Content
Tinder fungus or gleophyllum is known in mycological reference books as Gloeophyllum sepiarium. The mushroom has several Latin names:
- Daedalea sepiaria;
- Agaricus sepiarius;
- Lenzitina sepiaria;
- Merulius sepiarius.
What does fence gleophyllum look like?
More often, the intake gleophyllum with a one-year biological cycle, less often the growing season lasts two years. There are single specimens or accrete with lateral part, if the fruit bodies are located tightly on the same level of the common plane. The shape is half in the form of a rosette or a fan with a wavy roller along the edge. Fruit bodies are convex at the beginning of growth, then flat and prostrate, with a tiled arrangement on the surface of the substrate.
External characteristic:
- The size of the fruit body reaches 8 cm in width, transverse - up to 15 cm.
- The upper part is velvety in young specimens; at a more mature age, it is covered with a short, thick and hard pile. The surface is lumpy with grooves of different depths.
- The color at the beginning of growth is bright light brown with an orange tint, with age it darkens to brown, then black. The color is uneven with pronounced concentric areas: the closer they are to the center, the darker.
- Hymenophore in a mixed type species. At the beginning of growth, it is formed by small tubes arranged in a labyrinth. With age, the spore-bearing layer becomes lamellar. Plates of irregular various shapes and sizes, dense arrangement.
- The lower part of the mushroom is brown, then dark brown.
The structure of the fruit body is dense cork, the flesh is brown or dark yellow.
Where and how it grows
Intake gleophyllum is not tied to a specific climatic zone, cosmopolitan grows on dead wood, stumps, dry. Found in mixed forests dominated by conifers. Saprophyte parasitizes pine, spruce, cedar. Rarely found on decaying deciduous trees. Prefers open dry areas, forest edges or clearings. Gleophyllum is widespread in the forests of the northern part of Russia, the middle zone and in the south.
Gleophyllum can be found indoors, where it is located on processed softwood, causing brown rot. In an environment unnatural for oneself, the fruiting bodies are underdeveloped, smaller, sterile. Polypores can be coral-shaped. It also grows in open areas of wooden outbuildings, a fence. In temperate climates, the growing season is from spring to the onset of frost, in the south - throughout the year.
Is the mushroom edible or not
Mushrooms do not contain toxic compounds in the chemical composition. The species does not represent nutritional value due to its hard dry structure.
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. Grows singly, scattered, parasitizes on decaying coniferous wood. A distinctive feature is a pleasant, well-defined scent of anise.
Doubles include log gleophyllum, cosmopolitan mushroom grows on deciduous trees, more often on processed timber of buildings. The species is one-year, 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, rough, the flesh is thin. Mushrooms are inedible.
Conclusion
Intake gleophyllum - saprotroph, parasitizes on dead coniferous species, can settle on treated wood, causing brown rot. Mushrooms, due to the rigid structure of the fruiting body, do not represent nutritional value. The main accumulation is in regions of a temperate climate, less often found in the south.