Habitat and Ecology
Hymenochaete cruenta (Pers.) Donk generally inhabits mountain mixed beech-spruce-fir forests at places with high humidity; it is rarely found in the lowlands. The primary species host is Abies alba but it can also occur on Picea abies, Abies sibirica and Abies borisii-regis (Parmasto 2001). It grows on crust of drying or dead branches, in the crowns of old trees at 15-30 meters high and it continues to live shortly on fallen branches. The host species grows best on deeper acid soils with high water reserves. This lignicolous species can be found throughout the year; however, spores are produced during periods of high precipitation and humidity (Fraiture and Otto 2015, Kujawska et al. 2016).
In the Republic of North Macedonia it occurs on Abies borisii-regis, a very restricted stand in mixed beech-fir forest, at elevation between 1600 – 1800 m a.s.l. on mountain Galichica in the Strict Protection Zone (Karadelev & Rusevska 2004/2005, Karadelev et al. 2018). Since the first data from 1988 it is repeatedly found on the same site. The species is easily identified but it has not been searched for extensively in the past, thus an estimation of probable sites was made (Dahlberg and Mueller 2011). Based on the distribution of the main host, probable sites might be the well-preserved stands of A. borisii-regis at higher elevation on Shar Planina, Korab, Bistra, Jakupica (Dautica) and Pelister mountain (Micevski 1985, Simovski 2014, UNEP 2020, personal data). Highest probable total number of sites in the country is 10. The noted probable localities found in NP Mavrovo are distributed across the park in the three types of protection zones, while in NP Pelister in the Strict Protection Zone.
