Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside. 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 or shelf fungi, and they characteristically produce woody, shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies that are called conks.
The Polyporaceae are a family of poroid fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruit bodies varies from soft to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymenium in vertical pores on the underside of the caps, but some of them have gills or gill-like structures. Many species are brackets, but others have a definite stipe – for example, Polyporus badius.
Oxyporus is a genus of polypore fungi in the family Schizoporaceae. An individual family Oxyporaceae was described for the genus. A number of species in this genus are plant pathogens, causing a white rot. The genus is widely distributed.
Meripilus giganteus is a polypore fungus in the family Meripilaceae. It causes a white rot in various types of broadleaved trees, particularly beech (Fagus), but also Abies, Picea, Pinus, Quercus and Ulmus species. This bracket fungus, commonly known as the giant polypore or black-staining polypore, is often found in large clumps at the base of trees, although fruiting bodies are sometimes found some distance away from the trunk, parasitizing the roots. M. giganteus has a circumboreal distribution in the northern Hemisphere, and is widely distributed in Europe. In the field, it is recognizable by the large, multi-capped fruiting body, as well as its pore surface that quickly darkens black when bruised or injured.
The Steccherinaceae are a family of about 200 species of fungi in the order Polyporales. It includes crust-like, toothed, and poroid species that cause a white rot in dead wood.
Daedaleopsis is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The name Daedaleopsis is a reference to Daedalus, the labyrinth-maker of myth. Similarly, the maze-like pattern of pores is taxonomically described as being daedaloid. DNA was recovered and sequenced from fragments of a nearly 7000-year-old fruit body of D. tricolor found in an early Neolithic village in Rome.
Antrodiella is a genus of fungi in the family Steccherinaceae of the order Polyporales.
Amauroderma is a genus of polypore fungi in the family Ganodermataceae. The genus, widespread in tropical areas, contains about 70 species. Amauroderma fungi are wood-decay fungi that feed and fruit on decayed branches and trunks.
Irpex is a genus of corticioid fungi in the order Polyporales. Species produce fruit bodies that grow as a crust on the surface of dead hardwoods. The crust features an irpicioid spore-bearing surface, meaning it has irregular and flattened teeth. Irpex is distinguished from the similar genera Junghuhnia and Steccherinum by the simple septa found in the generative hyphae.
Dichomitus is a genus of poroid crust fungi in the family Polyporaceae. It was circumscribed by English mycologist Derek Reid in 1965.
Diplomitoporus is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The Dictionary of the Fungi estimated the widespread genus to contain 11 species; since then, the genus has grown with the additional of several newly described species, and some transfers from other genera. Diplomitoporus has been described as a wastebasket taxon, containing "species that share common macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, but are not necessarily related."
Skeletocutis is a genus of about 40 species of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although most species are found in the Northern Hemisphere. It causes a white rot in a diverse array of woody substrates, and the fruit bodies grow as a crust on the surface of the decaying wood. Sometimes the edges of the crust are turned outward to form rudimentary bracket-like caps.
Tyromyces is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae. It was circumscribed by mycologist Petter Karsten in 1881. The type species is the widely distributed Tyromyces chioneus, commonly known as the white cheese polypore. The phylogenetic position of Tyromyces within the Polyporales is uncertain, but it appears that it does not belong to the "core polyporoid clade". Tyromyces is polyphyletic as it is currently circumscribed, and has been described as "a dumping place for monomitic white-rot species with thin-walled spores."
Picipes badius, commonly known as the black-footed polypore or black-leg, is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It causes a white rot of hardwoods and conifers. The species is found in temperate areas of Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. It has a dark brown or reddish-brown cap that reaches a diameter of 25 cm (9.8 in), and a stipe that is often completely black or brown at the top and black at the base.
Hapalopilus rutilans is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Officially described in 1821, it was transferred to its current genus Hapalopilus six decades later. It is commonly known as the tender nesting polypore, purple dye polypore, or the cinnamon bracket. This widely distributed species is found on five continents. It grows on the fallen or standing dead wood of deciduous trees, in which it fruits singly, in groups, fused, or in overlapping clusters. Fruit bodies are in the form of kidney-shaped to semicircular, cinnamon-orange-brown brackets. The underside of the fruit body features a yellowish to brownish pore surface with tiny angular pores, from which spores are released.
Rigidoporus laetus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Meripilaceae. It was originally described in 1883 as Polyporus laetus by Mordecai Cubitt Cooke. Peter Buchanan and Leif Ryvarden transferred it to Rigidoporus in 1988. Found in south Australia, the fungus is a plant pathogen that causes white rot in Eucalyptus.
Nigroporus vinosus is a species of poroid fungus in the family Steccherinaceae, and the type species of the genus Nigroporus. Its fruit bodies have brownish caps with tinges of purple or red. The cap underside has a pore surface the same colour as the cap, and minute pores. Nigroporus vinosus has a pantropical distribution. It has been recorded from Africa, North America, Central America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. It is a wood-decay fungus that causes a white rot.
Loweomyces fractipes is a species of poroid fungus in the family Steccherinaceae, and the type species of the genus Loweomyces. It is a widely distributed species, found in North America, Europe, Central America, South America, and Korea.
Cerrena zonata is a species of poroid fungus in the genus Cerrena.
