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Danny’s DNA Discoveries – Polyporales of the PNW
by Danny Miller

Click here for my Pictorial Key to all Polypores

Introduction - click to expand

Panaceae (gilled) - click to expand

Large, tough, stemmed hardwood oyster mushrooms (usually the stem is off centre, but is sometimes central) that may have purplish tones or a hairy cap when fresh.

Genera: Panus.

Incertae Cedis - click to expand

Species mentioned: 'Antrodia' madronae, 'Porpomyces' mucidus, Erastia salmonicolor, Polyporales PNW01. Tyromyces amarus. Hypochnicium lyndoniae.

Adustoporiaceae, Auriporiaceae and Fibroporiaceae - click to expand

These are families of resupinate pore surfaces, most white but some colourful, most formerly in Antrodia. This is what happened to most resupinate Antrodia after its splits.

Genera: Adustoporia, Amyloporia, Lentoporia, Resinoporia, Rhodonia, Auriporia, Fibroporia.

Cerrenaceae - click to expand

Angular to maze like pores. Duplex flesh (spongy in the upper layer and corky in the lower layer). Spongipellis (Meripilaceae) has regular pores. The maze-like pored species in Spongipellis were moved here to Pseudospongipellis.

Genera: Cerrena, Pseudospongipellis.

Climacocystaceae - click to expand

Climacocystis is distinct (an up to 15cm large white to orange, very soft polypore with odd-shaped pores and a very hairy cap). It could be confused with a large, hairy Postia. The closely related Diplomitoporus is yet another pale resupinate pore surface.

Genera: Climacocystis, Diplomitoporus.

Dacryobolaceae - click to expand

Postia s.l. - this family includes most brown rot, whitish, "cheese" polypores (spongy soft when fresh) all formerly in Postia (most have caps). Compare to the white rot "cheese" polypores in the Incrustoporiaceae.

Jahnoporus - the brown cap and stemmed iodine polypore.

Genera: Jahnoporus, Amaropostia, Amylocystis, Calcipostia, Cyanosporus, Cystidiopostia, Fuscopostia, Oligoporus, Osteina, Postia, Ptychogaster, Spongiporus, Tenuipostia.

Fomitopsidaceae - click to expand

This family includes the true Antrodia itself, where most white resupinate pore surfaces once lived.

The other genus found locally is the now large genus Fomitopsis, which used to be split into a half dozen or so genera in the PNW. It contains some of our larger conks. I think they did the right thing recombining many species back into Fomitopsis after they noticed that if the splits that already had happened were to stay, the genus was going to have to be split dozens or even hundreds of more times resulting in many obscure, tiny genera that could not be well defined.

Genera: Antrodia, Anthoporia, Fomitopsis (formerly Brunneoporus, Daedalea, Fomitopsis, Neoantrodia, Niveoporofomes, Piptoporus, Rhodofomes).

Gelatoporiaceae - click to expand

Whitish resupinate pore surfaces, very non-descript but perhaps somewhat soft and/or cartilaginous in texture.

Genera: Cinereomyces, Gelatoporia, Obba.

Grifolaceae - click to expand

Maitake (Hen of the Woods) - clustered rosettes of greyish-brown capped turkey-tail like fruitbodies with white pore surfaces on hardwood. Meripilus is similar but has pore surfaces that stain black.

Genera: Grifola.

Incrustoporiaceae - click to expand

Tyromyces - white rot, whitish "cheese" (spongy soft when fresh) capped polypores. Compare to the brown rot "cheese" polypores in the Dacryobolaceae.

Skeletocutis - similar, but often resupinate to reflexed. This genus is traditionally differentiated by encrusted hyphae. When the flesh is thick enough to tell, it will sometimes be soft as well, but I think the encrusted hyphae toughen up the flesh as some species are not recognizable as "cheese" polypores. The two genera mingle together in the family tree, with both their type species close together. It may be decided to rename all Skeletocutis to Tyromyces, making Tyromyces represent more than just soft cheesy polypores, or both genera may be split up into more new genera, making those new genera hard to characterize.

Genera: Tyromyces, Skeletocutis.

Irpicaceae - click to expand

Often colourful brackets or resupinates with wrinkled or pored (sometimes irregularly tattered) hymenia.

Genera: Byssomerulius, Ceriporia, Gloeoporus, Irpex, Meruliopsis, Leptoporus, Raduliporus, Trametopsis, Vitreoporus

Ischnodermataceae - click to expand

A large, annual, semi-circular polypore with a velvety, zoned and wrinkled dark brown cap with a paler margin that exudes a resin when young. The pores bruise brown when touched and is has a fragrant odor.

Genera: Ischnoderma.

Laetiporaceae - click to expand

Sulphur Shelf (Chicken-of-the-Woods) - bright orange with yellow pores and cap rim. Soft fleshed, especially along the rim, which is the part most commonly eaten. It is poisonous to some, especially if not eaten young and thoroughly cooked. If you've ever seen large, white, crumbly pieces of chalk in the forest, that's probably last year's Laetiporus. In age it loses all its pigment and becomes very crumbly.

Genera: Laetiporus.

Laricifomitaceae - click to expand

Agarikon - a pale hoof shaped polypore, bitter tasting, with a soft chalky texture, on conifers.

Genera: Gilbertsonia, Laricifomes.

Meripilaceae - click to expand

Meripilus is similar to Grifola (clustered rosettes of greyish-brown capped turkey-tail like fruitbodies with white pore surfaces on hardwood) but the pore surfaces stain black.

Genera: Meripilus, Physisporinus, Rigidoporus, Spongipellis.

Meruliaceae - click to expand

Soft or gelatinous colourful resupinates or effuso-reflexed mushrooms with wrinkled or warty surfaces.

Genera: Merulius, Phlebia, Hermanssonia, Pappia, Sarcodontia, Ceriporiopsis

Phaeolaceae - click to expand

The dyer's polypore, top shaped with a stem and greenish oddly shaped pores. The cap is orange brown with a fuzzy pale rim when young and dark rusty brown when old. Notably, it has dark flesh and pores like the Hymenochaetales, not the usual pale flesh and pores of this order. Also in this family is tuckahoe.

Genera: Phaeolus, Wolfiporia.

Phanerochaetaceae - click to expand

The non-resupinates often have somewhat coloured pores and/or flesh, not really white. This family contains the smoky gilled polypores with a possible caramel-coloured cap, and probably also a pinkish cinnamon brittle polypore.

Genera: Bjerkandera, Hapalopilus, Pirex.

Podoscyphaceae - click to expand

A red staining extremely variably shaped polypore with oddly shaped pores, often on the ground attached to buried roots. It could be conk shaped, or top shaped, or rosette-like with overlapping caps and may or may not have a stem.

Genera: Abortiporus.

Polyporaceae - click to expand

Most are in this large family, including most stemmed polypores.

Genera: Cryptoporus, Daedaleopsis, Dentocorticium (Fuscocerrena), Dichomitus, Szczepkamyces, Fomes (Pyrofomes), Funalia (Coriolopsis), Ganoderma, Haploporus, Lopharia, Neofavolus, Perenniporia (Xanthoperenniporia, Poriella, Yuchengia),Polyporus (Cerioporus, Lentinus, Picipes), Datronia, Trametes (Lenzites, Pycnoporus).

Pycnoporellaceae - click to expand

Bright orange polypores and pore surfaces usually on conifers.

Genera: Pycnoporellus.

Sarcoporiaceae - click to expand

A soft, whitish polypore than may stain reddish brown, but not in the same family as the other brown rot cheese polypores. It is best distinguished microscopically.

Genera: Sarcoporia.

Sparassidaceae - click to expand

The cauliflower mushroom, but to me it more resembles a bundle of wide, flat noodles.

Genera: Sparassis.

Steccherinaceae - click to expand

A variety of species - a large, yellow, stemmed terrestrial polypore, some small effuso-reflexed polypores with pores or teeth underneath, also lots of resupinate pore surfaces.

Genera: Antrodiella, Junghuhnia, Steccherinum, Xanthoporus.

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