Thursday, November 26, 2020

Cap full of holes

 Polypores. The name says it all; many pores.

The fungi we call polypores produce their spores on the inside walls of tiny tubes that open on the underside of the cap. Up top, they're tough and woody, harder than the wood they grow on and recycle.

Three red-belted polypores, Fomitopsis pinicola. On a fallen log.

Pore openings on the underside of a dried red-belted polypore, under a microscope.

On the cut end of a log. Probably the red-belted again; these are extremely variable.

Under the duff, there's a log. Unidentified polypore species. Could still be red-belted.

The red-belted polypore is the most commonly found polypore in the Pacific Northwest. It can grow on over 100 host trees, dead or alive, deciduous or evergreen. E-Flora mentions that it tastes slightly acid or bitter; I can't imagine trying to eat it; it's solid and tough. May as well chew the trees it grows on.

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Poliporo: el nombre  lo dice todo. El polipore tiene muchos poros.

"Los poliporos son un grupo de hongos que forman grandes cuerpos fructíferos con poros o tubos en la parte inferior." (Wikipedia)

Las esporas se forman en las paredes de estos tubos, saliendo al aire por medio de los poros. En la parte superior, estos hongos son duros, fuertes, más densos que los árboles que habitan y reciclan.

Las tres fotos son del poliporo "de cinta roja", Fomitopsis pinicola, que se presenta con muchos colores. 

La segunda foto muestra los poros en uno de estos hongos, ya seco, bajo mi microscopio.

Es el poliporo que más comunmente se halla en esta región. Puede crecer en más de cien árboles, vivos o muertos, coníferos o deciduos. E-Flora comenta que tiene un sabor levemente ácido o amargo. No me puedo imaginar tratando de comerlo; es sumamente sólido y fuerte. Más bien sería tratar de comer la madera de los árboles donde crece.

1 comment:

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