English: Grosmannia clavigera (Robinson-Jeffrey & Davidson, 1968) - blue stain fungus. (public display, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado, USA)

Fungi are multicellular, non-photosynthesizing eucaryotes that are not capable of spontaneous movement. They feed on nutrients derived from organic matter in dead and decaying plants, such as wood, or in soil, or from living organisms. Those that feed on decaying wood or dead plant matter in soil are called saprotrophic fungi. Those that feed on living organisms are called parasitic fungi. Those that colonize a plant's roots and derive nutrients from (but not harming) the host plant are called mycorrhizal fungi.

The slightly bluish-gray colored, wedge-shaped areas in the slice of conifer wood shown above are caused by blue stain fungus. This fungal species is spread from tree to tree by mountain pine beetles. Conifers that are infested with blue stain fungus will eventually die. Infested trees are actually killed by intense boring activities by the beetles, and the fungus suppresses the trees' natural defenses. Extensive tracts of dead lodgepole pines and ponderosa pines have become common in conifer forests of the American Rocky Mountains, particularly in Colorado.

Classification: Fungi, Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes, Ophiostomatales, Ophiostomataceae

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More info. at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_stain_fungus