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. 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.

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). 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).

Species

 * Pyrofomes albomarginatus (Zipp. ex Lév.) Ryvarden (1972)
 * Pyrofomes castanopsidis B.K.Cui & Y.C.Dai (2011) – China
 * 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
 * Pyrofomes lateritius (Cooke) Ryvarden (1972)
 * Pyrofomes perlevis (Lloyd) Ryvarden (1972)
 * Pyrofomes tricolor (Murrill) Ryvarden (1972)