FungusHymenochaetaceae
Aspen Bracket
Phellinus tremulae
- Habitat
- Living Aspen trunks in boreal and montane mixed woodland; strictly host-specific
- Substrate
- Parasitic, white heart rot of living Aspen
Ecological relationships
Parasitises
AspenPopulus tremulaObligate host-specific white-rot parasite of Aspen; causes the heartwood decay essential for cavity-nesting birds.
Symbiosis with
Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martiusBlack Woodpecker preferentially excavates nest cavities in aspen trunks infected by this fungus; decay softens heartwood to enable excavation (Zahner et al. 2012).