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The smoky tinder fungus is a representative of the tinder species, wood destroyers. It settles on the stumps of dead trees, soon after that the plant remains turn into dust. In different sources, you can also find its other names: smoky bierkander, Latin – Bjerkandera fumosa.
Description of smoky tinder
The hat grows up to 12 cm in circumference, up to 2 cm thick, its color is pale gray, while the edges are lighter than the center. The surface is smooth or finely hairy.
The shape of the fungus is effusive-reflex, stretched along the substrate, in the form of a cap attached to the trunk, or prostrate, curved. The leg is missing.
There may be several mushroom caps on a tree, over time they grow together into one common mass.
Mature smoky tinder fungi turn yellow. The edges of the cap are rounded, becoming sharper as they grow. The young representative of the species is loose, light gray, becoming dense and brown with age.
A distinctive feature of a mature specimen: when cut on the fruiting body, a thin, dark line can be seen above the layer of tubules. The pulp of the mushroom is thinned, dark brown in color, the consistency is spongy, hard.
With the onset of the fruiting period, the bierkander produces white, beige or colorless pores. They are located on the reverse side of the fruiting body, have a rounded, spherical shape, become angular over time. On 1 mm of the surface of the fungus, from 2 to 5 smooth, small spores mature. Their powder is straw yellow.
Where and how to grow
A parasitic fungus grows on fallen forest and garden trees, rotting stumps of deciduous crops. For gardeners, the appearance of a bierkander is a signal that a fruit-bearing tree is unhealthy. It is necessary to immediately take measures to destroy the parasite, since the entire area will soon be infected.
In spring, the fungus parasitizes on living trees, without signs of wilting.
Fruiting begins in April and lasts until the end of autumn (November). The smoky tinder fungus feeds on decaying wood residues. A parasitic fungus is common in the Northern Hemisphere, on the territory of Our Country everywhere, except for the southern regions.
Is the mushroom edible or not?
The smoky tinder fungus belongs to the inedible species of mushrooms. Has no nutritional value.
How does smoky tinder affect trees
The spores of the mycelium penetrate the bark of the tree through cracks and faults. Birkander, settling on the bark, grows into the center of the trunk, destroying it from the inside, turning it into dust. At its first appearance, measures are taken, most often radical ones – the tree is destroyed, since it is impossible to remove the mycelium under the bark. Also uproot all smoky stumps affected by tinder fungus spores. Bjorkandera cannot be allowed to spread: it produces new, young fruiting bodies in a short time.
Twins and their differences
The tinder fungus of this species has an inedible double – scorched bierkander. The fungus is ubiquitous not only in Our Country, but throughout the world. Fruiting from May to November.
Contrasting color distinguishes this basidiomycete from other members of the species.
The cap of the mushroom has a shape identical to the smoky tinder fungus – a semicircular, prostrate, but thicker flesh. The tubules are also larger, brownish.
The skin on the cap is velvety, finely hairy. The color of the scorched berkander is darker than that of the tinder fungus, almost black or dark gray, the edges have a whitish edging.
The habitats and habitats of both species are identical.
Conclusion
The smoky polypore is a basidiomycete parasitic on deciduous trees. Its appearance provokes the development of white mold, a disease dangerous for horticultural crops. The fight against the fungus at the first sign of its appearance should begin immediately. The main method is uprooting and removing infected plant debris from the site.