Fomitopsis betulina (previously Piptoporus betulinus), commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year. Taxonomy The fungus was originally described by Jean Bulliard in 1788 as Boletus betulinus. It was transferred to the genus Piptoporus by Petter Karsten in 1881. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggested that the species was more closely related to Fomitopsis than to Piptoporus, and the fungus was reclassified to Fomitopsis in 2016. The specific epithet betulina refers to the genus of the host plant (Betula). Common names for the fungus include birch bracket, birch polypore, and razorstrop fungus. Description The fruit bodies (basidiocarps) are pale, with a smooth greyish-brown top surface, while the creamy white underside has hundreds of pores that contain the spores. The fruit body has a rubbery texture, becoming corky with age. Wood decayed by the fungus, and cultures of its mycelium, often smell distinctly of green apples. The spores are cylindrical to ellipsoidal in shape, and measure 3–6 by 1.5–2 μm. Fomitopsis betulina has a bipolar mating system where monokaryons or germinating spores can only mate and form a fertile dikaryon with an individual that possesses a different mating-type factor. There are at least 33 different mating-type factors within the British population of this fungus. These factors are all variants or alleles of a single gene, as opposed to the tetrapolar mating system of some other basidiomycete species, which involves two genes. It is considered inedible. Range and ecology Fomitopsis betulina is one of the most common species of brown rot fungi. The geographic distribution of F. betulina appears to be restricted to the Northern Hemisphere, including Northern America, Europe, and Asia. It is only found on birch trees, including Betula pendula, B. pubescens, B. papyrifera, and B. obscura. There is some doubt about the ability of isolates from the European continent, North America and the British Isles to interbreed. It is a necrotrophic parasite on weakened birches, and will cause brown rot and eventually death, being one of the most common fungi visible on dead birches. It is likely that the birch bracket fungus becomes established in small wounds and broken branches and may lie dormant for years, compartmentalised into a small area