Phellinus ribis

Phellinus ribis is a woody, perennial bracket fungus (conk) in the family Hymenochaetaceae. Rather than a fleshy mushroom, it forms hard, cushion-shaped to bracket-like fruiting bodies on the wood of currant (Ribes) and related shrubs and small trees, where it acts as a wood-decay fungus. It is inedible but, like several members of the genus Phellinus, has drawn interest as a medicinal fungus prepared as a decoction or extract.

History

Phellinus ribis takes its species name from Ribes, the currant genus on which it is characteristically found. It belongs to a genus of tough, bracket-forming polypores that have a long record of use in traditional medicine, where the dried conk is boiled into a decoction. Documented laboratory work on P. ribis dates to the mid-20th century: Robbins and colleagues (1945) reported antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus in P. ribis alongside several related Phellinus species.

Overview

Like other Phellinus conks, P. ribis is a wood-decay fungus that contributes to the breakdown of dead and living woody tissue. It is gathered from the wild rather than cultivated. Research interest centers on the genus's polysaccharides and styrylpyrone compounds, which across Phellinus species have been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antitumor activity in laboratory studies. Much of this evidence is at the genus level or drawn from closely related species, so claims specific to P. ribis should be treated cautiously.