King Alfred's Cakes
VU

King Alfred's Cakes

Daldinia concentrica

Unknown

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daldinia_concentrica

Overview

A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.

King Alfred's Cakes faces mounting pressure from intensive woodland management practices that remove dead and dying ash trees, eliminating its primary substrate. Climate change compounds these threats by altering moisture regimes essential for spore germination and fruiting body development. The species' dependence on specific fungal succession stages makes it particularly vulnerable to forest fragmentation and shortened rotation cycles in managed woodlands.

Threat summary

Habitat

King Alfred's Cakes grows as a saprophytic fungus on dead and dying hardwood trees, particularly ash, beech, and birch, in deciduous and mixed woodlands. The species requires specific moisture conditions and typically fruits on recently dead branches and trunks in both ancient woodlands and mature secondary forests.

TERRESTRIAL· major

Other threatened species in Hypoxylaceae

EN

Daldinia lloydii

Unknown

Frequently asked questions

Why is King Alfred's Cakes classified as Vulnerable?
King Alfred's Cakes is classified as Vulnerable because the population is declining and the species faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term future if current pressures continue. King Alfred's Cakes faces mounting pressure from intensive woodland management practices that remove dead and dying ash trees, eliminating its primary substrate. Climate change compounds these threats by altering moisture regimes essential for spore germination and fruiting body development. The species' dependence on specific fungal succession stages makes it particularly vulnerable to forest fragmentation and shortened rotation cycles in managed woodlands.
Where does King Alfred's Cakes live?
King Alfred's Cakes occurs in across multiple regions. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to King Alfred's Cakes?
The main threats to King Alfred's Cakes are ai-1, ai-2, ai-3, and ai-4. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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