Trichaptum biforme

Trichaptum biforme
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Hymenochaetales
Family: Hymenochaetaceae
Genus: Trichaptum
Species:
T. biforme
Binomial name
Trichaptum biforme
(Fr.) Ryvarden (1972)
Synonyms
  • Polyporus biformis Fr. (1833)
  • Polyporus pargamenus Fr. (1833)
  • Hirschioporus pargamenus (Fr.) Bondartsev & Singer (1941)
Trichaptum biforme
Mycological characteristics
Teeth on hymenium
Cap is offset or indistinct
Hymenium is decurrent
Lacks a stipe or is bare
Spore print is white to purple
Ecology is saprotrophic or parasitic
Edibility is inedible

Trichaptum biforme, commonly known as the violet-pored bracket fungus, purple tooth, or violet-toothed polypore, is a species of poroid fungus in the order Hymenochaetales.

Description

Growing to 1–7.5 centimetres (1⁄2–3 in) in width, it is initially violet before fading into zones of white to brown, retaining violet at the margin for a time.

Similar species

It is sometimes confused with Trichaptum abietinum, which grows almost exclusively on conifers, as do T. byssogenum and T. fuscoviolaceum. Skeletocutis lilacina is also similar.

Distribution and ecology

T.biforme is a saprobe that decomposes hardwood stumps and logs. Widely distributed, it occurs on at least 65 tree hosts. It rarely grows on conifers, but has been recorded from pine (Pinus) deadwood.

T.biforme was once recorded in association with the little-known pleasing fungus beetle Haematochiton elateroides, but it is suspected that the beetles were not feeding on this tough and leathery fungus, but simply hibernating in the dead log on which it grew.

Toxicity

It is inedible.

References

  1. ↑ Ryvarden, L. (1972). "A critical checklist of the Polyporaceae in tropical East Africa". Norwegian Journal of Botany. 19: 229–238.
  2. ↑ Arora, David (1986). Mushrooms demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi (Second ed.). Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-0-89815-169-5.
  3. 1 2 3 Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-593-31998-7.
  4. 1 2 3 Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p. 315. ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lincoff, Gary (1981). National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 490. ISBN 978-0-394-51992-0.
  6. 1 2 Goodrich, Michael A. (1997): New Host Records for Haematochiton elateroides Gorham (Coleoptera: Erotylidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin 51(3): 276. JSTOR 4009421
Trichaptum biforme
Mycological characteristics
Teeth on hymenium
Cap is flat
Hymenium attachment is not applicable
Lacks a stipe
Spore print is white
Ecology is saprotrophic
Edibility is inedible