Tinder fungus, burnt fellinus (species complex) (Phellinus igniarius coll)
Systematics:
- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Incertae sedis (undefined)
- Order: Hymenochaetales
- Family: Hymenochaetaceae (Hymenochetes)
- Genus: Phellinus (Fellinus)
- Species: Phellinus igniarius (Burnt polypore)
Synonyms:
-
Fellinus the burnt
- False tinder
- Polyporites igniarius
- Boletus igniarius
- Polyporus igniarius
- Fomes igniarius
- Placodes igniarius
- Ochroporus igniarius
- Mucronoporus igniarius
- Scindalma igniarium
- Pyropolyporus igniarius
- Agaricus igniarius
Description
Fruit bodies are perennial, sessile, of a fairly diverse shape and an average size of 5 to 20 cm in diameter, although occasionally specimens up to 40 cm in diameter are found. The thickness of the fruiting bodies varies from 2 to 12 cm, in some cases up to 20 cm. There are hoof-like variants (sometimes almost disc-shaped), cushion-shaped (especially in youth), almost spherical and slightly elongated. The shape of the fruit bodies depends, among other things, on the quality of the substrate, because as it is depleted, the fruit bodies become more hoof-shaped. When growing on a horizontal substrate (on the surface of the stump), young fruit bodies can take on truly fantasy forms. They grow to the substrate very tightly, which is generally a distinctive feature of the representatives of the genus Рhellinus. They grow singly or in groups, they can share the same tree with other polypores.
The surface is matte, uneven, with concentric ridges, in very young specimens it is as if 'suede' to the touch, subsequently naked. The edge is ridge-shaped, thick, rounded, especially in young specimens – but even in old specimens, although it is quite clear, it is still smoothed, not sharp. The color is usually dark, in a gray-brown-black range, often uneven, with a lighter edge (from golden brown to whitish), although young specimens can be quite light, brownish or gray. With age, the surface darkens to black or almost black and cracks.
The fabric is hard, heavy, woody (especially with age and when it dries), rusty-brown in color, under the influence of KOH it turns black. The smell is described as 'pronounced mushroom'.
The hymenophore is tubular, tubules 2-7 mm long end in round pores with a density of 4-6 per mm. The color of the hymenophore changes depending on the season, which is a characteristic feature of all representatives of this species complex. During the winter, it usually fades to light buffy, grayish or even whitish. In the spring, new tubules begin to grow, and the color changes to a rusty brown – starting from the central region – and by the beginning of summer the whole hymenophore will already be dull rusty brown.
The spore print is white. The spores are almost spherical, smooth, non-amyloid, 5.5-7 x 4.5-6 microns.
Edibility
The mushroom is inedible due to its woody consistency.
Spread
The representatives of the Phellinus igniarius complex are one of the most common polypores of the genus Phellinus. They settle on living and dying deciduous trees; they are also found on dry, valezha and stumps. They cause white rot, for which woodpeckers are very grateful to them, because it is easy to hollow out a hollow in the affected wood. Trees are infected through bark damage and broken branches. Human activities do not bother them at all, they can be found not only in the forest, but also in the park, and on the personal plot.
Special notes
In a narrow sense, a form that grows strictly on willows is considered a species Phellinus igniarius, while those growing on other substrates are distinguished into separate forms and species – for example, the blackish tinder fungus (Phellinus nigricans) growing on birch.
However, mycologists do not have a unanimous opinion on the species composition of this complex, and since the exact definition is very difficult, and it is impossible to focus only on the host tree, this article is devoted to the entire species complex of Phellinus igniarius as a whole.
