Fungus · Hymenochaetaceae
Willow Bracket
Phellinus igniarius
Facts
- Habitat
- Living trunks of Aspen, Poplar, and Willow in wet woodland and riparian margins
- Substrate
- Parasitic, causes white heart rot in living hardwood
Ecological relationships
Parasitises
A primary heart-rot pathogen of living Aspen, creating decay columns that are subsequently excavated by woodpeckers as nest cavities. A documented fungus → bird facilitation chain.
Grows on
Common perennial bracket on older Birch, contributing to standing deadwood habitat on which many saproxylic species depend.
