arrangement over the surface of the substrate.
External characteristics:
- The size of the fruiting body reaches 8 cm in width, and up to 15 cm in cross-section.
- The upper part is velvety in young specimens, but in more mature age it is covered with short, thick and hard hair. The surface is tuberculate with grooves of varying depths.
- The color at the beginning of growth is bright light brown with an orange tint, darkens with age to brown, then black. The color is uneven with pronounced concentric areas: the closer they are to the center, the darker.
- The species has a hymenophore of a mixed type. At the beginning of growth, it is formed by small tubes arranged in the form of a labyrinth. With age, the spore-bearing layer becomes lamellar. The plates are irregular in various shapes and sizes, the arrangement is dense.
- The lower part of the mushroom is brown, then dark brown.
The structure of the fruit body is dense, corky, the flesh is brown or dark yellow.
The growing edges are always lighter - they are dark yellow or orange
Where and how does it grow
Gleophyllum fenceum is not tied to a specific climatic zone; cosmopolitan grows on dead wood, stumps, and dead wood. Found in mixed forests where conifers predominate. The saprophyte parasitizes on pine, spruce, and cedar. Rarely found on rotting remains of deciduous trees. Prefers open dry areas, edges or clearings. Gleophyllum fence is widespread in the forests of the northern part of Russia, the middle zone and the south.
Gleophyllum fence can be found indoors, where it is located on treated coniferous wood, causing brown rot.In an unnatural environment, the fruiting bodies are underdeveloped, smaller, and sterile. The tinder fungus can have the shape of a coral. It also grows in open areas of wooden outbuildings and fences. In a temperate climate, the growing season is from spring until the onset of frost, in the south - throughout the year.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
Mushrooms do not contain toxic compounds in their chemical composition. Due to its hard, dry structure, the species has no nutritional value.
Doubles and their differences
Similar species include odorous gleophyllum. Just like the tinder fungus, it is inedible. The species is perennial, larger in size and with thick flesh. The shape is round, light yellow at the bottom, with dark brown areas on the surface. It grows solitarily, scatteredly, and parasitizes rotting coniferous wood. A distinctive feature is the pleasant, well-defined smell of anise.
The fruiting body is cushion-shaped with a lamellar hymenophore
Twins include log gleophyllum, a cosmopolitan mushroom that grows on deciduous trees, often on treated wood of buildings. The species is annual, but the biological cycle can last up to two years. It is located singly or in small groups with lateral parts fused together. The spore-bearing layer is mixed: tubular and lamellar. The color is dark gray, the surface is lumpy and rough, the flesh is thin. Mushrooms are inedible.
The lower part of the porous structure with cells of different sizes
Conclusion
Gleophyllum fenceum is a saprotroph, parasitizes dead coniferous wood, and can settle on treated wood, causing brown rot.Due to the rigid structure of the fruiting body, mushrooms have no nutritional value. The main cluster is in temperate regions, less common in the south.
