Champignons became interesting and surprising daily, as they can grow in forests or on tree trunks, on the streets, and in gardens. Specifically, those mushrooms that grow on trees are especially important in the overall functioning of the forests as decomposers, nutrient suppliers, and even symbiotic associates of trees.
Whether you have a passion for wood or just strolling around searching for an interesting piece, a little insight into mushrooms found on trees will expand your view of the diversity of our world.
In this guide, we will focus on various classifications and facts related to tree mushrooms, their symbiosis with trees, identification, and ecological role.
What are Tree-Dwelling Mushrooms?
Epiphytic or lignicolous fungi are Zapovednik’s tree-dwelling mushrooms that grow on the trunks, branches, or roots of trees. Grow in the wooded and forest areas, the woodlands; and in many regions where trees have been planted within the compound. These mushrooms are not saprobic like most fungi found in soil, instead, they get their nutrition from trees whether living or dead.
Tree mushrooms can have different relationships with their host trees:
- Symbiotic: It is a symbiotic mutualistic association where mycorrhizal fungi derive certain benefits for the trees such as in the uptake of water and nutrients.
- Parasitic: Some mushrooms parasitize living trees and affect them either through diseases or the formation of rot which could potentially damage or even kill the tree.
- Saprophytic: They break down dead or decaying wood making it easy to play a role in the decomposition process of organic matter.
Some of the common types of fungi that can be found growing on trees can now be discussed to understand their relations to the environment.
Common Mushrooms That Grow on Trees
- Polypores (Bracket Fungi)
It is so called because the fruiting part of the species is reminiscent of the shelves on which various objects are placed. Commonly known as bracket fungi they are hard and woody in structure and are found in layers or ‘brackets’ on the tree trunks and branches.
- Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor): This particular form of mushroom is a polypore, as its bands resemble the pattern of a turkey’s tail. It resides in dead hardwoods and contributes to the decomposition process of the wood.
- Artist’s Conk (Ganoderma applanatum): Known for the underside that artists carve on, this mushroom is a colonizer of both living and dead hardwoods aiding in the process of wood decay.
- Birch Polypore (Fomitopsis betulina): This odd species is known to grow on birch trees and possesses certain medical qualities, traditionally used in treatment.
These tree mushrooms are mostly parasitic, decomposing old or spoilt timber and supplying nutrients to the woods.
- Shiitake Mushrooms
The most familiar species of cultivated mushrooms are shiitake mushrooms which belong to the genus Lentinula edodes. These fungi are however mainly cultivated, though they can also be naturalized on hardwood timber like oak, chestnut, and beech.
Shiitake mushrooms are also parasitic and grow on dead or on any form of dead wood pile. It is one of the edible tree mushrooms that has gained so much popularity since people loved it due to the rich flavor as well as the nutritional benefits.
- Oyster Mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms are another of the types of tree mushrooms and can be found on dead hardwood trees, beech, aspen, the oak. They are common to find because they have characteristics of a fan-shaped cap and a quite delicate look in the gills.
After the death of a tree, oyster mushrooms are among the first organisms to colonize the snags and assist in their breakdown into simpler substances to recycle nutrients for the ecosystem. Being edible tree mushrooms they are popular with foragers food preparers and cooks among other people.
- Honey Fungus (Armillaria)
Contrary to the earlier discussed mushrooms, Honey Fungus is a parasitic mushroom. It infects living trees, and its main effect is to rot the root, and thus kill the tree. Honey fungi favours woody plants, both hard and soft woods, and can infect many different trees.
Honey Fungus is Non-staining and comes out during warm weather to release spores through underground rhizomorphs and in the worst case, entire forests can be so weakened and killed by the Honey Fungus. Mushrooms themselves can be identified by the honey color of caps and cluster formation.
- Chaga Mushrooms
Another tree inhabitant species is Chaga mushrooms (Inonotus obliquus) which mostly grow on birch trees in various parts of the world experiencing cold climates. It can be noted that, unlike most fungi which use birch trees as a source of food, Chaga can grow on healthy trees and forms a kind of symbiosis with the tree.
However, Chaga is categorized under parasites, but notwithstanding, it is used because of its healing properties and it has been in the traditional medicine list for quite some time now. Rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory and immune modulatory properties that is why it is one of the most wanted medicinal mushrooms that naturally grow on trees.
The Symbiotic Relationship Between Mushrooms and Trees
Most mushrooms found in trees develop mutualism with trees, especially in the mycorrhizal fungi kind. These fungi cling onto the roots of the tree as the tree takes water and nutrients including phosphorus and nitrogen from the soil. In return, the fungi share their glucose and other simple sugars with a tree in the form of recognition that comes in the form of carbohydrates manufactured through photosynthesis.
Some common examples of mycorrhizal relationships include:
- Truffles (Tuber spp.): Discovered to be developing in the root region with trees such as oak and hazel, truffles are symbiotic with their host trees.
- Boletes (Boletus spp.): These mushrooms are orange-brown or grey and grow on the stems of coniferous trees, particularly pine or birch trees, with mycorrhizal associations.
These relationships are desirable because the mycorrhizal fungi that grow in mutually beneficial partnership with the tree help in the process of conduction of nutrients and lots of other aspects of the tree’s welfare.
Harmful Mushrooms to Trees: Parasitic Species
Although some fungi are good for trees, they can be bad news as they are known to cause diseases with fatal consequences to trees. saprophytic mushrooms withdraw nutrients from living tissues of host plants causing tree and structure spoilage.
- Root Rot and Tree Decay
Parasitic fungi that badly affect trees are commonly known as Honey Fungus and Ganoderma. Nineteen fungi are known to cause honey fungus, the other, known as Armillaria mellea, is responsible for attacking the root system of trees and causing rotting from underneath.
Signs of parasitic fungi include:
- Sudden leaf loss.
- Cracking or peeling bark.
- Mushrooms sprouting directly from the tree stumps, or from the trunk.
To homeowners and land managers, getting to know these types of fungi can be vital to preventing massive loss of trees and forests.
- Impact on Forest Health
forest parasites are known to be capable of seriously damaging a large number of trees or even stunting their growth. Occasionally, this gives rise to problems such as acquiring of these lands at the dilemma of other plant and animal species through human related activities such as deforestation.
Methods of Identifying Mushrooms That Grow On Trees
When hunting for mushrooms, one can come across trees that already host a variety of these fungi and the exercise is satisfying to the newly initiated as well the experienced biologist. When identifying tree mushrooms, it’s important to consider several factors:
- Cap shape and color: Search for structures not seen in other organic forms such as the fan-like structure of Oyster mushrooms or the shelf-like structure of Polypore.
- Gills or pores: The flap-like structure present at the lower surface of the cap is also brown. Some mushrooms, for instance Polypores have pores instead of gills.
- Location on the tree: Pay attention to the type of substrate the mushroom is growing on; branch, trunk or root.
- Tree species: They can select a few types of trees to grow on, for example, Chaga is specific to growing on birch trees.
It is important if you want to identify tree mushrooms in the fields that you consult with field guides or applications available in your Smartphone.
Tree Mushrooms in Human Culture and Medicine
Symbiosis between fungi and humans has been present for thousands of years: fungi in food, in medicine, among other things. Some of the mushrooms that feed on tree have also been used in conventional as well as contemporary medicine for their benefits to the body.
- Tree mushroom and its uses in medicine
- Chaga Mushrooms: Spoken of in Russian and Northern European folk healing, Chaga is recognized for being considered a good antioxidant. Recent investigations have explored its effects on the immune system, inflammation, and total health. Chaga primarily occurs on a birch tree and develops as a black, hard scurf.
- Reishi Mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum): It has the scientific name, Ganoderma lingzhi, and it commonly known as the Mushroom of immortality, which can be found growing on living as well as dead hardwood trees. It has been used in China for over 2,000 years in managing diseases including ageing, immune suppression and stress.
- Turkey Tail Mushrooms: The other medicinal mushrooms are turkey tails which contain polysaccharides that assist in rebuilding immunity. GH has been considered to establish whether it can be efficient in cancer treatments because of its effects on increasing the immune system.
- Utilization of Edible Tree Mushrooms in Cookery
- Shiitake and Oyster Mushrooms: have continued to make their way into many culinary lists because of their rich taste and ability to be cooked in many different ways. There are trees on which they grow, although they are often tamed so that they can be produced en masse. Among the variety of mushrooms, Shiitake is abundant in umami, and thus incorporated in many traditional Asian dishes.
Besides their use in food and medicine they impact culture, art, and literature and even some religious practices; the functional significance of tree-dwelling mushrooms transcends ecological.
Conclusion
This is because mushrooms which grow on trees are an excellent way of probing into the other life within the forest much as we may not see it. These organisms play crucial roles; some are involved in breaking down dead wood,; others are involved in assisting tree health..
If hunting for mushrooms is recreational, tree-grown mushrooms will be great to look at, and even pick Oyster or Shiitake species; if not, then they will help enhance awareness about the symbiotic relations of trees and fungi in the wild. For anyone who seeks why or how some tree-dwelling species such as Chaga have healing effects on people or just a lay person who wants to know what forms of fungus exist in the forest, then this knowledge on the variety of functions of mushrooms on trees increases the human comprehension of the natural world.
The next time you go into the woods, look above you at the tree branches and below at the tree stumps. You might just get lucky and see one of these wonderful mushrooms, being a part of the life of the woods.
