Polypores

Polypores are a group of fungi that form fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypores are closely related to each other. Polypores are also called bracket fungi, and their woody fruiting bodies are called conks.

Most polypores inhabit tree trunks or branches consuming the wood, but some soil-inhabiting species form mycorrhiza with trees. Polypores and their relatives corticioid fungi are the most important agents of wood decay. Thus, they play a very significant role in nutrient cycling and carbon dioxide production of forest ecosystems.

Over one thousand polypore species have been described to science, but a large part of the diversity is still unknown even in relatively well-studied temperate areas. Polypores are much more diverse in old natural forests with abundant dead wood than in younger managed forests or plantations. Consequently, a number of species have declined drastically and are under threat of extinction due to logging and deforestation.

Polypores are used in traditional medicine, and they are actively studied for their medicinal value and various industrial applications. Several polypore species are serious pathogens of plantation trees and are major causes of timber spoilage.

  1. Hen of the Woods
  2. Chicken of the Woods
  3. Berkeley’s Polypore
  4. Black Staining Polypore
  5. Beefsteak Polypore
  6. Umbrella Polypore
  7. Peach Chicken of the Woods
  8. Pheasant Back or Dryad’s Saddle
  9. Resinous Polypore
  10. Cinnabar Polypore
  11. Turkey Tail
  12. Spring Orange Polypore
  13. Phlebia incarnata
  14. Northern Tooth Climacodon septentrionalis
  15. Fall Brown Polypore (Polyporus badius)
  16. Rooted Polypore (Polyporus radicatus)
  17. Gilled Polypores
  18. Brown Spring Polypore (Polyporus arcularius) 


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Hen Of The Woods (Maitake) (Grifola frondosa)

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus)

Berkeley’s Polypore (Bondarzewia berkeleyi)

Black Staining Polypore (Meripilus sumstinei)

Beef Steak Polypore

Umbrella Polypore

Rare- “Peach Chicken of the Woods” 

Pheasant Back

Resinous Polypore

Cinnabar Polypore

Turkey Tail Mushroom

Neofavolus alveolaris

Coral Pink Polypore Phlebia incarnata

Northern Tooth (Climacodon septentrionalis)

Brown Spring Polypore (Polyporus arcularius)


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