The type species of Amylonotus, a wood-rotting polypore described by Leif Ryvarden in 1975 from East Africa. Ryvarden called it a deep brown fungus that at first sight looks very like an Inonotus. Like the rest of the genus it has large, maze-like pores and causes a white rot. It is known from only a few collections in tropical Africa.
Not edible; a leathery wood-rotting polypore with no food use. No toxicity documented.
Never eat a wild mushroom based on a web page — confirm with an expert.
Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
Help build this page
This page grows with the community. Here is what it is still missing:
Photos. None yet — moderators review each photo before it appears.Sign in to add a photo
Sightings. Spotted it in the wild? Add it to the map.Open the map
Strains. No public strains of this species on WeMush yet.
Track Your Own Amylonotus africanus Grows
Join WeMush to log cultivation data, discover strains, and connect with fellow growers.
On wood in tropical African forest, causing a white rot (genus character). Host trees were not given in the sources checked.
Distribution
Tropical Africa. Described from East Africa; specimens cited by Chen et al. (2016) come from Uganda (Bwindi Forest National Park) and Zambia (Nyika Plateau), and Gminder & Ryvarden (2021) list it for Ethiopia.
Characteristics
Species-level measurements were not found in the sources checked; features below are genus characters from Chen et al. (2016) unless stated. Fruit body: annual; sessile and bracket-like, effused-reflexed or flat on the wood (resupinate); soft and leathery when fresh; deep brown in this species (Ryvarden 2000). Pore surface: pale orange, isabelline, pale cinnamon to brown; pores large, labyrinthine to daedaleoid (maze-like). Hyphae: dimitic, with clamped generative hyphae and dextrinoid skeletal hyphae; gloeoplerous hyphae and gloeocystidia present or absent; cystidia absent. Spores: ellipsoid to subglobose, hyaline, finely roughened, amyloid (IKI+) and cyanophilous (CB+).
