Content
Piptoporus oak is also known as Piptoporus quercinus, Buglossoporus quercinus or oak tinder fungus. A species from the genus Buglossoporus. Part of the Fomitopsis family.
What does oak piptoporus look like?
A rare representative with a one-year biological cycle. The cap is large, it can reach up to 15 cm in diameter.
The external characteristics of oak piptoporus are as follows:
- At the beginning of the growing season, the sessile fruit bodies are oblong in the form of a drop; during the growth process, the shape changes to a round, fan-shaped.
- In young specimens, the flesh is dense, but not tough with a pleasant smell, white. Over time, the structure dries up, looks porous, corky.
- The surface of the cap is velvety, then the film becomes smooth, dry with longitudinal shallow cracks, the thickness is up to 4 cm.
- The color of the upper part is beige with a yellowish or brown tint.
- The hymenophore is thin, tubular, dense, porous, darkens to brown at the site of injury.
At the end of the biological cycle, the fruiting bodies become brittle and easily break.
Where and how it grows
It is quite rare, found in the Samara, Ryazan, Ulyanovsk regions and in the Krasnodar Territory. Grows singly, rarely 2-3 specimens. It parasitizes only living oak wood. In Great Britain it is listed as an endangered species, in Russia it is so rare that it is not even listed in the Red Book.
Is the mushroom edible or not
The fungus is poorly understood, so there is no information on toxicity. Due to its rigid structure, it does not represent nutritional value.
Doubles and their differences
Outwardly, Gartig's tinder fungus looks like piptoporus. Forms large accrete fruit bodies, the similarity is determined only at the beginning of the growth of the Gartig tinder fungus in structure and color. Then it becomes larger, with a stepped surface and thick woody flesh. Inedible.
Aspen tinder fungus outwardly resembles piptoporus with a hat; it grows on living trees, mainly on aspens. Perennial inedible mushroom.
Conclusion
Piptoporus oak is a representative with a one-year biological cycle, rarely found in Russia. Grows singly or in small groups on living wood. The structure is tough, cork, does not represent nutritional value.