The content of the article
The fungus tinder fungus Swissia belongs to the Fomitopsis family. There are other species names. For example, Dedalia brown, inodermus switzerland. It belongs to inedible. In Latin, the name sounds like Phaeolus schweinitzii.
Appearance
This mushroom has a bonnet fruit body. The hat is different in shape. It can be flat, have a funnel-shaped, rounded or semicircular shape. Sometimes lobiform specimens are also found. Its diameter can reach up to 28 cm, and the thickness is approximately 1.3 cm.
On young trousers, the hat is not smooth, it can be woolly or felt. Subsequently, its surface becomes bare. First, it is painted in a yellowish-rusty color, and then it becomes darker, acquiring a brownish color with a slightly orangeish or brown tint. Her edges are yellowish, shiny. Young polypants are lighter than the rest of the cap, and then the color of the surface is leveled.
The geminal layer is yellow, and subsequently acquires a brown hue. The thickness can reach 1 cm. The tubules are short - less than 1 cm. At first they have thick walls, which become thinner with age. Spores may be white, rusty, or yellowish-greenish.
If the mushroom has a leg, it is very thick and short. As a rule, it has the form of a tuber or tapers, brown in color. But most specimens grow without a stem.
Where grows
It is a fast-growing mushroom that grows on conifers. Therefore, you can see them in the coniferous forest on fir or pine. But sometimes they can also grow on plums or cherries. The mushroom is usually located at the root or near the base of the tree trunk. They can grow either one at a time or several fused specimens.
Representatives of this species are very common in temperate climates. They can be seen on trees in Western Europe, as well as in western Russia. They are also in Western Siberia. The fruiting period occurs not only in summer but also in winter. But most of the time is the second half of summer. During this period, spores germinate. After this, the body of the fungus is usually destroyed by insects.
How does it affect a tree?
This species is a unique tinder fungus. We can see these mushrooms not always on the tree itself, but on the ground, at some distance from the trees. These mushrooms are connected to a tree by mycelium. The tree becomes infected through spores, at the moment of contact between healthy and fungus-infected roots.
If the tree is infected, mushrooms will grow on it. In addition, its trunk will be slightly tilted to the side. This is due to the fact that the infected roots begin to die off gradually. The angle of the tree can be very pronounced, and be more than 45.
Usually the trunk of a diseased tree leans in the direction opposite to the area of location of dying roots. It is also possible to understand that a tree is infected by the presence of cracks in the butt part. Here films of mycelium will be viewed. When tapping a tree infected with this fungus, characteristic muffled sounds will be heard.
Under the influence of this fungus, brown root rot begins to develop on the tree. Cellulose and lignin begin to decompose. When decomposition is just beginning, you can feel the pronounced sharp smell of turpentine.
At the same time, the roots rot very slowly. Every year, rot spreads about 1 cm, so the tree is sick for a very long time.This process can take several decades. The butt part rots more intensively, the lesion spreads faster.
A tree that has been sick for a very long time has fragile crumbling wood. You can just rub it with your hands. Typically, rot reaches more than 2 m in height. It spreads in spots and stripes. The longer the tree is infected, the larger these areas will be.
Edibility
Similar views
Representatives of the species are somewhat similar to the odorous tinder, which has a pillow-shaped body. His surface is felt. Reaches a diameter of about 20 cm. This mushroom is painted in black or brown. On the edges it is orange or yellowish.
Another similar view is the Pfeiffer tinder. The fruit body has a hoof-like shape and large size. On the surface there are white pores and brown zones. In winter, covered with a yellow film.
Video: Swiss fungus (Phaeolus schweinitzii)
Submit