Draft:Lentinus crinitus

Lentinus crinitus is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is edible when young but may become tough with age. The type specimen was collected from Cuba by C. Wright (unknown date) under the name Panus wrightii (Berk. & M. A. Curtis). Its common name “Fringed Sawgill” references the straight, fine edged gills as well as marginal hairs which create a fringed appearance when the cap is fully opened.

Taxonomy
The species was first published in Syst. orb. veg., (Lundae) 1: 77 (1825).

Description
Fruiting bodies typically grow in irregular clusters (gregarious). Fruiting body cap (pileus) from 1.2–4.2 cm in diameter, flat (plane) to plano-convex, depressed at the center to cone shaped (infundibuliform), and leathery in consistency. The cap surface is striate, covered with short, stiff, adpressed hairs (strigose), cream colored to dark brown, densely covered with stiff, scaly (squamose), fascicled, dark brown-grey (fuscous) hairs. Cap margin often rolled inward (circinate).

Gills (lamellae) extending slightly down the stipe (decurrent), slightly forked & narrow, denticulate, glandular, pale to dark-fuscous; margin sometimes curved with yellowish-brown hairs. Stipe from 1.1–2.2 cm long, central to cap or eccentric, cylindrical, & leathery. Surfaces covered scaly hairs (squamulose), light yellow with darker scales (squamules). The spore print is white. Spores are cylindrical to sausage-shaped (allantoid), smooth, inamyloid.



Ecology
L. crinitus is a wood saprotroph, feeding on freshly cut or decaying logs in open areas. They are typically found in tropical & subtropical mixed oak forests. It is classified as a white-rot fungus which can break down both cellulose and lignin in rotting wood. Known hosts include dead wood from the genera Bursera, Rhizophora, Mangifera, Nerium, & Quercus. It may be found throughout the tropics including the Philippines, Malawi, South & Central America as well as in much of the southeastern U.S. They are typically found at an altitude of 50 – 2800 meters above sea level, though there have been many observations of this species from Florida.

It is known to be a potential host of the parasitic fungus Hypomyces aurantius (Pers.) Fuckel 1870 which also parasitizes many species in the family Polyporaceae.

The L. crinitus fruiting body has primarily trehalose as the soluble sugar, with less than 1% fat: ~60% as polyunsaturated fatty acids (primarily oleic and linoleic acids) and ~13% saturated fatty acids (primarily palmitic acid).

Cultural Applications
In Colombia, the Uitoto indigenous people are known to use this species (there known as “Jiduriño”) when the fruiting body is young and soft, with mature specimens being reported as unpleasant. It is consumed cooked in broth and roasted in yarumo (Cecropia) leaves.

In Mexico, it is reportedly used as a medicine that provides strength after childbirth.

Current Research
L. crinitus has shown high antioxidant activity and has no known cytotoxic activity against tumor and non-tumor cells. However, some research has shown that certain polysaccharides from L. crinitus may have anti-proliferative activity in breast cancer and may also activate J774 macrophages, potentially having use as a coadjuvant in certain cancer treatments. Other in vitro research suggests the potential for extracts of L. crinitus to have pharmacological activities including antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral.

Extracts from this species have shown the ability to decolorize a number of dyes and may have possible applications in decolorization technology.

Similar species
Many other species of Lentinus may appear similar but will usually have larger/thicker gills or gills which are pore-like. Similar species also often lack the fine fringe of hairs along the cap margin.