Content
Polypores are fungi that grow on the trunks and skeletal branches of living and dead trees, as well as in their roots. They are similar in the structure of fruiting bodies, type of nutrition, methods of reproduction, but belong to different orders and families. The name brings together many varieties that are saprotrophs on dead wood and parasites on living wood. Photos of the tinder fungus presented in the article demonstrate an amazing variety of colors, sizes and shapes.
The tinder is real
What does a tinder fungus look like?
The appearance of tinder fungi is very diverse. In size they can range from a few millimeters to 100 cm in diameter, weigh from a few grams to 20 kg. Fruiting bodies can consist of one cap, the edge of which is attached to the substrate, or have a stalk - full or rudimentary. The shape of the caps can be prostrate, prostrate-bent, hoof-shaped, cantilever-shaped, fan-shaped, spherical, nodule-shaped, shelf-shaped, shell-shaped, bent, disc-shaped.
Depending on the type and age, the thickness of the caps varies. Their surface can be smooth, lumpy, wrinkled, velvety, fleecy, matte or glossy, crusted or peeled.
Hoof-shaped larch tinder fungus
Algae or moss often settle on the surface of the caps. The colors can be muted, pastel colors or bright. The core is called fabric or trama. She may be:
- soft – waxy, fleshy, subgelatinous, fibrous, spongy;
- tough – leathery, corky, woody.
Sometimes the fabric is double-layered, consisting of soft and hard layers. Its structure can change during the development of the fungus. The color of trama varies within white, gray, beige, yellow, brown, brownish, pinkish tones. The hymenophore of tinder fungi comes in different types:
- tubular;
- labyrinthine;
- lamellar;
- toothed;
- spinous.
Types of Hymenophora Polypore Fungi
In perennial species, with age or under the influence of the environment, an age-related transformation of one type of hymenophore into another is observed. Pores can be regular or irregular in shape, identical in size or different in size. The spores vary from cylindrical to spherical, and are colored whitish or grayish.
Where does the tinder fungus grow?
Polypores grow in any part of planet Earth where there are trees. They settle on different parts of living and felled trees, processed wood - timber, and wooden buildings.
They can be found in forests, gardens, parks, suburban areas and cities. Few tinder fungi live on living trees: most representatives of the genus prefer dead wood.The habitat of polypore fungi covers temperate and tropical regions, but there are also varieties that live in more severe climatic conditions.
Features of tinder
Among tinder fungi there are both annual and perennial varieties. They are divided into 3 categories:
- Annuals, developing during one growing season. The lifespan of such tinder fungi does not exceed 4 months; with the onset of winter they die.
- Annual overwintering – tolerate winter well and resume spore reproduction in the next season.
- Perennial - living 2-4 years or 30-40 years and annually growing a new layer of hymenophore.
Polypore fungi are not “omnivores”; they are characterized by specialization according to tree species. There are very few highly specialized varieties among them; most are focused on a specific type of wood, for example, coniferous or broad-leaved species. In each area, a certain tinder fungus affects 1-2 tree species.
The structure of the tinder fungus
The tinder fungus consists of a mycelium and a fruiting body. The mycelium develops inside the woody body, spreading along the entire length. Before the formation of fruiting bodies, the fungus does not reveal its presence in any way. Polypore fungi grow slowly, first forming tubercles or flat spots on the surface. Then they gradually increase in size and acquire the shape characteristic of this species.
Cross-section of the tinder fungus: the hymenophore, tissue, and crust are clearly visible
The fruiting body of a tree fungus is formed by the interweaving of many threads-hyphae of varying lengths and thicknesses. The hyphal system of polypores can be:
- monomitic – consisting only of generative hyphae;
- dimitic – formed by generative and skeletal or binding hyphae;
- trimitic – formed by generative, skeletal and binding hyphae.
Many species of polypores are characterized by the annual reproduction of a new hymenophore while gradually overgrowing the old one with hyphae. In this case, the body of the mushroom is formed by annual ridges, by which its age can be determined.
The development of the fungus is influenced by climatic conditions and the location of the substrate. Favorable weather stimulates their rapid growth and proper development. The main role here is played by the level of humidity. When there is enough of it, the fruiting bodies become darker and acquire contrasting colors. In dry weather, on the contrary, they lighten, become thinner, dry, the pores are smoothed and tightened. For this reason, the mushroom can form several layers of hymenophore in one season.
Type of food of tinder fungus
All tinder fungi feed on wood. They have the ability to decompose the cellulose and lingin they need, for which their mycelium or hyphae produce the corresponding enzymes. Depending on their composition, different types of rot occur on wood: white, brown, red, variegated, soft. The wood changes color, becomes brittle, delaminates parallel to the growth rings, and loses volume and weight. If the tinder fungus has settled on an old, diseased, dry plant, it acts as a forest orderly, accelerating the transformation of the latter into soil. If the host tree is young and healthy, the tinder fungus parasitizes it and destroys it within 5-10 years.
Heartwood-sapwood rot caused by the activity of tinder fungus
How does the tinder fungus reproduce?
Polypores reproduce by spores, infection occurs by air. Spores enter deep into the tree trunk through damage to the bark resulting from exposure to severe frosts and winds, grass from animals, and human activity. There they attach, sprout with mycelium, which gradually grows, destroying the tree from the inside. The fruiting bodies are the small, visible part of the mushroom. Most of it is inside the trunk. With this method of reproduction and development, it is impossible to detect the tinder fungus at an early stage. It grows imperceptibly in the core of the tree and appears as a fruiting body even when it is almost impossible to save the plant.
Types of tinder fungi
Polypore fungi belong to the class Basidiomycetes, subclass Holobasidiomycetes, in which several families are distinguished:
- Fistulinaceae (Fistulinaceae) - included in the Agarikov order, they combine saprophytic fungi with shelf-shaped fruiting bodies. A striking representative of the family is the so-called liver mushroom (Fistulina hepatica) - an edible variety of tinder fungus.
Common liverwort
- Amylocorticaceae (Amylocorticiaceae) - representatives of the Boletaceae order, form flat fruiting bodies. These include Amylocorticium fragrant and flesh-pink, Ceraceomyces small-spored and creeping, and Plicaturopsis.
Plicaturopsis curly
- Hymenochaetes (Hymenochaetales) – combines inedible species of tree-dwelling fungi. Annual and perennial fruiting bodies are colored yellowish-brown, dark gray, and have a hard cork or woody frame. Includes the genera Phellinus, Inonotus, Pseudoinontus, Mensularia, Onnia, Coltricia.
Inonotus bristulosa
- Schizoporidae (Schizoporaceae) - includes 14 genera and 109 species. The fruiting bodies are annual and perennial, prostrate or prostrate-bent, repeating the configuration of the substrate, painted white or brownish, flat, adherent, growing on the underside of dead wood. The hymenophore is smooth or cracked, with rounded or irregularly shaped pores, sometimes with teeth.
Schizopora is strange
- Albatrellaceae (Albatrellaceae) are edible tinder fungi, part of the order Russulales. The fruiting bodies are annual, consisting of a flat-depressed cap, whitish, yellowish or brownish in color and a short, thin cylindrical stalk. They grow under coniferous trees and form mycorrhiza with them. Only young mushrooms are eaten.
Albatrellus cristata
- Polypore (Polyporaceae) - form shelf-like growths on trees. The flesh is often soft when young, becoming very hard over time. The hymenophore is tubular or labyrinthine. Includes edible and inedible mushrooms.
Daedaleopsis tricolor
- Phanerochaetes (Phanerochaetacaeae) - form bark-shaped or tongue-shaped prostrate fruiting bodies up to 15 cm in diameter and up to 1.5 cm thick, often forming peculiar “whatnots” on the bark. Hymenophore spinous. The pulp is thin, leathery or fibrous, inedible.
Irpex milky white
- Meruliaceae (Meruliaceae) – fruiting bodies spread over the substrate or erect, annual, soft. Some species form a well-developed cap. The surface of the mushroom is smooth or pubescent, painted in whitish or brownish tones. The hymenophore can be smooth, spinous, folded.
Gleoporus yew
- Fomitopsis (Fomitopsidaceae) - perennial fruiting bodies, sessile or prostrate, often hoof-shaped, massive. The tissue is leathery, woody or corky, the hymenophore is tubular, layered. Annual mushrooms are often bushy, multi-capped, and edible.
Oak sponge
- Ganoderma (Ganoderma) - includes 2 types of mushrooms: with a matte and oily-shiny surface. The fruit bodies are cap or cap-pedunculated and have a corky or woody structure.
Varnished tinder fungus (reishi mushroom)
- Gleophyllaceae (Gleophillum) - forms annual or perennial fruiting bodies in the form of a horseshoe or rosette. The surface of the mushroom can be smooth or fleecy, colored brown or gray. The hymenophore is tubular, labyrinthine or lamellar.
Stereum
The classification of polypores by mycologists shows significant disagreement. The same mushrooms may belong to different groups among different researchers.
Are tinder fungi edible?
When picking mushrooms, many people avoid tinder fungi, not knowing for sure whether they are poisonous or not. In the large genus of tinder fungi there are both edible and inedible mushrooms. Edibles are eaten at a young age, when they have tender flesh and good taste. Some species grow on tree trunks singly or in small groups (sulfur-yellow, lacquered and scaly polypores, liverwort), others form branched multi-cap fruiting bodies in the roots of trees or on the site of recently destroyed stumps (meripilus gigantica, polyporus umbelliferous, grifolate). Inedible, woody mushrooms are unsuitable for consumption, but they are used in folk medicine, pharmacology, and cosmetology.There are no poisonous varieties among tinder fungi, but they can cause allergic reactions.
Scaly tinder fungus, edible
When to collect tinder fungus
Tinder mushrooms need to be collected in the spring, with the beginning of sap flow, and in the fall, when they, having prepared for wintering, have stocked up on useful substances. When preparing medicinal raw materials, preference should be given to specimens growing at high altitudes. Tinder fungi with a cork tram can be cut with a knife; woody mushrooms will require more effort and the use of an ax or saw. If the mushroom crumbles, it means that it is overripe and has lost its beneficial properties. Bushy edible varieties that grow at the base of trees are best harvested young, cutting out the entire group.
Why is the mushroom called tinder fungus?
The name comes from ancient times. Once upon a time, before the invention of matches, a flint consisting of flint, firewood and tinder was used to start a fire. Using a hammer and flint, a spark was struck, which was supposed to fall on tinder, a flammable material. Then the hard wood was ignited with flared tinder. A piece of fabric or cotton wool, dry moss, tree bark and wood-dwelling fungi of a loose, corky structure were used as tinder. Due to their ability to serve as tinder, these mushrooms were called tinder fungi.
A piece of tinder mushroom and flint
Conclusion
Looking at the photo of the tinder fungus, one can endlessly be amazed at the variety of manifestations of living nature. This organism is the most important participant in the forest biocenosis, playing both positive and negative roles in it. By destroying dead wood, polypores contribute to its rapid decomposition and transformation into a nutrient substrate for other plants. At the same time, they cause harm to forestry.Feeding on the juices of healthy plants, parasitic fungi lead to their death. And a person, being interested in the preservation of the forest, can influence the life activity of tinder fungi and limit their spread.
Photos of tinder fungi
Due to the great diversity of species, it is impossible to provide photos and descriptions of all edible and inedible tinder fungi. Many wildlife lovers consider these representatives of the mushroom kingdom to be very beautiful. The photos of tinder fungi with names offered below allow you to verify this and, perhaps, will make you want to get to know this kingdom better.
Fungus
Birch sponge
Sulfur-yellow tinder fungus
Meripilus gigantea
Polyporus umbellata
Grifola deciduous (ram mushroom)
Climacodon is the most beautiful
Fox tinder
Two-year-old Sukhlyanka
