# Lenzites warnieri

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lenzites_warnieri
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lenzites_warnieri.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenzites_warnieri
> Source revision: 1355066875
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Lenzites warnieri*** is a [species](/source/Species) of [fungus](/source/Fungus) in the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Polyporaceae](/source/Polyporaceae) found in parts of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. The species is a [white rot](/source/White_rot) pathogen on living wood. Its corky [fruiting bodies](/source/Fruiting_body) in the shape of semicircular plates form on the trunks of several types of [deciduous](/source/Deciduous) trees growing near water bodies in regions of moist sub-Mediterranean climate. The fruiting body, which has a [lamellar](/source/Lamella_(mycology)) [fruit layer](/source/Hymenophore), produces [spores](/source/Spore) only once.

[Michel Durieu de Maisonneuve](/source/Michel_Charles_Durieu_de_Maisonneuve) and [Camille Montagne](/source/Camille_Montagne) classified *Lenzites warnieri* in 1860, on the basis of a find from [northern Algeria](/source/Algeria). *Lenzites warnieri* is closely related to various species of the genus *[Trametes](/source/Trametes)*, but their exact [taxonomic positions](/source/Taxonomy_(biology)) are to date unresolved.

## Taxonomy

*Lenzites warnieri* was first [described](/source/Species_description) in 1860 by [Michel Durieu de Maisonneuve](/source/Michel_Charles_Durieu_de_Maisonneuve) and [Camille Montagne](/source/Camille_Montagne). The [type](/source/Type_(biology)) specimen came from Algeria, where Durieu and Montagne collected it from the trunk of an elm on the grounds of the retirement home of the French physician and politician [Auguste Warnier](/source/Auguste_Warnier). The [specific epithet](/source/Botanical_name) *warnieri* honors him. The initial description was first published in *Annales des Sciences Naturelles (Botanique)*, although the description had appeared in *Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux* at the desire of Durieu.[1]

Because of ambiguities in the identification and species distinction, *Lenzites reichardtii* [Schulz.](/source/Stephan_Schulzer_von_M%C3%BCggenburg) 1880 was for a long time considered a valid name for *L. warnieri* in Europe, although its type was much smaller than the one by Durieu und Montagne. At the end of the 20th century, both names were regarded [synonyms](/source/Synonym_(taxonomy)). A possible [conspecifity](/source/Conspecific) with *[Daedalea quercina](/source/Daedalea_quercina)* was long discussed by scientists,[2] such as [Giacomo Bresadola](/source/Giacomo_Bresadola), who thought *L. warnieri* was synonymous with *Daedalea quercina*, a view adopted in 1940 by [Albert Pilát](/source/Albert_Pil%C3%A1t), who named *L. warnieri* as *Daedalea quercina* [f.](/source/Form_(botany)) *lenzitoidea*.[3] Unlike *L. warnieri*, *Daedalea quercina* has a maze-like [hymenophore](/source/Hymenophore), causes brown rot, and infests only oaks.[4] In a 1967 [mating](/source/Mating_in_fungi) study, Alix David proved that the fungi are separate species.[5]

*Lenzites warnieri* is today classified into the genus *[Lenzites](/source/Lenzites)*, which is closely related to the genus *[Trametes](/source/Trametes)* as was initially supposed and later demonstrated through [DNA analysis](/source/Molecular_phylogenetics). DNA analysis suggests that the more common *Lenzites* species *[Lenzites betulina](/source/Lenzites_betulina)* is genetically closer to a species of *[Trametes](/source/Trametes)* than to *L. warnierii*.[6] The relationship between *Lenzites* and *Trametes* is unclear.[6][7] The authors of one DNA study published in 2011 suggested that *Lenzites* should be considered a synonym of *Trametes*, together with the genera *[Artolenzites](/source/Artolenzites)*, *[Coriolopsis](/source/Coriolopsis)*, *[Coriolus](/source/Coriolus)*, *[Cubamyces](/source/Cubamyces)*, *[Cyclomycetella](/source/Cyclomycetella)*, *[Poronidulus](/source/Poronidulus)*, *[Pseudotrametes](/source/Pseudotrametes)* and *[Pycnoporus](/source/Pycnoporus)*.[8]

## Description

### Macroscopic

The [fruit body](/source/Fruit_body) of *Lenzites warnieri* is a flattened, semicircular or two-part [cap](/source/Pileus_(mycology)) divided through a small recess. It is [resupinate](/source/Resupination) (crust-like), lacks a [stipe](/source/Stipe_(mycology)), and sits directly on the [host](/source/Host_(biology)) tree. The cap is 5–20 cm (2.0–7.9 in) wide (very rarely up to 45 cm (18 in)), 3–8 cm (1.2–3.1 in) wide from the top to the edge and 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) high. The surface of the young fruit bodies has a velvet texture, but it becomes bald and smooth in maturity and produces small humps or warts. The colour is light cream in young fungi and grey in old fungi. The surface is distinctly zoned; the zone edges are furrowed and dark brown to black. The [trama](/source/Trama_(mycology)) has a tough leathery and corky consistency, but is relatively thin and does not show a definite transition to the [gills](/source/Lamellae_(mycology)).[9] The gills are ochre or parchment-coloured, bifurcated, and its body is comparatively deep, up to 1 cm (0.4 in). Below the top of the cap, they move maze-like into each other.[10][11] When [stained](/source/Staining) with [cresyl blue](/source/Brilliant_cresyl_blue), the hyphae turn dark blue, indicating an orthochromatic reaction.[12]

### Microscopic

The [mycelium](/source/Mycelium), which grows in the host tree, is [heterothallic](/source/Heterothallic) and [tetrapolar](/source/Mating_type). *Lenzites warnieri* has a trimitic [trama](/source/Trama_(mycology)), meaning a tissue comprising generative [hyphae](/source/Hypha), binding hyphae, and skeletal hyphae. While the generative hyphae are responsible for growth, the hardened skeletal hyphae and the thick-walled binding hyphae maintain the stability of the fruit body and provide its corky consistency. The generative hyphae are thin-walled, [hyaline](/source/Hyaline), measure 2–3 [μm](/source/Micrometre) in diameter and have a [clamp connection](/source/Clamp_connection). The binding hyphae are tough, spiral and heavily branched. They are 3–5 μm in diameter and pass over to the skeletal hyphae in the same size. They protrude distinctly into the [fruit tissue](/source/Hymenium), a characteristic that differentiates them from the [sympatric](/source/Sympatry) *L. betulinus*.[7]

[Cystidia](/source/Cystidium), large cells found on the [hymenium](/source/Hymenium), have not been found in this species. Microscopic cell structures of the fungus, which while showing similarities with the cystidia are smaller and thinner, may represent cystidiolae (immature cystidia). The club-shaped [basidia](/source/Basidium) each have four 4 μm-long, spore-bearing [sterigmata](/source/Sterigmata). The basidia have clamps on their bases; they become 15–25 × 5–6 μm large. The hyaline [spores](/source/Spore) are constant or crooked cylindrically. They have thin walls, do not react with [Melzer's reagent](/source/Melzer's_reagent) and measure 7–9 × 3–4 μm.[7]

## Distribution

*Lenzites warnieri* populates a large area of the [Palaearctic](/source/Palaearctic), but is not distributed locally. Early finds were at times not confirmed in later years. Most recent recorded occurrences are in the [temperate](/source/Temperateness) to sub-[mediterranean climatic zones](/source/Mediterranean_climate). Because the host spectrum of *L. warnieri* is broad, its habitat is not determined by the appearance of host plants, but by climatic conditions. Their primary habitat is the southern Central and Northern Europe. They have been rarely found on the 48th [latitude](/source/Latitude), such as on the [Upper Rhine Plain](/source/Upper_Rhine_Plain). The northern border of their range may be the 18 [°C](/source/Degree_centigrade) [July-isotherm](/source/Contour_line#Temperature_and_related_subjects). The southern habitat border comprises the African [Atlas Mountains](/source/Atlas_Mountains) and the bordering regions, and in Asia it proceeds to the 36th latitude. While low temperature on the northern border does not affect its habitat, the fungus may also populate the dry southern border.[13]

The southernmost finds were in the [High Atlas](/source/High_Atlas) and the offshore [Algeria](/source/Algeria). Only two finds were detected on the [Iberian Peninsula](/source/Iberian_Peninsula), one from [Barcelona](/source/Province_of_Barcelona) and the other from [Guadalajara](/source/Province_of_Guadalajara).[14] In France it is distributed in the south, southeast and in the [Yonne](/source/Yonne) region. There were two collections on the [Upper Rhine](/source/Upper_Rhine) in Germany,[9] and towards northwest in [Leudelange](/source/Leudelange), [Luxembourg](/source/Luxembourg).[15] The northernmost distributions (51° 59′ N) were in the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands), where fungi were found on three occasions in the southern region.[16][17] There were further findings in northeast Italy and on the opposite side of the [Adriatic Sea](/source/Adriatic_Sea), in the [Sava](/source/Sava)-[Danube](/source/Danube) area in [Serbia](/source/Serbia) and [Croatia](/source/Croatia).[18] An almost enclosed habitat exists in the [Pannonian Basin](/source/Pannonian_Basin), mainly in [Hungary](/source/Hungary). Further to the southwest there were three findings on the [Macedonian](/source/North_Macedonia) [Vardar](/source/Vardar), and further three in the [Bulgarian](/source/Bulgaria) eastern [Rhodopes](/source/Rhodopes)[19] and on the Black Sea coast near [Primorsko](/source/Primorsko).[20] It has also been recorded in Turkey and Iran.[21]

In the area of the former [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union), there were findings in the [Ukrainian](/source/Ukraine) [Carpathians](/source/Carpathians) and [Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi](/source/Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), in the [Georgian](/source/Georgia_(country)) [Gagra](/source/Gagra), [Armenian](/source/Armenia) Ander and [Turkmenistan](/source/Turkmenistan). There are unspecified findings in the northern [Caucasus](/source/Caucasus), the Russian Black Sea coast and the Urals. [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan) had three collections in the [East Kazakhstan Province](/source/East_Kazakhstan_Province), the [Trans-Ili Alatau](/source/Trans-Ili_Alatau) and the [Dzungarian Alatau](/source/Dzungarian_Alatau). The easternmost find comes from [Vyazemsky](/source/Vyazemsky,_Khabarovsk_Krai). In the [interglacial periods](/source/Interglacial) of the [Pleistocene](/source/Pleistocene) the habitat reached the areas of today's [continental](/source/Continental_climate)-[temperate climates](/source/Temperateness), as was validated by a fossil find in [Thuringia](/source/Thuringia) from the [Eemian](/source/Eemian). There were also fossil finds in the French [Clairvaux-les-Lacs](/source/Clairvaux-les-Lacs) from the [Chalcolithic](/source/Chalcolithic).[20][22]

## Ecology

The hosts of *L. warnieri* are usually [willow](/source/Willow) (*Salix* spp.), [elm](/source/Elm) (*Ulmus* spp.), [cottonwood](/source/Populus_sect._Aigeiros) (*Populus* spp.), [alder](/source/Alder) (*Alnus* spp.) and other species found in warm, moist sites.[7] The fungus prefers wet areas, like [riparian forests](/source/Riparian_forest) and [fens](/source/Fen). Its mycelium only grows at warm temperatures, with optimal growth at 37 °C (99 °F). The fungus is relatively winter-hardy, but it is sensitive to drops of temperature during summer, which likely explains why it is often found only on the sunny side of tree trunks. Because of its temperature sensitivities, the fungus is rare in the northern latitudes.[23]

The species only infests living wood, on which it causes [white rot](/source/White_rot). By doing so, the [lignin](/source/Lignin) is degraded in the infested zones, and the wood becomes fibrous, bleaches, and loses strength. The spores of *L. warnieri* are transported in spring by wind to the host tree. Often, only one tree becomes infested, while other neighbouring trees are unaffected. The mycelium of the fungus populates the host tree and produces numerous fruit bodies in autumn. Those are at first fruitless and sporulates only in the following spring, after enduring winter. The fruit bodies are [annual](/source/Annual_plant).[11]

## References

1. Camille Montagne (1860). ["Neuvième Centurie de Plantes Cellulaires Nouvelles tant Indigènes et Exotiques, Décades I et II."](http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4452998/f166.image) (in French). *Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Botanique*. **14**: 182. Quatrième Série.

1. Uwe Passauer (1976). ["Über einen Fund von Daedalea quercina Fries f. lenzitoidea Bres. aus Niederösterreich."](http://www.landesmuseum.at/pdf_frei_remote/ANNA_80_0087-0091.pdf) (in German). *Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien*. **80**: 90–91.

1. André Marchand (1975). "Champignons du Nord et du Midi. Tome 5: Bolétales et Aphyllophorales". *Société Mycologique des Pyrénées Méditerranéennes*

1. Wulfard Winterhoff (1986). "Zu einem Fund von L. warnieri Dur. et Mont. in der Oberrheinebene" (in German). *Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Naturschutz Darmstadt*. Institut für Naturschutz.

1. Alix David (1967). "Lenzites reichhartii Schulz. espèce nouvelle pour la flore française" (in French). *Bulletin Mensuel de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon*. **36** (4): 155–163. [doi:10.3406/linly.1967.5914](https://doi.org/10.3406/linly.1967.5914)

1. Michal Tomšovský; Miroslav KolaÍík; Sylvie Pañoutová; Ladislav Homolka (2006). "Molecular phylogeny of European Trametes (Basidiomycetes, Polyporales) species based on LSU and ITS (nrDNA) sequences.". *Nova Hedwigia*. **82** (3–4): 276–278. [doi:10.1127/0029-5035/2006/0082-0269](https://doi.org/10.1127/0029-5035/2006/0082-0269) Grouping of *Lenzites betulina* with *Trametes gibbosa* is supported by all methods, except for MLdist analysis of ITS data. This ambiguity may originate from an incomplete ITS sequence of *Lenzites betulina* **A**. *L. betulina* seems to be closer to *Trametes gibbosa* than to *Lenzites warnierii*.

1. Leif Ryvarden & R. L. Gilbertson (1993). *European Polypores. Abortiporus – Lindtneria*. Oslo, Norway: Fungiflora. p. 381. ISBN 978-8290724127.

1. Alfredo Justo & David S. Hibbett (2011). "Phylogenetic classification of Trametes (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) based on a five-marker dataset". *Taxon*. **60** (6): 1567–1583. [doi:10.1002/tax.606003](https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.606003)

1. German Josef Krieglsteiner (2000). *Die Großpilze Baden-Württembergs. Band 1: Allgemeiner Teil. Ständerpilze: Gallert-, Rinden-, Stachel- und Porenpilze.*. Ulmer, Stuttgart. p. 542. ISBN 978-3-8001-3528-8.

1. Hanns Kreisel (1977). "Lenzites warnieri (Basidiomycetes) im Pleistocän von Thüringen" (in German). *Feddes Repertorium*. **88** (5–6): 367. [doi:10.1002/fedr.19770880504](https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.19770880504)

1. Leif Ryvarden & R. L. Gilbertson (1993). *European Polypores. Abortiporus – Lindtneria*. Oslo, Norway: Fungiflora. p. 379. ISBN 978-8290724127.

1. Tortić M. (1977). "Some experiences with the use of cresyl blue in the determination of polypores". *Kew Bulletin*. **31** (3): 611–6. [doi:10.2307/4119410](https://doi.org/10.2307/4119410). [JSTOR 4119410](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4119410)

1. Wulfard Winterhoff (1986). "Zu einem Fund von L. warnieri Dur. et Mont. in der Oberrheinebene" (in German). *Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Naturschutz Darmstadt*. Institut für Naturschutz.

1. F. D. Calonge; F. Prieto-García; A. González (2008). "Lenzites warinieri (Polyporaceae), Segunda Cita Peninsular, Encontrado en Castillo-La Mancha" (in French). *Boletin de la Sociedad Micológica de Madrid*. **32**: 81–84.

1. Felix Jungblut & Léopold Reichling (1981). "Le Polypore *Lenzites warnieri* Dur. et Mont. (= L. reichardtii S. Schulz.) au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg" (in French). *Lejeunia*. **104**: 1–7. Nouvelle Série.

1. Peter-Jan Keizer (2005). "Lenzites warnieri nieuw voor Nederland" (in Dutch). *Coolia*. **48** (3): 165–166.

1. Natua MM. (2005). ["*Lenzites warnieri*, al jaren present"](http://www.mycologen.nl/Coolia/PDF-files/Coolia_48(3).pdf) (in Dutch). *Coolia*. **48** (3): 171–2.

1. Milica Tortić (1972). "Lenzites reichhartii Schulzer.". *Acta Botanica Croatica*. **31**: 194–197.

1. Maria Lacheva (2009). "A Study of Macromycetes in "Maglenishki Rid" Eastern Rhodopes Mts. I.". *Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment*. **23**: 102.

1. Hanns Kreisel (1977). "Lenzites warnieri (Basidiomycetes) im Pleistocän von Thüringen" (in German). *Feddes Repertorium*. **88** (5–6): 369. [doi:10.1002/fedr.19770880504](https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.19770880504)

1. Niemela T, Uotila P. (1977). "Lignicolous macrofungi from Turkey and Iran". *Karstenia*. **17** (1): 33–9. [doi:10.29203/ka.1977.122](https://doi.org/10.29203/ka.1977.122). [ISSN 0453-3402](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0453-3402)

1. C. Allard (April 1990). "Contribution à la Connaissance de Lenzites warnieri (Dur. et Mont. apud Mont. (= L. reichardtii Schulz.)" (in French). *Bulletin Trimestriel de la Fédération Mycologique Dauphiné-Savoie*. **117**: 15.

1. Wulfard Winterhoff (1986). "Zu einem Fund von L. warnieri Dur. et Mont. in der Oberrheinebene" (in German). *Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Naturschutz Darmstadt*. Institut für Naturschutz.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lenzites warnieri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenzites_warnieri) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenzites_warnieri?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.