Inonotus as a saprophyte

[Fungus]

To be more specific : I was referring to saprotrophic macrofungi, which by decomposing dead wood and temporarely or permanently altering the flexibility/stiffness ratio cause horizontal and/or vertical wrinkling or folding of and lesions in newly formed living tissues, because of downward (brown rot) or outward (white rot) pressure, not to (biotrophic or necrotrophic) parasitic macrofungi altering and/or killing live tissue and causing (bleeding) cankers or necrosis.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Do all Biotrophic and necrotrophic fungi cause bleeds and or cankers?

[Fungus]

Do all biotrophic and necrotrophic fungi cause bleeds and or cankers?

 

No, in a nutshell :

- some (almost) always cause deformation of live tissue and bark (canker, necrosis) or bleeding of trunks and/or deformation of live tissue of branches (canker, necrosis, fasciation), such as F. hepatica, some Inonotus species, Auricularia mesenterica (?), Chondrostereum purpureum, Phytophthora species, Nectria species, Pezicula corticula, Massaria, some anamorphs of ascomycetes like Chalara fraxinea and Taphrina betulina,

- some sometimes do, like K. deusta, (rhizomorphs of) Armillaria species, Collybia fusipes (?), some necrotrophic parasitic Inonotus species, Phaeolus schweinitzii and Sparassis crispa,

- most of the necrotrophic parasites, which all have different strategies of wood decay with species specific effects on the body language of the trees (wrinkles, folds, swellings, bark sinking, lesions, development of callus, etc.), don't, because even though they are "mildly" parasitic, they mainly invest in decomposition of cellulose, which continues once the tree has died,

- some annually fruiting biotrophic parasites just "give away" their presence by die back of (foliage of) the crown and/or (panic) fruiting, such as Pholiota squarrosa and Meripilus giganteus,

- and some biotrophic parasites, such as most Phellinus species, always show their perennial brackets in combination with species specific body language of the tree.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Fungus

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I still havent got theses terms commited to memory

 

Biotrophic

necrotrophic

others?

 

Could you spell it out for me again so I can jot it down in my note book

[Fungus]

Biotrophic ... necrotrophic

 

The mycelia of biotrophic parasitic or phytopathological fungi invade and deform and/or kill living tissues (mycotoxines : canker, necrosis) on which they partially to completely depend for their primairy "energy" supply. Some of them at the same also decompose dead wood and (partially) convert cellulose into chitine to produce annual or perennial FB's, others mostly only fruit at the end of the trees life cycle or panic fruit once the "job" of killing the tree is almost done. Once they've killed their host, biotrophic parasites stop fruiting, because they are incapable of decomposing dead wood to produce FB's from without contact of the mycelium with living tissues.

Most of the mycelia of necrotrophic parasitic or optional saprotrophic fungi are "mildly" parasitic, which means they "slowly" alter or kill live tissues, on which they only temporarely partially depend for their "food supply", because they (almost) always at the same time decompose and convert dead wood to produce annual or perennial FB's from too. Once the tree dies, the mycelia enter a completely saprotrophic phase and continue to decompose the remaining dead wood accompagnied by many others saprotrophic fungi in a partially tree species specific successive order.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thanks gerrit, going to have to re read that a few times tonight so its second nature.