escription: Haddowia (Ganoderma) longipes is a rarely collected fungus known only from tropical rain forests in Southeast Asia. This specimen was collected in Thailand. It is a slender, yet corky fungus characterized by a shiny, brown-black cap with a lacquer-like surface and a long and thin stalk. Longipes actually means “long foot” and refers to the long, thin stipe (supporting stalk) that grows from the base of a tree or tree roots.
H. longipes is a white-rot, wood-decaying fungus that is a pathogen on tree roots. It can seriously damage roots and eventually kill and decay trees. White-rot fungi are the only organisms known to have the ability to degrade lignin (the component of wood that must be chemically removed for paper production). As lignin is broken down, abundant amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere.
Carbon is one of the four major atomic components of living beings on Earth, and in combination with oxygen produces molecules such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which are toxic to animals and humans. However, carbon dioxide is captured by plants for sugar production (photosynthesis), which in turn produces oxygen for animals to breath. Overall, Haddowia longipes illustrates the essential role that fungi play in the cycling (and recycling) of both organic and inorganic matters.