Portal:Oregon/Selected article/164

Bridgeoporus is a fungal genus in the family Polyporaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single polypore species Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, first described to science in 1949. Commonly known both as the noble polypore and the fuzzy Sandozi, this fungus produces large fruit bodies (or conks) that have been found to weigh up to 130 kilograms (290 lb). The upper surface of the fruit body has a fuzzy or fibrous texture that often supports the growth of algae, bryophytes, or vascular plants. This species is found in the Pacific Northwest region of North America where it grows on large (at least 1 m diameter) specimens of noble fir (Abies procera), Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis), or western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Bridgeoporus nobilissimus causes a brown rot in its tree hosts. Genetic analysis shows that the fungus is more prevalent than fruit body distribution indicates. The fungus was discovered in Clackamas County, Oregon, in 1943 by brothers Ali and Fred Sandoz.