Anise-scented Sawgill
Lentinus suavissimus
The Anise-scented Sawgill is a specialized wood-decomposing fungus notable for its intense aroma of anise or marzipan. Its fruiting bodies are generally small to medium-sized, ranging from pale yellow to ochre, and feature characteristically serrated gill edges. It prefers damp environments such as floodplain forests, where it grows almost exclusively on the dead branches and trunks of willow trees.
Details
Identification
Intense anise odor, serrated gill edges, ochre-yellowish cap (2-5 cm), often eccentric stem, occurrence on willow (Salix).
Social behavior
Usually grows gregariously or in small clusters from the wood substrate.
Diet
Saprobic wood decomposer; causes white rot by breaking down lignin and cellulose.
Spawning substrate
Deadwood of deciduous trees, especially Salix species (willows).
Overwintering
Overwinters as mycelium inside the wood substrate.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important decomposer in the nutrient cycle of floodplain ecosystems, preparing wood for other organisms.
Natural predators
Fungivorous insect larvae (Diptera), slugs.
Competitor species
Other wood-decaying fungi such as Neolentinus species or polypores.
Ecosystem service
Nutrient cycling and humus formation in floodplain forests.
Threats
Destruction of floodplain forests, river engineering, removal of softwood deadwood from the landscape.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
Key features include the strong anise odor, the distinctly serrated gill edges, and the specific substrate (primarily willow wood in moist habitats). Microscopically, the narrow-ellipsoid spores (approx. 6-8 x 3-4 µm) are characteristic.
Habitat
Moist to wet locations, especially riparian forests, shorelines of rivers and lakes, bogs, and damp thickets (willow carrs).
Reproduction
Sexual reproduction via basidiospores; spores are formed on four-spored basidia on the surface of the gills.
Protection & threats
Status not on standard scale
Main threats
Threatened by the drainage of wetlands, loss of riparian forests, river channelization, and the removal of willow thickets (over-management of landscapes).
Conservation measures
Protection and restoration of floodplain landscapes; preservation of softwood floodplains; leaving deadwood (especially willow) in moist locations.