Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as toxicity or infection.
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi. They can appear either below ground (hypogeous) or above ground (epigeous) where they may be picked by hand. Edibility may be defined by criteria that include absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutritional and culinary value. Mushrooms, especially dried shiitake, are sources of umami flavor.
The Polyporales are an order of about 1800 species of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The order includes some polypores as well as many corticioid fungi and a few agarics. Many species within the order are saprotrophic, most of them wood-rotters. Some genera, such as Ganoderma and Fomes, contain species that attack living tissues and then continue to degrade the wood of their dead hosts. Those of economic importance include several important pathogens of trees and a few species that cause damage by rotting structural timber. Some of the Polyporales are commercially cultivated and marketed for use as food items or in traditional Chinese medicine.
Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside. They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypores are closely related to each other. Polypores are also called bracket fungi or shelf fungi, and they characteristically produce woody, shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies that are called conks.
Cerioporus squamosus aka Polyporus squamosus is a basidiomycete bracket fungus, with common names including dryad's saddle and pheasant's back mushroom. It has a widespread distribution, being found in North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, where it causes a white rot in the heartwood of living and dead hardwood trees. The name "dryad's saddle" refers to creatures in Greek mythology called dryads who could conceivably fit and ride on this mushroom, whereas the pheasant's back analogy derives from the pattern of colors on the bracket matching that of a pheasant's back.
Trametes versicolor – also known as Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor – is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', versicolor reliably describes this fungus that displays a variety of colors. For example, because its shape and multiple colors are similar to those of a wild turkey, T. versicolor is commonly called turkey tail. A similar looking mushroom, commonly called false turkey tail, which is from a different order, may sometimes be confused with the turkey tail mushroom due to appearance. Another lookalike is the multicolor gill polypore.
Hericium erinaceus is an edible mushroom belonging to the tooth fungus group. Native to North America, Europe and Asia, it can be identified by its long spines, occurrence on hardwoods, and tendency to grow a single clump of dangling spines. The fruit bodies can be harvested for culinary use.
A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as Armillaria, are parasitic and colonize living trees. Excessive moisture above the fibre saturation point in wood is required for fungal colonization and proliferation. In nature, this process causes the breakdown of complex molecules and leads to the return of nutrients to the soil. Wood-decay fungi consume wood in various ways; for example, some attack the carbohydrates in wood and some others decay lignin. The rate of decay of wooden materials in various climates can be estimated by empirical models.
Heterobasidion annosum is a basidiomycete fungus in the family Bondarzewiaceae. It is considered to be the most economically important forest pathogen in the Northern Hemisphere. Heterobasidion annosum is widespread in forests in the United States and is responsible for the loss of one billion U.S. dollars annually. This fungus has been known by many different names. First described by Fries in 1821, it was known by the name Polyporus annosum. Later, it was found to be linked to conifer disease by Robert Hartig in 1874, and was renamed Fomes annosus by H. Karsten. Its current name of Heterobasidion annosum was given by Brefeld in 1888. Heterobasidion annosum causes one of the most destructive diseases of conifers. The disease caused by the fungus is named annosus root rot.
Irpex lacteus is a common crust fungus distributed throughout temperate areas of the world. It is the type of the genus Irpex. Irpex lacteus is considered a polypore, but depending on growth conditions it can also produce a hydnoid hymenophore. Due to this variability and abundance of the species it has been described as a new species to science numerous times and subsequently has an extensive synonymy. The complete genome sequence of Irpex lacteus was reported in 2017.
Onnia tomentosa is a species of fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae commonly known as the woolly velvet polypore. It is frequently found in coniferous forests at higher altitudes, often growing in large groups, rather rare at lower altitudes. It is a plant pathogen, and causes tomentosus root rot, primarily in spruce. It was formerly known as Inonotus tomentosum (Fr.) Teng until molecular phylogenetic analysis led to major revisions in the classification of the Hymenochaetaceae.
Spalting is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi. Although primarily found in dead trees, spalting can also occur in living trees under stress. Although spalting can cause weight loss and strength loss in the wood, the unique coloration and patterns of spalted wood are sought by woodworkers.
Terana caerulea, commonly known as the cobalt crust fungus or velvet blue spread, is a saprobic crust fungus in the family Phanerochaetaceae. Usually found in warm, damp hardwood forests on the undersides of fallen logs and branches of deciduous trees, this unique fungus has been described as "blue velvet on a stick". This species was chosen as fungus of the year for 2009 by the German Mycological Society.
Fomes fomentarius is a species of fungal plant pathogen found in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. The species produces very large polypore fruit bodies which are shaped like a horse's hoof and vary in colour from a silvery grey to almost black, though they are normally brown. It grows on the side of various species of tree, which it infects through broken bark, causing rot. The species typically continues to live on trees long after they have died, changing from a parasite to a decomposer.
Pholiota squarrosa, commonly known as the shaggy scalycap, the shaggy Pholiota, or the scaly Pholiota, is a species of mushroom in the family Strophariaceae. Common in North America and Europe, it is often an opportunistic parasite, and has a wide range of hosts among deciduous trees, although it can also infect conifers. It can also live as a saprobe, deriving nutrients from decomposing wood. The mushroom is typically found growing in clusters at the base of trees and stumps. Both the cap and the stem are covered in small, pointed scales that are pointed downward and backward. The crowded gills are yellowish, then later rust-brown. The mushroom has an odor that, depending on the author, has been described as resembling garlic, lemon, radish, onion, or skunk. It has a strong taste, resembling radishes. Though edible to some, it may be toxic, especially if consumed in combination with alcohol. The mushroom contains unique chemicals thought to help it infect plants by neutralizing defensive responses employed by them. The very similar P. squarrosoides differs in having a paler cap that is sticky between the scales, and smaller spores.
Hapalopilus rutilans is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Officially described in 1821, it was transferred to its current genus Hapalopilus six decades later. It is commonly known as the tender nesting polypore, purple dye polypore, or the cinnamon bracket. This widely distributed species is found on five continents. It grows on the fallen or standing dead wood of deciduous trees, in which it fruits singly, in groups, fused, or in overlapping clusters. Fruit bodies are in the form of kidney-shaped to semicircular, cinnamon-orange-brown brackets. The underside of the fruit body features a yellowish to brownish pore surface with tiny angular pores, from which spores are released.
Pycnoporellus alboluteus, commonly known as the orange sponge polypore, is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Distributed throughout the boreal conifer zone, the fungus is found in mountainous regions of western North America, and in Europe. It causes a brown cubical rot of conifer wood, especially spruce, but also fir and poplar. The soft, spongy orange fruit bodies grow spread out on the surface of fallen logs. Mature specimens have tooth-like or jagged pore edges. A snowbank mushroom, P. alboluteus can often be found growing on logs or stumps protruding through melting snow. Although the edibility of the fungus and its usage for human culinary purposes are unknown, several species of beetles use the fungus as a food source.
Rhodofomitopsis lilacinogilva is a species of bracket fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Known primarily from Australia, it has also been recorded from Brazil and India. It is a white-rot fungus that grows on rotting eucalyptus wood. Its main identifying feature is the lilac colour of the pore surface on the underside of the fruit body.
Nigroporus vinosus is a species of poroid fungus in the family Steccherinaceae, and the type species of the genus Nigroporus. Its fruit bodies have brownish caps with tinges of purple or red. The cap underside has a pore surface the same colour as the cap, and minute pores. Nigroporus vinosus has a pantropical distribution. It has been recorded from Africa, North America, Central America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. It is a wood-decay fungus that causes a white rot.
