Fauna
Fungus

Cyttaria hariotii

Cyttaria hariotii

Also known as Llao Llao, Pan de Indio, Llaullao, Indian Bread

Bright orange, golf-ball-sized clusters erupt in springtime along the branches of southern beech trees across the Patagonian wilderness. The parasitic fungus invades the host tree's sap ducts, stimulating the tree to produce massive, swollen woody galls to redirect vascular flow around the infection. As the spherical fruiting bodies mature, their smooth outer membranes rupture to expose deep, honeycomb-like depressions lined with spore-producing tissue.

ParasiticPatagonianTree Fungus
Cyttaria hariotii reference1 / 7
(c) María Regina Silva, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by María Regina Silva · cc-by
—observations
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Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preyParasitic (extracts nutrients from host sapwood)
Predators
  • Wood-boring beetles
  • Austral parakeet
  • Rodents
ThreatsDeforestation, logging of mature southern beeches, and forest fires
HabitatsSubantarctic beech forests and temperate Andean woodlands
Life spanPerennial mycelium living decades; fruiting bodies persist several weeks
Classification
  1. FamilyCyttariaceae
  2. SpeciesCyttaria hariotii
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskLow
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is low
Many edible mushrooms have toxic look-alikes; never eat wild fungi based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
  • Spotting: Look for bright yellow-orange globes emerging directly from swollen woody knots on beech branches.
  • Seasonality: Search in spring and early summer when rainfall stimulates the fruiting bodies to emerge.
  • Field Study: Examine the honeycomb pattern of pits covering mature specimens with a hand lens.
Related species
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