Trametes gibbosa

Trametes gibbosa

The Lumpy Bracket (Trametes gibbosa (Persoon) Fries, 1838) is a mushroom belonging to the Polyporaceae family.

Systematic –
Eukaryota domain,
Fungi Kingdom,
Division Basidiomycota,
Subdivision Agaricomycotina,
Class Agaricomycetes,
Subclass Incertae sedis,
Order Polyporales,
Family Polyporaceae,
Trametes genus,
Species T. gibbosa.
The main synonyms of this species are:
– Daedalea gibbosa (Pers.) Pers.;
– Lenzites gibbosa (Pers.: Fr.) Hemmi;
– Lenzites gibbosus (Pers.) Hemmi;
– Merulius gibbosus Pers.Original name usage;
– Merulius gibbosus Pers.: Fr.;
– Polyporus gibbosus Pers.;
– Polyporus gibbosus (Pers.) P. Kumm.;
– Pseudotrametes gibbosa (Pers.) Bondartsev & Singer;
– Agarico-suber scalptum Paulet;
– Agaricus tectulum Paulet, 1812.

Etymology –
The genus name Trametes, coined by mycologist Elias Magnus Fries in 1836, likely derives from the Greek trama or tramḗs, meaning “thin” or “slender.” The term refers to the flattened and relatively thin fruiting bodies that characterize many species of the genus. According to a less common interpretation, it could instead refer to the Greek trêma (“hole”), alluding to the porous hymenophore typical of these mushrooms.
The specific epithet gibbosa derives from the Latin gibba, meaning “hump,” and refers to the characteristic protuberance found on the upper part of the cap, near the point of attachment to the wood. It is precisely this protuberance, often very pronounced in mature specimens, that makes the species easily recognizable even from a distance.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Trametes gibbosa is one of the most common wood-dwelling fungi in European temperate forests. It is widespread throughout much of Europe, including the entire Italian peninsula, and is also present in vast areas of Asia and North America. It lives exclusively on wood, where it plays a fundamental role in recycling organic matter.
It prefers stumps, felled trunks, and large dead branches of broad-leaved trees, with a particular preference for beech, although it can also grow on oak, hazel, and numerous other tree species. Like many polypores, it causes so-called white rot, a process by which it degrades lignin and releases nutrients essential to the balance of the forest ecosystem back into the soil.
The fruit bodies can appear virtually year-round, although growth is most abundant from autumn to spring. Being tough and persistent structures, they remain visible for many months, often turning green due to the colonization of microscopic algae that settle on the upper surface. This coloration, sometimes very intense, does not indicate a fungal disease but simply represents normal surface colonization.
It is not uncommon to observe specimens damaged by the larvae of wood-boring insects, which dig tunnels into the soil, making specimen preservation difficult. Under favorable conditions, some basidiomes can reach truly remarkable dimensions, with shelves several dozen centimeters wide and, in exceptional cases, even exceeding half a meter.

Identification –
Trametes gibbosa belongs to the Polyporaceae family, a group of fungi characterized by the production of shelf-like fruiting bodies and a hymenophore composed of pores rather than gills.
The fruiting body lacks a stipe and adheres directly to the woody substrate. Its shape is semicircular or kidney-shaped, often with multiple shelves arranged one above the other. The cap normally measures between 5 and 20 centimeters in width, but can become much larger in older specimens.
The upper surface is initially velvety or finely downy, with light concentric zoning. With age, it gradually becomes smooth and takes on shades ranging from creamy white to light ochre, often with greenish hues due to algae. The most obvious characteristic, however, remains the swelling (“hump”) located where it attaches to the wood.
The most important diagnostic feature is found on the underside. The hymenophore consists of radially elongated pores that tend to join together to form sinuous and sometimes almost labyrinth-like structures, a characteristic very useful for distinguishing it from other species of the same genus, which instead have small, regular pores.
The flesh is creamy white, very compact, fibrous, and woody, particularly thick where it adheres to the substrate. The spores are white, smooth, hyaline, and non-amyloid; the hyphal system is trimitic, a characteristic common to many species of the Trametes genus.

Cultivation –
Trametes gibbosa is not truly cultivated for food or commercial purposes. The mushroom grows spontaneously on dead wood and requires a relatively long development time, as well as environmental conditions that are difficult to reproduce economically.
Experimentally, it can be grown on logs or sterilized lignocellulosic substrates, like other polypores, but its interest is primarily scientific, especially for studies on wood degradation and the enzymes involved in lignin decomposition.

Uses and Traditions –
Curiously, while in Italy there is no true common name in popular use, in other European countries the mushroom is known by names that recall the same characteristic: in England it is called Lumpy Bracket, in Germany Buckel-Tramete, and in France Tramète bossue.
The main species with which it can be confused are Trametes hirsuta, which has decidedly smaller and rounder pores; Trametes suaveolens, recognizable by its strong aniseed odor; and some species of the Lenzites and Daedaleopsis genera, which have more lamellar hymenophores or different pore shapes.
From a nutritional standpoint, Trametes gibbosa is considered worthless. Its extremely tough and woody texture precludes any culinary use, even when the mushroom is young.
Unlike other species of the same genus, such as Trametes versicolor, which have been extensively studied for their polysaccharides and other bioactive metabolites, T. gibbosa does not play a significant role in traditional medicine or modern herbal medicine. However, in recent years, some studies have examined this species for its enzymatic properties and its potential use in wood biodegradation and environmental bioremediation, areas in which lignicolous fungi are attracting growing interest.
For mycologists and hikers, it remains primarily a species of considerable naturalistic interest, easily observed along forest trails thanks to the large whitish shelves that stand out on dead trunks.

Preparation Methods –
Being inedible, Trametes gibbosa has no culinary tradition or method of preparation. Collected specimens are used exclusively for educational, photographic, or scientific purposes, or preserved in herbariums as study specimens.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Cetto B., 2008. Mushrooms from the True, Saturnia, Trento.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (eds.), 2005. An Annotated Checklist of the Italian Vascular Flora, Palombi Editore.

Photo Source:
– https://www.funghiitaliani.it/topic/89207-trametes-gibbosa-pers-fr-fr-1838/
– https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Trametes_gibbosa_JPG12.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original

Warning: The pharmaceutical applications and dietary uses are provided for informational purposes only and do not in any way constitute medical prescriptions. We therefore decline any responsibility for their use for curative, aesthetic, or nutritional purposes.