Scientists from the Kuprevich Institute of Experimental Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus reported a rare find in the Zhitkovichi district. In the oak groves there, they found the oak polypore — a mushroom that had not been recorded in Belarus since 1963.
The rare species was found during research in the territory of the Naidzyansky forest section and Pererovsky forestry of the Pripyatsky National Park. Specialists noticed the fruiting body of the oak polypore, which became the first officially recorded find of this species in more than six decades.
The oak polypore belongs to xylotrophic fungi, which develop on wood. It grows on living oaks, dry stumps, and fallen trees. The mushroom is inedible.
Such species play an important role in the forest ecosystem, participating in the natural decomposition of wood and the circulation of nutrients.
Scientists note that the fruiting bodies of the oak polypore do not appear every year. Therefore, even if the mycelium continues to live inside the tree, the mushroom itself can remain unnoticed for a long time.
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