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Red-banded polypore

 

 

In a poor mushroom year even tree fungi attract attention. Dead conifers are best suited as habitat for the red-banded polypore. A striking exterior, and interesting, but causes brown rot.

 

What does wood damaged by brown rot look like? – Deteriorating wood has turned brown and splits easily into cube-shaped pieces. Is it familiar?

 

The residue, humus, basically consisting of lignin, is very stable and may survive in soil for hundreds if not thousands of years. Because of this these residual matters are regarded as essential structural elements of soil that increase the aeration of soil and its water-holding capacity and favour the formation of ectomychorrhiza.

 

In our nature there are few brown rot formers – one relative to the Fomitopsis polypore is the dry rot fungus, Serpula lacrimans.