''Fomes'' is a genus of perennial woody fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Species are typically hoof-shaped (ungulate). New growth each season is added to the margin, resulting in a downward extension of the hymenium. This often results in a zonate appearance of the upper surface, that is, marked by concentric bands of color. The name comes from Latin ''fomes'', meaning "tinder", from the use of ''Fomes fomentarius'', also known as the tinder fungus, in making tinder (see amadou).

Taxonomy

''Fomes'' was first introduced by Elias Magnus Fries as a subgenus of ''Polyporus'' in his 1836 work ''Genera Hymenomycetum''. He promoted it to generic status in 1849.

Description

''Fomes'' species have perennial, hoof-shaped basidiocarp, fruit bodies that attach directly to their substrate (biology), substrate without a stipe (mycology), stipe. The cap surface has a hard smooth crust that ranges in colour from gray to blackish. On the underside of the cap, the pore surface is pale brown with small pores, and brown tube layers. The tough and fibrous trama (mycology), context is pale brown. The fruit body becomes stratified after multiple years of growth. ''Fomes'' has a trimitic hyphal system, containing generative, skeletal, and binding hyphae. The generative hyphae have clamp connections, while binding and skeletal hyphae have pale brownish biological pigment, pigment that appears when they are Microscope slide#Mounting, mounted in a solution of potassium hydroxide. The cystidioles are fusoid, imbedded, or project somewhat. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are club-shaped with a basal clamp, and have four sterigmata. The basidiospore, spores are cylindric, large, hyaline and smooth, and are non-reactive to Melzer's reagent.

Species

, Index Fungorum accepts 59 species of ''Fomes'': *''Fomes abramsianus'' (Murrill) Murrill (1915) *''Fomes ajazii'' S.M.Hussain (1952) *''Fomes albescens'' (Lázaro Ibiza) Sacc. & Trotter (1925) *''Fomes albogriseus'' Peck (1903) *''Fomes albotextus'' Lloyd (1924) – Sumatra *''Fomes angulus'' Lloyd (1913) *''Fomes aratus'' Sacc. & D.Sacc. (1905) *''Fomes arctostaphyli'' Long (1917) *''Fomes auriscalpioides'' Henn. (1904) *''Fomes bomfimensis'' Henn. (1904) *''Fomes borealis'' Lloyd (1915) *''Fomes borneoensis'' (Lloyd) S.Ahmad (1956) *''Fomes bossardii'' Lucien (1923) *''Fomes chaquensis'' Iaconis & J.E.Wright (1953) *''Fomes clelandii'' Lloyd (1915) *''Fomes congoanus'' Bres. (1913) *''Fomes crispus'' Lázaro Ibiza (1917) *''Fomes extensus'' (Lév.) Cooke (1885 – Uganda) *''Fomes fasciatus'' (Sw.) Cooke (1885) *''Fomes ferrugineobrunneus'' Cout. (1925) *''Fomes fomentarius'' (L.) Fr. (1849) – widespread *''Fomes fulvellus'' (Bres.) Sacc. (1891) *''Fomes fulvus'' (Scop.) Gillet (1878) *''Fomes goethartii'' Bres. (1910) *''Fomes griseus'' Lázaro Ibiza (1916) *''Fomes haeuslerianus'' Henn. (1896) *''Fomes halconensis'' Bres. (1912) *''Fomes hemitephrus'' (Berk.) Cooke (1885) – Australia Unidentified Fungus 8789

*''Fomes idahoensis'' R.W.Br. (1940) *''Fomes imitator'' Petch (1922) *''Fomes javanicus'' Bres. (1912) *''Fomes langloisii'' (Murrill) Sacc. & D.Sacc. (1905) *''Fomes lazaroi'' Sacc. & Trotter (1925) *''Fomes longinquus'' Lloyd (1925) *''Fomes lukinsii'' N.Walters (1962) *''Fomes meliae'' (Underw.) Murrill (1903) – British Virgin Islands *''Fomes minimus'' N.Walters (1962) – Lord Howe Island *''Fomes mirabilis'' C.B.Ussher (1911) *''Fomes nigrescens'' Lloyd (1915) *''Fomes nigriporus'' Lázaro Ibiza (1916) *''Fomes nigrolaccatus'' (Cooke) Sacc. (1888) *''Fomes niveus'' (Lázaro Ibiza) Sacc. & Trotter (1925) *''Fomes noscius'' Corner (1932) *''Fomes obesus'' (Pat.) Sacc. & Trotter (1912) *''Fomes ostricolor'' Lloyd (1915) *''Fomes pachyderma'' Bres. (1912) *''Fomes perelegans'' Rick (1960) *''Fomes pini-canadensis'' (Schwein.) Cooke (1885) *''Fomes praerimosus'' (Murrill) Sacc. & D.Sacc. (1905) *''Fomes pseudoconchatus'' Henn. (1908) *''Fomes pseudosenex'' (Murrill) Sacc. & Trotter (1912) – Mauritius *''Fomes pusilla'' Lloyd (1915) *''Fomes rechingeri'' Bres. (1910) *''Fomes silveirae'' Torrend (1909) *''Fomes subamboinensis'' Henn. (1904) *''Fomes subendothejus'' Bres. (1910) *''Fomes subzonatus'' (Lázaro Ibiza) Sacc. & Trotter (1925) *''Fomes unciatus'' Bres. (1922) *''Fomes uncinatus'' Bres. (1922)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2524023 Polyporaceae Polyporales genera Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries Taxa described in 1836