Xylobolus frustulatus
| Xylobolus frustulatus | |
|---|---|
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| Parchment fungus growing on the cut face of a felled oak tree | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Russulales |
| Family: | Stereaceae |
| Genus: | Xylobolus |
| Species: | X. frustulatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Xylobolus frustulatus (Pers.) Boidin (1958) |
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| Synonyms | |
Xylobolus frustulatus, commonly known as the ceramic fungus or ceramic parchment, is an inedible species of crust fungus in the Stereaceae family. The fruit body forms small, hard, flat crust-like aggregations that resemble broken pieces of ceramic tile. These pieces are initially whitish before turning yellow-brown to gray-brown in age. The spore-bearing cells cover the upper surfaces of the fruit body. A saprobic species, it grows on well-decayed oak wood in Asia, northern Europe, and North America.
The species was first described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1801 under the name Thelephora frustulata. It has been shuffled to several different genera in its taxonomical history, including Auricularia. French mycologist Jacques Boidin transferred it to Xylobolus in 1958, giving it the name by which it is known today. It is commonly known as the "ceramic fungus" or "ceramic parchment".
The fruit body, or crust, of Xylobolus frustulatus has a woody texture and is perennial. It is mostly 1–2 mm thick, although it can be considerably thicker. The crust is frustose (cracking into small, angular polygons), and infrequently curled at the edges. The upper surface is zonate (appearing to have multiple zones of color or texture), and more or less smooth. The hymenial surface is smooth to the naked eye, although long soft hairs can be seen when viewed with a microscope. These 'hairs' are protruding acanthocystidia (cystidia bearing a few projections near the tip) and hyphae. Young layers are pale ochraceous, while older ones dull to deep brown. The fungus is inedible, and lacks any distinctive taste or odor.
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