White bark mushroom
| White bark mushroom | ||||||||||||
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White bark mushroom on oak in Mannersdorf an der Rabnitz |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Athelia epiphylla | ||||||||||||
| Pers. |
The white bark fungus ( Athelia epiphylla ) is a stand fungus (Basidiomycet) from the Atheliaceae family that lives parasitically on green algae on the bark of various tree species.
features
The white bark fungus and its mycelium form white, clearly visible spots and rings on the bark of various tree species, especially in autumn, which can reach the size of the palm of a hand and often flow together when the humidity is high. In addition to basidiospores, it forms small brownish clusters of mycelium, only 0.2 mm in size, known as sclerotia , to spread. At the same time, these are permanent organs with which the fungus hibernates and can also survive dry periods. Basidiospores are only irregularly formed.
Ecology and diffusion
The fungus mostly grows on smooth-barked tree species such as red beech and hornbeam , but also on maple, oak, linden, poplar, spruce and larch. It parasitizes green algae , in whose cells it forms haustoria for nutrient uptake. The initially green algae die off and take on a gray-brown color. Even lichens such as various Lecanora TYPES be attacked. Neither the fungus nor the algae damage the trees on which they grow, since they only use the bark as a base and are therefore epiphytes . The fungus is common in Central Europe.
swell
- W. Jülich (1972): Monograph of the Athelieae (Corticiaceae, Basidiomycetes). Willdenowia, Beih. 7H.
- H. Butin (1979): The white bark fungus (Athelia epiphylla pers.) - parasite or epiphyte? , General Forstz. 34
- Heinz Butin : Diseases of the forest and park trees . Georg Thieme Verlag, 1983, ISBN 3-13-639002-4 , p. 1172ff.
