Bondarzewia Berkeleyi

B. berkeleyi has been historically classified as a polypore, but with the advent of molecular techniques, it was revealed to be more closely related to Russala than the polypores.

A) Basidiocarp at the base of a Quercus macrocarpa. B) Hymenium of the specimen, showing angular pores. C) Habitat where the specimen was found, on a forested riverbank. D) Spore at 1000X, showing light color and ornamentation.
Figure 1. A) Basidiocarp at the base of a Quercus macrocarpa. B) Hymenium of the specimen, showing angular pores. C) Habitat where the specimen was found, on a forested riverbank. D) Spore at 1000X, showing light color and ornamentation.

Bondarzewia berkeleyi (Fr.) Bondartsev & Singer, Berkley’s Polypore, PLP847_2018_128

B. berkeleyi has been historically classified as a polypore, but with the advent of molecular techniques, it was revealed to be more closely related to Russala than the polypores (Hibbett and Donoghue 1995). Previous names used for B. berkeleyi have included: Polyporus berkeleyi Fr. (1851), Grifola berkeleyi (Fr.) Murrill (1904), and Polyporus eurocephalus Berk. & Broome (1875).

The specimen collected was found in the soil about 0.5 m away from a Quercus macrocarpa trunk, on a forested riverbank by the Red Cedar River in East Lansing, MI. The specimen was cream-colored, with slight radial banding, and the pileus formed lobes about 10-20 cm wide. The hymenium is cream and has angular pores. Spores are white, ornamented and globular.  The overall cluster was about 30 cm tall.

B. berkeleyi is limited in distribution to eastern North America where it is the only species of the genus (Song et al. 2016). The fungus can be pathogenic on trees, especially Quercus and Acer (Gilbertson and Ryvarden 1986). It is considered edible (Boa and Boa 2004).

  • Division: Basiomycota
  • Subdivision: Agaricomycotina
  • Class: Agaricomycetes
  • Order: Russulales
  • Family: Bondarzewiaceae
  • Site: 42.73051119,-84.48478613

References:

  • Boa ER, Boa E. Wild edible fungi: a global overview of their use and importance to people. Food & Agriculture Org.; 2004.
  • Hibbett DS, Donoghue MJ. Progress toward a phylogenetic classification of the Polyporaceae through parsimony analysis of mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences. Canadian Journal of Botany. 1995 Dec 31;73(S1):853-61.
  • Gilbertson RL, Ryvarden L. North American polypores 1. Fungiflora, Oslo 1986.
  • Song J, Chen JJ, Wang M, Chen YY, Cui BK. Phylogeny and biogeography of the remarkable genus Bondarzewia (Basidiomycota, Russulales). Scientific reports. 2016 Sep 29;6:34568.

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