Fruiting Body Production of, and Suitable Environmental Ranges for, Growing the Umbrella Polypore Medicinal Mushroom, Polyporus umbellatus (Agaricomycetes), in Natural Conditions in Central Europe.

Abstract

This article presents the ecological distribution of the edible and medicinal mushroom Polyporus umbellatus in Central Europe. Our main motivation is to describe the potential for commercial cultivation of this species. All data considered in this study are based on records from 70 localities in Slovakia. Fruiting bodies and sclerotia have been recorded in forests in which beech, hornbeam, and oak dominate, at altitudes ranging from 150 to 935 m (mean altitude, 403 m). In Slovakia, these areas correspond to warm, hilly, and upland beech-oak and oak-beech forests. Mean annual air temperature between 6°C and 9°C characterizes about 94% of the areas. Continuous monitoring of fruiting body production at 13 plots showed peak growth in August. In total, 192 fruiting bodies were recorded over a 5-year period. P. umbellatus predominantly grows in acidic soils (pH 4.5-4.99), with no individuals found in soils with pH above 7.0. Our findings can be used for growing the fungus and expanding its growth to new regions, not only in Central Europe.