Pyrofomes

Pyrofomes is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Czech mycologists František Kotlaba and Zdenek Pouzar in 1964.^[1] The type species, Pyrofomes demidoffii, was once considered a widespread species with a distribution that included East Africa, Middle Asia, Europe, and North America. DNA evidence demonstrated that North American collections represented a lineage that was different than European collections. The North American sibling was reinstated as P. juniperinus in 2017.^[2]

Pyrofomes
Pyrofomes demidoffii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Polyporales
Family:	Polyporaceae
Genus:	Pyrofomes Kotl. & Pouzar (1964)
Type species
Pyrofomes demidoffii (Lév.) Kotl. & Pouzar (1964)
Species
P. albomarginatus P. castanopsidis P. demidoffii P. fulvoumbrinus P. juniperinus P. lateritius P. perlevis P. tricolor

Ecological roles of Pyrofomes

Pyrofomes, a type of brown rot fungi, plays a crucial role in forest ecosystems by decomposing persistent lignin, releasing trapped nutrients to fuel new plant growth (Assefa & Abate, 2020).^[3] Without the activity of lignin decomposers like Pyrofomes, an essential aspect of the nutrient cycle would be hindered, potentially reducing ecosystem productivity (Assefa et al., 2015).^[4]

Species

• Pyrofomes albomarginatus (Zipp. ex Lév.) Ryvarden (1972)^[5]
• Pyrofomes castanopsidis B.K.Cui & Y.C.Dai (2011) – China^[6]
• Pyrofomes demidoffii (Lév.) Kotl. & Pouzar (1964) – East Africa; Middle Asia; Europe
• Pyrofomes fulvoumbrinus (Bres.) A.David & Rajchenb. (1985)
• Pyrofomes juniperinus (H.Schrenk) Vlasák & Spirin (2017) – North America^[2]
• Pyrofomes lateritius (Cooke) Ryvarden (1972)^[5]
• Pyrofomes perlevis (Lloyd) Ryvarden (1972)^[5]
• Pyrofomes tricolor (Murrill) Ryvarden (1972)^[5]