Fungi with Pores — Polyporaces 



GENUS MERULIUS 

 Merulius lacrymans 



The simplest of these Polyporacece is the dry-rot fungus, 

 Merulius lacrymans. The food-seeking portion consists of fine 

 white threads, mycelium, which penetrate the woodwork of 

 buildings, causing it to crumble to dust. The fruiting portion 

 consists of flat, irregular bodies whose under surface bears the 

 spores in shallow pits separated by narrow ridges. Water is 

 excreted from these flat disks, which, from the habit of dropping 

 like tears, has suggested the specific name lacrymans, from the 

 Latin lacrymare, to weep. 



GENUS POLYPORUS 



The genus Polyporus and the genus Trametes have the pores 

 closely packed and united to together. In Trametes the uniting 

 substance is the same as the substance of the cap, but in Poly- 

 porus the uniting substance is different frorn the substance of 

 the cap. The genus Polyporus in its widest sense is a large, 

 one, numbering some five hundred species, and containing every 

 texture from fleshy or pulpy to woody. 



The fruiting portion is often seen in the form of brackets 

 shelving out from standing or fallen trees. The mycelium pene- 

 trates the wood, softening it, and causing it to crumble, so that 

 in the course of time the tree dies. The external evidence that 

 the tree has been attacked is the appearance of the fruiting por- 

 tion, which often attains a very great size. 



Elfvingia (polyporus) megaloma 



Polyporus megaloma is attractive to frequenters of the woods, 

 as its spore surface when fresh is soft and white, and furnishes 

 an attractive surface for stencil drawings. 



Elfvingia (polyporus) fomentaria 



The brackets of Elfvingia fomentaria resemble horses' 

 hoofs. They are employed in the manufacture of amadou, or 



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