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Dyer's mazegill

Phaeolus schweinitzii

Description:

This fairly common polypore has a yellow felty margin and a brownish central region, usually concentrically zoned. The glistening pore surface is sometimes hidden from view because of the low-growing habit of these fruitbodies. Typically 15 to 25 cm in diameter and 2 to 5 cm thick. When there is a stem it is brown, and the attachment is either central or eccentric; stems are short up to 6 cm in length and stout typically 3 to 5 cm in diameter, tapering towards the base. Initially the fruitbodies are soft and spongy, eventually becoming dry and hard. Often compound, they tend to grow around and so enclose twigs, pine needles, grass and other objects as the caps expand. The tube layer can be up to 1.5 cm thick, with pores spaced at 1 to 3 per mm on a greenish-yellow background that gradually turns reddish brown with age. Occasionally adjacent tubes may fuse together to produce a few large irregular pores.

Habitat:

Phaeolus schweinitzii is parasitic on the roots of coniferous trees, particularly pines and spruces but also occasionally larches. This polypore can kill its host, whereupon it turns saprobic and feeds on the dead roots and stumps once the tree topples or is felled. This fungal infection, sometimes referred to as Schweinitzii butt rot, can cause significant economic loss to forestry enterprises.

Notes:

Spotted in National Park De Hoge Veluwe, Holland.

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Jae
Spotted by
Jae

Gelderland, Netherlands

Spotted on Sep 8, 2014
Submitted on Sep 8, 2014

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