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Common Bracket Fungi in the Amherst AreaCommon Bracket Fungi in the Amherst AreaCristie R. Kiley, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst
INTRODUCTION
Trametes hirsutaFound on the deadwood of hardwoods and
very rarely reported on the wood of conifers
Lenzites betulinaBirch Lenzites
Fruits on hardwood stumps and logs, especially birch
Trametes versicolorTurkey Tail
Ubiquitous on dead limbs, stumps, and logs of hardwoods and less frequently found on conifers
Polyporus variusBlackfoot Polypore
Fruits on decaying hardwood sticks and small logs
Trametes pubescensFruits on dead hardwood branches and rarely
reported on conifer wood
Cerrena unicolorMossy Maze Polypore
Fruits on the deadwood of hardwoods
Oxyporus populinusFruits on living hardwoods, especially maple
Pycnoporellus alboluteusSaprobic on the deadwood of conifers,
especially spruce, fir, hemlock, and pine; rarely on aspen
Ganoderma tsugaeReishi
Fruits strictly on conifers, especially eastern hemlock and fir
Daedaleopsis confragosaFruits on hardwood branches, especially oak
Postia fragilisFruits on dead birch
Fomes fomentariusTinder Polypore
Single to several fruit on living or dead hardwood trees, especially aspen, birch, and alder
Polypours squamosusDyrad’s Saddle
Fruits on decaying hardwood logs and stumps, as well as living hardwoods, especially elm, silver maple, and box elder
The Polyporaceae belong to a family of fungi known as the Basidiomycetes. They are commonly referred to as bracket fungi. Many are perennials, and prolific, sometimes over-wintering for many years. The Artist Conk is very popular and can grow up to 50 cm long!
They are generally tough, woody, and inedible. They can be either saprobic or parasitic and grow mostly on trees (dead or alive), logs, and stumps. The economic importance of the bracket fungi lies in the effect they have on timber, since some can act detrimentally, though some are mycorrhizal.
A great deal of the bracket fungi cause white rot, as seen with Lenzites betulina, Trametes hirsuta, Trametes pubescens, and Fomes fomentarius. And some cause brown rot, as seen with Daedaleopsis confragosa and Pycnoporellus alboluteus.
Common morphological characteristics of the bracket fungi are that they are often semi-circular, often sessile (lacking a stipe), and often shelving and/or overlapping in growth. They can be velvety/densely hairy, smooth/finely hairy, or not hairy at all. They can range from azonate (such as with Trametes hirsuta) to zonate (concentric bands), and some with variability in color (such as with Trametes versicolor). Sometimes the sporophore can be resupinate, in which the entire structure lies flat on the substratum with the lamellae facing up, as seen with Pycnoporellus alboluteus. Most have many pores, hence "polypore", but some do have gills. Even during a growing season with drought, the bracket fungi are widely present.