Shelf fungi at base of Loblolly pine tree at LCNP.
What are the strange growths you see on the snag before you? Actually, they are a type of mushroom called a Polypore. Polypores are also known as Shelf Fungi because they tend to grow out from the tree in woody shelves. Polypores provide a valuable service to the forest by helping to decompose dead trees, returning valuable nutrients back to the soil. Eventually, this snag and all others that you see here in the forest will completely decay and return to the soil to support the growth of other plants and animals.
Like all mushrooms, what you can see here on the surface of the snag is only a small part of the plant. This visible part is the fruiting body of the plant. It’s much like looking at the apple rather than the entire apple tree. The main body, called the mycelium, is inside the dead tree. The mycelium is a complex network of small, string-like cells called hyphae. Hyphae secrete special chemicals that break down the molecules of wood. Under the influence of specific environmental conditions, the mycelium will produce the visible fruiting bodies that you see here.
So, how did the polypores happen to grow on this snag? A spore from another polypore was carried by the wind and arrived on the snag, where it found suitable nutrients and began to grow. The spores are produced by special cells that line the tiny holes, or pores, on the underside of the fruiting body. That is the origin of the name Polypore, which means many pores. Polypores are tough and most species are not edible.
Polypore before
Polypore after
Artists sometimes carve beads from or make etchings on certain mushrooms. One species, called the Artist’s Conk, has a porous surface that changes color from cream to brown, when bruised, allowing the artist to make intricate carvings on its surface.
There is another area in the preserve that has some dead trees and snags covered with Polypores. Can you find it as you wander the trails?