Bjerkandera adusta (Willd.) P. Karst.
smoky polypore
Phanerochaetaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
smoky polypore
Phanerochaetaceae
Species account author: Ian Gibson.
Extracted from Matchmaker: Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Introduction to the Macrofungi
Species Information
Summary:
Distinctive field characters include the smoky gray to black color of the pore surface, the contrast between the gray to black tube layer and the white flesh but without a dark line at the base of the tube layer, and overlapping shelf-like, thin, leathery caps that are cream to butterscotch and tomentose to somewhat hairy, but not distinctly zoned. At least in BC it is more common than B. fumosa (Ginns(28)).
Odor:
strongly fungusy (Phillips), fungoid (Breitenbach)
Taste:
sourish (Phillips), fungoid, sourish, (Breitenbach)
Microscopic:
spores 5-6 x 2.5-3.5 microns, short-cylindric, smooth, inamyloid, colorless; basidia 4-spored, clavate to napiform (turnip-shaped), 22-25 x 5-6 microns, with basal clamp; cystidia absent, dark brownish vascular hyphae sometimes present in subhymenium and in hymenial layer; hyphal system monomitic: contextual hyphae 3-5 microns wide, thin to moderately thick-walled, with abundant clamp connections, with occasional branching, "tramal hyphae similar but densely compacted and agglutinated", (Gilbertson), spores 4.5-5.5 x 2-3 microns, elliptic, smooth, inamyloid, colorless, (Breitenbach)
Spore Deposit:
white (Phillips)
Notes:
Bjerkandera adusta has been found in BC, WA, OR, ID, AB, MB, NF, NS, NWT, ON, PQ, SK, YT, AK, AR, AZ, AL, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY, Europe, and Asia - circumglobal in the northern hemisphere, (Gilbertson).
Habitat and Range
SIMILAR SPECIES
Bjerkandera fumosa has a buff to pale smoky gray pore surface (as opposed to dark smoky gray), is thicker and wider, has a thick context with a dark layer at the base of the tubes (as opposed to a thin context that may contrast between dark tubes and light context but lacks such a line), and has broader spores, (Gilbertson). B. fumosa is larger with thicker flesh and an anise odor, (Lincoff).Habitat
annual, causing a white rot of hardwood logs and slash and occasionally on conifers: it is "particularly common in aspen and is always a conspicuous fungus in older aspen stands", (Gilbertson), on dead hardwood: on stumps, standing trunks, and damaged places on living trees, (Breitenbach), spring to fall (Bacon), all year (Buczacki)
Status Information
| Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native | S2S4 (2021) | Blue | Not Listed |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Gloeoporus adustus (Willd.) Pilat
Polyporus adustus (Willd.) Fr.