The Polyporales are an order of about 1800 species of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The order includes some polypores as well as many corticioid fungi and a few agarics. Many species within the order are saprotrophic, most of them wood-rotters. Some genera, such as Ganoderma and Fomes, contain species that attack living tissues and then continue to degrade the wood of their dead hosts. Those of economic importance include several important pathogens of trees and a few species that cause damage by rotting structural timber. Some of the Polyporales are commercially cultivated and marketed for use as food items or in traditional Chinese medicine.
Fomitopsis betulina, commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year.
Fomitopsis pinicola, is a stem decay fungus common on softwood and hardwood trees. Its conk is known as the red-belted conk. The species is common throughout temperate Europe and Asia. It is a decay fungus that serves as a small-scale disturbance agent in coastal rainforest ecosystems. It influences stand structure and succession in temperate rainforests. It performs essential nutrient cycling functions in forests. As well as a key producer of brown rot residues that are stable soil components in coniferous forest ecosystems. It has been reported that mushrooms have significant antioxidant activity.
The Fomitopsidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. Most species are parasitic on woody plants, and tend to cause brown rots. The name comes from Fomitopsis + -aceae.
Buglossoporus is a genus of fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1966 by Czech mycologists František Kotlába and Zdeněk Pouzar, with Buglossoporus quercinus as the type species. In some works, Buglossoporus has been treated as a synonym of Piptoporus.
Daedalea is a genus of fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1801 by mycologist Christian Hendrik Persoon, based on the type D. quercina and four other species. The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek δαιδαλεος.
Fomitopsis is a genus of more than 40 species of bracket fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae.
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.
Phellinus ellipsoideus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae, a specimen of which produced the largest fungal fruit body ever recorded. Found in China, the fruit bodies produced by the species are brown, woody basidiocarps that grow on dead wood, where the fungus feeds as a saprotroph. The basidiocarps are perennial, allowing them to grow very large under favourable circumstances. They are resupinate, measuring 30 centimetres (12 in) or more in length, though typically extending less than a centimetre from the surface of the wood. P. ellipsoideus produces distinct ellipsoidal spores, after which it is named, and unusual setae. These two features allow it to be readily differentiated microscopically from other, similar species. Chemical compounds isolated from the species include several steroidal compounds. These may have pharmacological applications, but further research is needed.
Rhodofomitopsis lilacinogilva is a species of bracket fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. Known primarily from Australia, it has also been recorded from Brazil and India. It is a white-rot fungus that grows on rotting eucalyptus wood. Its main identifying feature is the lilac colour of the pore surface on the underside of the fruit body.
Fistulina subhepatica is a species of fungus in the family Fistulinaceae. It is found in Yunnan Province in subtropical China, where it causes brown rot on Castanopsis and Lithocarpus. It was described as new to science in 2014 by Bao-Kai Cui and Jie Song. It is named for its resemblance to the common beefsteak fungus, Fistulina hepatica, from which it can be distinguished by its larger spores, and generative hyphae with clamp connections.
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.
Skeletocutis inflata is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Found in Guangdong, China, it was described as a new species in 2013 by mycologist Bao-Kai Cui. The fungus is characterized by having fruit bodies with caps, and small pores numbering 8–10 per millimetre. Microscopically, it features inflated skeletal hyphae that partially dissolve in a solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH). The skeletal hyphae in the trama are parallel along the tubes.
Rhodofomitopsis is a genus of four species of poroid fungi in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It was circumscribed by Chinese mycologists in 2016, with Rhodofomitopsis feei as the type species. Rhodofomitopsis is a distinct lineage of fungi that were previously placed in genus Fomitopsis. The generic name alludes to this resemblance to Fomitopsis and the violaceous pore surface.
Buglossoporus eucalypticola is a species of poroid fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It was described as a new species in 2016 by mycologists Mei-Ling Han, Bao-Kai Cui, and Yu-Cheng Dai. The type specimen was collected in the Danzhou Tropical Botanical Garden, in Danzhou, China. It was growing on a dead Eucalyptus tree. The fruit body has a fan-shaped or semicircular cap that projects up to 10 cm (3.9 in), 6.5 cm (2.6 in) wide, and 7 mm (0.3 in) thick at its base. The surface colour when fresh is peach to brownish orange, but when dry becomes clay-pink to cinnamon. The pore surface on the cap underside is initially white before becoming pinkish buff or clay-buff to dark brown. B. eucalypticola causes a brown rot in its host.
Neolentiporus is a fungal genus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It contains Neolentiporus squamosellus and the type species N. maculatissimus. The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Mario Rajchenberg in 1995.
Ceriporia inflata is a species of crust fungus in the family Irpicaceae. It was described as new to science in 2013 by mycologists Bi-Si Jia and Bao-Kai Cui. The fungus is distinguished macroscopically from other Ceriporia species by its relatively large pores, and microscopically by its hyphae, which swell when KOH is applied; it is this latter feature for which the fungus is named. The type specimen of C. inflata was collected from Qiongzhong County, where it was found growing on rotten angiosperm wood. It has also been recorded from Fenyi County in Jiangxi.
Abundisporus mollissimus is a species of bracket fungus in the family Polyporaceae. This white rot fungus was described as new to science in 2015 by mycologists Bao-Kai Cui and Chang-Lin Zhao. The type was found fruiting on a fallen angiosperm trunk in Chengmai County ; it has also been found on a dead tree of Xanthophyllum hainanense. A. mollissimus is distinguished from other Abundisporus species by its effused-reflexed to pileate and soft fruit bodies, narrower skeletal hyphae, and spores that measure 4–4.5 by 3–3.5 μm.
Datroniella tropica is a species of crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Found in southwestern China, it was described as a new species in 2014 by mycologists Bao-Kai Cui, Hai J. Lee, and Yu-Cheng Dai, who placed it in the new genus Datroniella. The type collection was made in Tongbiguan Nature Reserve, where the fungus was found growing on a fallen angiosperm branch. The specific epithet tropica refers to its distribution in tropical China.
Ungulidaedalea is a fungal genus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Chinese mycologists in 2016 to contain the single species Ungulidaedalea fragilis, a fungus that was described as new in 2014 with the name Fomitopsis fragilis. The holotype of this fungus was collected in Jianfengling Nature Reserve, in Ledong County (Hainan). The generic name Ungulidaedalea refers to the resemblance between this species and Daedalea, and also to the hoof-shaped (ungulate) form of the fruit body. Ungulidaedalea fragilis has rather fragile fruit bodies with a dark brown crust and large angular pores on the cap underside. Microscopic characteristics include its densely septated skeletal hyphae, and oblong-ellipsoid spores that measure 4–5.2 by 2.2–2.8 μm.
