Key to Gilled Mushrooms KeyThis is a key to gilled mushrooms, that is, mushrooms having a definite cap with a fertile surface consisting of gills. The fruiting body usually also has a stem, although that may be lateral or absent (usually, then, the mushroom is growing from wood). You can use this key to identify mushrooms that you find.
Polyporaceae FamilyFertile surface usually a layer of vertical tubes, of which the mouths are visible as pores on the underside of the cap or shelf.
Fruiting bodies usually tougher or harder than the "normal" gilled mushrooms, being leathery, corky, or woody. But they can be quite tender while actively growing
Once grown, they do not decay easily, remaining on the substrate for months or years
They often grow on wood, although a few are terrestrial (even those are usually growing on buried wood)
Fruiting body is usually a flat shelf, or hoof-shaped, protruding directly from the substrate, although sometimes it may have a short stalk.
Some forms never grow away from the substrate at all, so that all that is visible of the fruiting body are the pores.
Sometimes the pores are so minute that the fertile surface seems solid, until you look closely
Lignicopolypore SubfamilyGrowing on wood
Stipitoporus TribeNot fitting the other choices, fruiting body with well-developed stem
Favolus Genus P. de Beauvois: Fries
Diagnosis
- Large, angular pores
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Flexible, fairly soft fruiting body
Comments
There's another genus of polypore, Hexagona, that has even larger, distinctly hexagonal pores. It looks like a honeycomb from beneath
It is a tropical species, found only along the gulf coast in the US, and so is not included in this database. I have no idea, by the way, why R. L. Gilbertson & Ryvarden (1986 - 1987) spell it "Hexagonia"
Most authors nowadays reduce Favolus to a section of the genus Polyporus. It doesn't really matter which way you do it; the only thing it changes is whether you hit Favolus before or after Polyporus in your key
Narrow down your identification:
Favolus alveolarisCap creamy tan with a darker, reddish-brown layer on top of it that breaks up into scales; often slightly lobed