Stereum is the type genus of the Stereaceae family of fungi, in the Russulales order. Until recently, the genus was classified in the Corticiaceae family, of the Corticiales order. However, it was given its own family as a result of the split-up of the Corticiales. Common names for species of this genus include leaf fungus, wax fungus, and shelf fungus. Fungi having a shape similar to a Stereum are said to have a stereoid shape. Stereum contains 27 species that have a widespread distribution.
Trametes versicolor – also known as Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor – is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', versicolor accurately describes this fungus that displays a unique blend of markings. Additionally, owing to its shape being similar to that of a wild turkey's tail feathers, T. versicolor is most commonly referred to as turkey tail. A similar-looking mushroom commonly called "false turkey tail" is from a different order (Stereum), and thus may sometimes be confused with the 'true' turkey tail mushroom, T. versicolor. Another lookalike is the multicolor gill polypore, T. betulina.
Stereum hirsutum, also called false turkey tail and hairy curtain crust, is a fungus typically forming multiple brackets on dead wood. It is also a plant pathogen infecting peach trees. S. hirsutum is in turn parasitised by certain other species such as the fungus Tremella aurantia. Substrates for S. hirsutum include dead limbs and trunks of both hardwoods and conifers.
Stereum sanguinolentum is a species of fungus in the Stereaceae family. A plant pathogen, it causes red heart rot, a red discoloration on conifers, particularly spruces or Douglas-firs. Fruit bodies are produced on dead wood, or sometimes on dead branches of living trees. They are a thin leathery crust of the wood surface. Fresh fruit bodies will bleed a red-colored juice if injured, reflected in the common names bleeding Stereum or the bleeding conifer parchment. It can be the host of the parasitic jelly fungus Tremella encephala.
Climacodon pulcherrimus is a species of tooth fungus in the family Phanerochaetaceae. It was first described as a species of Hydnum by Miles Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis in 1849. T.L. Nikolajeva transferred it to its current genus Climacodon in 1962, but research published in 2007 suggests it should be placed in a different genus. It is widely distributed in subtropical and tropical areas, where it grows on decomposing hardwoods, causing a white rot.
Cyptotrama asprata, commonly known as the golden-scruffy collybia or spiny woodknight is a saprobic species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Widely distributed in tropical regions of the world, it is characterized by the bright orange to yellow cap that in young specimens is covered with tufts of fibrils resembling small spikes. This fungus has had a varied taxonomical history, having been placed in fourteen genera before finally settling in Cyptotrama. This species is differentiated from several other similar members of genus Cyptotrama by variations in cap color, and spore size and shape.
Podoscypha is a genus of fungi in the family Meruliaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical regions, and contains about 35 species.
Cymatoderma is a widely distributed genus of poroid fungi in the family Meruliaceae.
Hjortstamia is a genus of corticioid fungi in the family Phanerochaetaceae. It was circumscribed by French mycologists Jacques Boidin and Gérard Gilles in 2003.
Thelephora is a genus of fungi in the family Thelephoraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. Fruit bodies of species are leathery, usually brownish at maturity, and range in shape from coral-like tufts to having distinct caps. Almost all species in the genus are thought to be inedible, but Thelephora ganbajun is a gourmet fungus in Yunnan province of southwest China.
Stereum ostrea, also called false turkey-tail and golden curtain crust, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus Stereum. It is a plant pathogen and a wood decay fungus. The name ostrea, from the word 'oyster', describes its shape. With concentric circles of many colors, it highly resembles Trametes versicolor, turkey-tail, and is thus called the 'false turkey-tail'. The stemless fruiting body is shell-like and grows 1–7 cm (0.39–2.76 in) high. It is tough and inedible. It grows on tree bark. This fungus is native to the island of Java, Indonesia and has been misapplied to the North American Stereum species Stereum fasciatum, Stereum lobatum, and Stereum subtomentosum.
Dacryopinax elegans is a species of jelly fungus in the family Dacrymycetaceae. It was originally formally described as Guepinia elegans by Miles Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis in 1849. George Willard Martin transferred it to the genus Dacryopinax in 1948.
Amylostereum is the single genus in the fungal family Amylostereaceae. The genus currently comprises four saprotrophic and parasitic species, which live off living or dead wood. The Amylostereaceae cause white rot in the wood by disintegrating the tissue component lignin. They produce crust-like, partially wavy fruit bodies on the surface of infested trees, which are similar to those produced by Stereum species.
Amylostereum areolatum is a species of crust fungus. Originally called Thelephora areolata in 1828, it was given its current name by French mycologist Jacques Boidin in 1958.
Amylostereum chailletii is a species of crust fungus. It was originally described in 1822 as Thelephora chailletii by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1822, and given its current name when it was moved into Amylostereum by Jacques Boidin in 1958. It causes a white rot, especially in spruce and fir species.
Xylobolus frustulatus, commonly known as the ceramic fungus or ceramic parchment, is an inedible species of crust fungus in the Stereaceae family. The fruit body forms small, hard, flat crust-like aggregations that resemble broken pieces of ceramic tile. These pieces are initially whitish before turning yellow-brown to gray-brown in age. The spore-bearing cells cover the upper surfaces of the fruit body. A saprobic species, it grows on well-decayed oak wood in Asia, northern Europe, and North America.
Cymatoderma caperatum is a fungus species in the family Meruliaceae. It was originally described in 1849 as a species of Thelephora by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Camille Montagne. Derek Reid transferred it to Cymatoderma in 1956.
Mycetinis opacus is a species of agaric fungus first described in 1849 by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis as Marasmius opacus. Andrew Wilson and Dennis Desjardin transferred it to Mycetinis in 2005.
Naematelia aurantia is a species of fungus producing yellow, frondose, gelatinous basidiocarps. It is widespread in north temperate regions and is parasitic on another species of fungus that grows on dead attached and recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees. It is commonly called golden ear in North America.
