Laricifomes officinalis

Laricifomes officinalis
Paul Stamets holding a specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Phylum:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Basidiomycetes
Subclass:	Agaricomycetidae
Order:	Polyporales
Family:	Fomitopsidaceae
Genus:	Laricifomes
Species:	L. officinalis
Binomial name
Laricifomes officinalis (Vill.) Kotl. & Pouzar, (1957)
Synonyms
Agaricum officinale (Vill.) Donk, (1971) [1974] Boletus agaricum Pollini, (1824) Boletus laricis F. Rubel, (1778) Boletus officinalis Vill., (1789) Boletus officinalis (Vill.) Batsch, (1783) Boletus purgans J.F. Gmel., (1792) Cladomeris officinalis (Vill.) Quél., (1886) Fomes fuscatus Lázaro Ibiza, (1916) Fomes officinalis (Vill.) Bres., (1931) Fomitopsis officinalis (Vill.) Bondartsev & Singer, (1941) Piptoporus officinalis (Vill.) P. Karst., (1882) Polyporus officinalis (Vill.) Fr., (1821) Ungulina officinalis (Vill.) Pat., (1900)

Laricifomes officinalis is a wood-decay fungus in the order Polyporales. It causes brown heart rot on conifers, and is found in Europe, Asia, and North America, as well as Morocco.^[1] It is commonly known as agarikon, as well as the quinine conk due to its extremely bitter taste.^[2][3] DNA analysis supports L. officinalis as being distinct from the genus Fomitopsis.^[4]

Medicinal Use

Laricifomes officinalis was used by the Ancient Greeks to treat consumption (tuberculosis) according to the writings of Pedanius Dioscorides in 65 AD,^[3] and by some indigenous people to treat small pox.^{[citation needed]} The presence of Agarikon at burial sites may indicate that its use was once widespread.

Conservation

Wild Agarikon is only found in old-growth forests, and grows on conifers, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) and larch (Larix). Conservation of wild populations of L. officinalis is a concern due to loss of ancient forest habitat. Because it is difficult to maintain long-term genetic integrity of laboratory-grown strains, it is necessary to preserve the mushroom in the wild.

In culture

L. officinalis was important both medicinally and spiritually to indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America, such as the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. L. officinalis was referred to as the "bread of ghosts" in local languages, and carved fruiting bodies marked the graves of tribal shamans.^[5]

Paul Stamets, pictured above, has suggested the importance of preserving this rare mushroom for the sake of anti-bioterrorism (as small pox still exists for the sake of bioterrorism) and was able to convince the American government to protect certain old growth forests as a matter of national defense.^{[citation needed]} Paul Stamets owns the largest Agaricon culture collection with many strains. They are so rare he only harvests the fruit if the site is threatened with destruction, but instead takes a culture to clone it in his lab.

References

1. ^ Chlebicki, Andrzej; Mukhin, Viktor A.; Ushakova, Nadezhda (2003). "Fomitopsis officinalis on Siberian Larch in the Urals". Mycologist 17 (3): 116–120. doi:10.1017/S0269915X03003057. 
2. ^ Ginns, J. (2006). "Annotated Key to Pacific Northwest Polypores". Pacific Northwest Key Council. http://www.svims.ca/council/Polypo.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Stamets, Paul (2005). "Medicinal Polypores of the Forests of North America: Screening for Novel Antiviral Activity" (PDF). International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms 7: 362. http://www.dl.begellhouse.com/download/article/68ee03ef1a9aac59/IJM%200703%20(362).pdf. 
4. ^ Kim, Kyung Mo; Yoon, Yuh-Gang; Jung, Hack Sung (2005). "Evaluation of the monophyly of Fomitopsis using parsimony and MCMC methods". Mycologia 97 (4): 812–822. doi:10.3852/mycologia.97.4.812. PMID 16457351. http://www.mycologia.org/cgi/content/full/97/4/812. 
5. ^ Blanchette, Robert A.; Compton, Brian D.; Turner, Nancy J.; Gilbertson, Robert L. (Jan.-Feb. 1992). "Nineteenth Century Shaman Grave Guardians Are Carved Fomitopsis officinalis Sporophores". Mycologia 84 (1): 119–124. doi:10.2307/3760412. JSTOR 3760412. 

External links

• Index Fungorum
• USDA ARS Fungal Database
• Brown Trunk Rot, Common Tree Diseases of British Columbia, forestry-dev.org
• Agarikon, Cornell University Mushroom Blog