The honey fungus

摘要

Armillaria, a basidiomycete fungus, exists as a number of different species and is without doubt one of the two most dangerous of wood rotting fungi worldwide. Armillaria fungi are all encompassing both geographically and in the spectrum of trees that are attacked. Rubber in West Africa and apples in Europe are just two of the crops that suffer heavy losses. All species invade the root tissue of trees and cause a progressive white rot. White rot describes the effects of fungi that degrade all the major components of wood (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), at the same time. The wood becomes progressively weaker but remains white in colour. Owing to this uniform pathology and behaviour within the Armillaria genus, mycologists grouped all types into a single species (Armillaria mellea). But Armillarias are now separated into many different species on the basis of morphology, physiology, pathogenicity and geographical distribution.