| Lenzites elegans | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Polyporales |
| Family: | Polyporaceae |
| Genus: | Trametes |
| Species: |
T. elegans
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| Binomial name | |
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Trametes elegans (Spreng.) Pat.
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| Synonyms | |
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Lenzites elegans | |
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pores on hymenium |
 
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cap is offset or indistinct |
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hymenium is decurrent |
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lacks a stipe |
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spore print is white |
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ecology is saprotrophic |
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edibility: inedible |
Lenzites elegans, also known as Trametes elegans and Daedalea elegans, is a common polypore and wood-decay fungus with a pantropical distribution found on hardwood hosts in regions including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Though it is referred to as Lenzites elegans on this wikipedia page, The Species Fungorum places it current name as Trametes Elegans. It has recently been considered a complex that is split into three different species: T. elegans, T. aesculi, and T. repanda.
Morphology
T. elegans’ basidiocarp has narrow semi-dadeloid pores and is the color brown. At the pore surface, they are yellow and there is a dark line that separates the lower context and the upper tomentum . Defining characteristics of T. elegans include skeletal hyphae, thin-walled basidiospores, and a poroid hymenophore . T. elegans has no stipe and has a corky texture. Its shape is flabelliform and is circular and sessile. When it is fresh it is flexible and becomes more rigid when it is dry (https://ncslg.cals.ncsu.edu/files/2014/05/Lenzites-elegans.pdf). The fruiting body of T. elegans is leathery and grows alone on dead wood. It is off-white, velvety, and has aerial hyphae in secondary mycelial culture.
Ecology
T. elegans shares a commensalistic relationship with various host plants where it provides potection to the plant against assault from other pathogens. Additionally, T. elegans is endophytic. As T. elegans belongs to the white rot fungi group, they are important in breaking down lignin from trees and they do so extracellularly, non-specifically, and non-hydrolytically. This is important for recycling carbon in forest ecosystems.
Habitat
T. elegans prefers an intermediate temperature range of around 25-35 degrees celsius and can grow in both the soil and on synthetic media. Additionally, they prefer to inhabit rotting wood and leaf litter in tropical forests. They prefer hardwood forests.
Geographical Distribution
Grows best in tropical hardwood forests and are found in places such as countries in Western Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the southern United States.
Unique Aspects
T. elegans has potential natural antimicrobial possibilities. In a study, researchers found that compounds isolated from T. elegans were able to inhibit microbial growth. These compounds include ergosta-5,7,22 trien-3-ol, 5α,8α–epidioxyergosta-6,9, 22-trien-3βol, 5α,8α–epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol, ergosta-7,22-dien-3β,5α,6β-triol, Lupeol, and 9,19- cycloartane-3,30-diol. These potential antimicrobial properties have been shown to apply to a wide range of bacteria and other fungi. The mechanism for this involves the reduction of oxidative stress and nitric oxides. Not only do T. elegans have great potential as possible antimicrobial agents, but they also have the potential to degrade compounds including pesticides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, PCBs, dyes, TNT, cyanide, azide, carbon tetrachloride, and pentachlorophenol.