Host Range of Wood Decay Macrofungi

Many wood-decay macrofungi are specialists – they only grow on the decaying debris of one or a few closely related plant species. However, other wood-decay macrofungi are generalists, growing on the decaying organic matter of plants from many different lineages (not closely related). These patterns are variously well-documented: Some fungi that damage commercially important trees have been well-studied), while most remain unknown or poorly documented.
Some examples of highly host-specific species or genera include:

These patterns are obviously ecologically significant, and can be informative for questions about systematics and evolution, since specialization on a particular host substrate acts is a form of spatial and chemical isolation.

Phellinus spp. (many apparent one-to-one relationships)
Bridgeoporus nobilissimus (Grand Fir)
Phaeolus schweinitzii* (various pines, or Douglas-fir, depending on location; some cryptic species likely involved).

Some notable generalists include:
Omphalotus olivascens (Olive, Toyon, Rhus integrifolia, Live Oak, Eucalyptus, Island Buckwheat, Douglas-fir, Knobcone Pine)
Trametes versicolor (just about anything woody)

Others have a small range of hosts on which they occur, but these hosts are not closely related:
Fistulina hepatica sensu CA (Wax-Myrtle, Giant Chinquapin)

This project is aimed to inspire people to collect more data that explicitly connects wood-decay macrofungi to plant species using the "Associated species with names lookup" Field. less ↑