What is a polypore?
The Polyporales form a large group of diverse mushrooms. Most of these are “polypores” in the widely used sense of the word: they are wood decomposers whose spores are held in tubes–rather like the tubes of the boletes, except that with some exceptions the tube layer of a polypore cannot be easily removed as a layer, the way it can with a bolete.
Do polypores grow on dead wood?
When polypores grow on living trees, this is a matter of identifying the tree. But the more common scenario involves dead wood–in which case one must make assumptions about what kind of dead wood is involved. Notice, at the very least, whether your mushroom grows in conifer woods or among hardwoods.
What is the current state of polypore taxonomy?
Current DNA studies shift the polypores around on what seems like a daily basis, and a few have been moved out of the polypore order entirely–like Bondarzewia berkeleyi, which is currently placed in the Russulales. See the page on mushroom taxonomy for the most current portrait of polypore taxonomy.
How do you identify polypores on trees?
Polypores are commonly found on either living trees or upon dead woody debris. The host (substrate) which the polypore feasts can be a good indicator leading to identification and it is often helpful to note whether the tree is a softwood (conifers) or hardwood (deciduous/angiosperms).