Phellinus igniarius (syn. Phellinus trivialis) is a fungus of the family Hymenochaetaceae. Like other members of the genus of Phellinus it lives by saprotrophic nutrition, in which the lignin and cellulose of a host tree is degraded and is a cause of white rot. Common names are willow bracket and fire sponge The fungus forms perennial fruiting bodies that rise as woody-hard, hoof or disc-shaped brackets from the bark of the infested living tree or dead log. The tree species is often willow but it may be commonly found on birch and alder and other broad leafed trees. The top is covered with a dark, often cracked crust, a stem is present only in its infancy. Unlike most fungi it has a hard woody consistency and may persist for many years, building a new surface layer each year. It was prized as kindling material. In Alaska, it is burnt by locals, and the ash (punk ash) is mixed with chewing tobacco to enhance the effect of the nicotine in the tobacco.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Phellinus igniarius across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Phellinus igniarius has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens32
Marker genes2
GenBank sequences10
eDNA detections121
Countries11
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★ITS10★ITS1
fungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceGoaT
The complete instruction manualPhellinus igniarius carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Genome size59 335 000 bp
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb
FUNGUS0.04 Gb
THIS GENOME Phellinus igniarius0.06 Gb
INSECT0.25 Gb
HUMAN3.2 Gb
WHEAT17 Gb
FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb
07Deep time~0 Ma lineage
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin0 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type23 032 records
Wild obs. + sensor19 429
Museum / vouchered3 572
Other31
Origin
Native3
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO50 980 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy84% within 1 km
≤100 m 11 042≤1 km 4 189≤10 km 2 754>10 km 117
18 102 georeferenced · 1 327 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor19 429
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy43% within 1 km
≤100 m 143≤1 km 850≤10 km 969>10 km 324
2 286 georeferenced · 1 286 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence3 572
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions44 of 87 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Helsinki, FI
998
SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record
606
Tartu, EE
237
Olocation not on record
233
Uppsala, SE
194
Chicago, US
152
Joensuu, FI
109
TROMlocation not on record
85
Copenhagen, DK
62
Philadelphia, US
62
Toronto, CA
57
Bronx, US
42
GJOlocation not on record
38
Jyväskylä, FI
31
Karlsruhe, DE
28
Görlitz, DE
27
LDlocation not on record
26
WTUlocation not on record
24
Mlocation not on record
22
Zürich, CH
22
Kuopio, FI
16
UNINE:NEUlocation not on record
16
Pullman, US
14
TENN-Flocation not on record
12
WU-MYClocation not on record
11
University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)location not on record
10
Vancouver, CA
10
MAlocation not on record
10
Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centrelocation not on record
9
Göteborg, SE
9
Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record
9
Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record
9
University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record
8
Kew, GB
8
CA
7
Denver, US
7
Acadia Universitylocation not on record
7
DPIlocation not on record
6
Salzburg, AT
6
Trondheim, NO
6
Vitoria, ES
5
Catholic University of Pekinglocation not on record
5
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record
4
Helsinki, FI
4
Warsaw, PL
4
ILLSlocation not on record
4
Metsähallituslocation not on record
4
San Sebastián, ES
4
Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record
4
Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record
3
California State University, East Baylocation not on record
3
MeiseBGlocation not on record
3
Entomological Society of Latvialocation not on record
3
IFR-DNFlocation not on record
3
Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonoralocation not on record
3
Ann Arbor, US
2
Tilburg, NL
2
Mexico City, MX
2
Tomioka, JP
2
McWane Science Centerlocation not on record
2
Cincinnati, US
2
Champaign, US
1
Brisbane, AU
1
BioFokuslocation not on record
1
Davis and Elkins Collegelocation not on record
1
Auckland, NZ
1
Biodiversity Institute of Ontariolocation not on record
1
FLASlocation not on record
1
Bardejov, SK
1
Oskarshamn, SE
1
nsnflocation not on record
1
Osaka, JP
1
Logan, US
1
Turku, FI
1
Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record
1
St. Paul, US
1
Tampa, US
1
IPA/SPlocation not on record
1
Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Researchlocation not on record
1
Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Bocagelocation not on record
1
Department of Plant Resources, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratorieslocation not on record
1
CABI Bioscience Genetic Resource Collectionlocation not on record
1
National Institute of Biological Resourceslocation not on record
1
Winterthur, CH
1
Stockholm, SE
1
Rovaniemi, FI
1
Umeå Universitylocation not on record
1
87 institutions · 3 339 of 3 572 vouchered records shown · 228 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA121 detections
Where the DNA of Phellinus igniarius was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found121
Studies independent surveys4
Countries11
Signal confidence: moderateweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 121 detections have coordinates
Open the map11 countries0
Forestfruit body
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median8.30 °C 4.10–13.5
Seasonal swing summer↔winter19.4 °C
Max temp (day)11.9 °C 7.80–17.9
Min temp (night)4.40 °C -0.1–8.10
Precipitation57.6 mm/mo 42.1–83.0
Air humidity62.3 % 57.6–65.4
Moisture balance-9.50 mm/mo -40.3–16.0
Vapour deficit471 Pa 330–656
Wind speed3.40 m/s 2.50–3.90
Cloud cover41.7 % 40.6–52.5
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 81 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation7 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility23 032 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI121 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics32 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome ~0.06 Gbp↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗