''Sarcodontia crocea'' is a species of toothed

crust fungus The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

in the family

Meruliaceae The Meruliaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 47 genera and 420 species. , Index Fungorum accepts 645 species in the family. Taxonomy The family was formally circumscribed by E ...

. The species was first described scientifically in 1822 by

Lewis David de Schweinitz Lewis David de Schweinitz (13 February 1780 – 8 February 1834) was a German-American botanist and mycologist. He is considered by some the "Father of North American Mycology", but also made significant contributions to botany. Education B ...

, who called it ''Sistotrema croceum''. It was transferred to the genus ''

Sarcodontia ''Sarcodontia'' is a genus of toothed fungi in the family Meruliaceae. It was circumscribed by Hungarian–Croatian mycologist Stephan Schulzer von Müggenburg in 1866, with ''Sarcodontia mali'' as the type species. Species *''Sarcodontia croce ...

'' by Czech mycologist

František Kotlaba František Kotlaba (20 May 1927 in Vlastiboř – 11 June 2020 in Prague) was a Czech botanist and mycologist. Scientific career After his degree in Natural Sciences and Pedagogy at the Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolin ...

in 1953. ''S. crocea'' usually occurs on old

fruit tree A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovary (plants), ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In hortic ...

s, in which it causes a

white rot A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as '' Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

. It is found in Europe, Asia, and North America. It is

red-listed The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...

in several European countries. Fresh

fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life c ...

of ''S. crocea'' have an intense, fruity odour resembling pineapple or grated apples. The

furan Furan is a heterocyclic organic compound, consisting of a five-membered aromatic ring with four carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. Chemical compounds containing such rings are also referred to as furans. Furan is a colorless, flammable, highly ...

-derived compounds 4-(furan-3-yl)benzaldehyde and 4-(5-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-yl)benzaldehyde have been identified as contributing to this odour.

References

Fungi described in 1822 Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of North America Meruliaceae Taxa named by Lewis David de Schweinitz Fungus species {{Polyporales-stub