Polyporus umbellatus
Polyporus umbellatus (Pers. : Fr.) Fr.
Grifola umbellata (Pers. : Fr.) Pilát
Polyporaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(i,ii)].
Morphology and biology. Fruit-body 20–30 cm in diameter, composed of a short stipe and round upper part with numerous branches, ending with globose, fragile caps. Stipe central, 2–5 cm thick, white to creamy, branched. Branches thicker below, with thin tips bearing flat or concave caps, 1–3(4) cm in diameter, ochre to grey brown; surface finely scaly or fibrillose. Tube layer under the caps, 2 mm thick, white to creamy; pores decurrent, unicolored, multiangular. Flesh white to creamy, soft at first, in old specimens hard and brittle. Spores cylindrical, 7–10 × 2.5–3.5 mm, colourless, smooth. Fruit-bodies develop from a hypogeous perennial sclerotium; single. VII–X.
Habitats and populations. At the base of trunks and on the ground around them, in deciduous forests (beeches – Fagus, oaks – Quercus, hornbeams – Carpinus, sweet chestnut – Castanea, etc.).
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Central – near Troyan Monastery), Rila Mts (near Eleshnitsa rest house), Sredna Gora Mts (Western – Lozenska Mt).
General distribution. C and S Europe, Asia, North America.
Threats. Habitat loss/degradation caused by wood plantations, logging, infrastructure development (tourism/recreation, transport), fires, etc.
Conservation measures taken. Included in the Red List of Fungi in Bulgaria. One of the known localities is on the territory of Rilski Manastir Nature Park. Some localities are in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. Study of the population numbers and range; better understanding of the species biology and ecology; conservation of the habitats; regular monitoring.
References. Stoichev 1995b; Gyosheva 2000; Gyosheva et al. 2000, 2006.
Authors: Melania Gyosheva & Georgi T. Stoichev
