mossy maple polypore

Mossy Maple Polypore

Oxyporus populinus

The Mossy Maple Polypore gets its name because it often has moss growing on it. It is a shelf mushroom which grows on the trunks of maples and other deciduous (loses leaves in Fall) trees.

The cap of this mushroom grows up to eight inches wide and can be several inches thick.

Mossy Maple Polypore flesh is white and very tough, and its caps often overlap each other. These fungi do not have stalks.

TomVolkFungi.net

Mossy Maple Polypore can be found year-round. It is usually seen near the base of a tree trunk, especially where the tree is wounded.

If you touch this fungi, it should feel hairy.

Part of the reason the flesh is so tough is because these mushrooms add a new thick layer each season.

This mushroom is considered a parasite, since it grows on tree wounds and takes nutrients away from the tree.

It is used as a food source by insects such as Fungus Gnats and Horned Fungus Beetles.

Insects also help this fungus spread. When Fungus Gnats or beetles move in and out of the mushroom, spores (like seeds on a plant) stick on the insect's body. Then, when the insect moves on, so do the spores, to a new place where a new mushroom may grow.

Relationships in Nature:

Animals Using as Food Source

Animals Using as Shelter

Associations With Plants
OTHER

Fungus Gnat

Fungus Gnat

Red Maple

Red Maple H

Horned Fungus Beetle

Horned Fungus Beetle

Silver Maple

Silver Maple H

American Beech

American Beech H

Sassafras

Sassafras H

American Sycamore

American Sycamore H

American Elm

American Elm H

Yellow Poplar

Yellow Poplar H

Fungus Gnat D

Horned Fungus Beetle D

Downy Woodpecker FA

Relationsip to Humans:

Mossy Maple Polypores are not eaten by people. They help speed up the dying process for sick trees and weaken wood for cavity-dwelling creatures. They can also damage wood that was to be used as lumber.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

KINGDOM Fungi

DIVISION Basidiomycota

CLASS Hymenomycetes

ORDER Aphyllophorales

FAMILY Polyporaceae

GENUS Oxyporus

SPECIES Oxyporus populinus

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Animals Using as Food Source	Animals Using as Shelter	Associations With Plants	OTHER
Fungus Gnat	Fungus Gnat	Red Maple	Red Maple H
Horned Fungus Beetle	Horned Fungus Beetle	Silver Maple	Silver Maple H
		American Beech	American Beech H
		Sassafras	Sassafras H
		American Sycamore	American Sycamore H
		American Elm	American Elm H
		Yellow Poplar	Yellow Poplar H
			Fungus Gnat D
			Horned Fungus Beetle D
			Downy Woodpecker FA