Station #3 Bracket Fungi

Station #4 – Bracket Fungi

 Read the following article on bracket fungi.

 Observe the photographs and live speciments of bracket fungi.

 Answer the questions on your lab sheet.

Article on Bracket Fungi:

A bracket, or shelf, fungus is any of a group of fungi with fruiting bodies that grow like shelves on tree trunks and wood structures. The fruiting body extends out of the tree horizontally like a small shelf, which is attached at the base. The spores are formed on the lower surface of the bracket, which may have gills, pores, or tooth-like projections, depending upon the species.

These parasitic fungi grow thread-like mycelium throughout the tree on which they grow. The mycelium that produces the bracket resides in the tissues of the tree. It steals nutrients from the tree, and causes damage to the structure of the tree. The poor tree can't cope with such an attack, and even the largest and most well established trees can suffer from heart-rot. Most trees harboring a bracket fungus will weaken and eventually die. The large flat fruiting bodies spread out from the tree trunk, to help spread spores. You can easily spot these structures, which look like wobbly Frisbees stuck into the tree trunk. Bracket fungi are usually tough or hard in consistency, and some are perennial, living and producing spores for several years. The fruiting bodies of bracket fungi are often referred to as conks or as punk. Bracket fungi are generally not edible because they are hard and tough, but one species, Ganoderma lucidum, is cultivated to produce Ling Zhi, a food supplement valued for its medicinal and tonic properties. This type of fungus usually thrives in a damp climate, which is why we found it so abundantly in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru.

Photographs of Bracket Fungi This is an example of Bracket Fungi, growing on a tree trunk. Polyporus squamosus is quite common and appears in the spring and fall living on wood. They can be as large as 12 X 2 inches.

Pycnoporus sanguineus Fruiting bodies of a bracket fungus on a Christmasberry log

This fungi appears early in the spring, and fruits (grows) on the dead wood of deciduous trees. Polyporus mori is classified as Bracket Fungi. It is Trametes versicolor, Bracket fungi not edible.

Purple-toothed Polypore (Trichaptum biforme). Closely aligned and overlapping, shelf-like fruiting bodies of this fungus have narrow concentric grayish to brownish bands often with a margin that is violet in color. The greenish tint is due to algal growth.