Trees and Timber 



365 



tirely rotten, the wood is soft and spongy and light yellow 

 in color. 



The pore-bearing sporophores are hoof-shaped, smooth 

 above, and concen- 

 trically ridged and 

 gray. Below they 

 are red-brown. 



Rot (Fomes ap- 

 planatus Wallr.). — 

 The shelving, per- 

 ennial, pore- bear- 

 ing sporophores are 

 very large, woody, 

 and g r a y i s h - to 

 brown above, and 

 are commonly 

 found on dead 

 wood, as well as 

 on live trees of 

 poplar, beech, oak, 

 birch, maple. 



Red-brown rot^^^ 

 (F m e s pmicola 

 Fr.), — The causal 

 fungus is of world- 

 wide distribution 

 upon conifers, 

 especially spruce, 

 pine, fir, and hemlock. It occurs also upon birches and 

 other deciduous trees. Entrance is made through wounds. 

 The rotted wood is brittle, cracked, and permeated by 

 numerous sheets of mycelium. In early stages of decay 

 the color changes from red-brown to dark-brown, after 

 which small, irregular, scattered white areas appear. The 

 sporophores vary from 2.5-30 cm., averaging 10-15 cm., 

 are bracket-shaped and lobed. The young lobes are 

 bright red to pale yellow, old ones dark red-brown. 



Fig. 192. — Fomes applanatus upon trunk of 

 dead tree. After Freeman. 



