View A43-1112-1979-eng.pdf

POLYPORACEAE
POLYPORACEAE
The Polyporaceae include a group of fungi in which the spores are borne
in the interior of tubes as in the Boletaceae but the fruiting bodies are not fleshy
as in the Boletaceae but usually hard and tough, leathery, corky, cheesy, or
woody in consistency. They are nearly always found on wood and are a very
important group of fungi economically because of the damage they cause by
rotting the wood. However, because of their tough consistency they are of
Httle interest as food. Only a very few species are edible.
They will doubtless attract the attention of the collector because of their
abundance and prominence in the fungus flora of the woods. Typically the}
appear as bracket-hke or shelf-like fruiting bodies sometimes referred to as
conks on trees or logs ; some are inconspicuous, lying flat against the substrate,
and some are more or less stalked and mushroom-Hke in shape. It might be
thought that the latter type would be confused with boletes but in practice
there is little difficulty in distinguishing between the boletes and polypores
because the consistency is so different.
Some of the fruiting bodies of the polypores are perennial, persisting for
several years and developing a new layer of tubes each season. Some of these
fruiting bodies may reach considerable size. One species that occurs on the
Pacific Coast, Oxyporus nobilissimus W. B. Cooke has been known to reach a
size of 56 X 37 inches and a weight of 300 pounds.
Only seven species have been included here: one, Ganoderma tsugae,
because its distinctive and beautiful appearance will certainly attract attention,
and the others because they are fairly common and have been reported to be
edible when young. The Beefsteak Fungus, Fistulina hepatica (Huds.) Fr., long
celebrated as an excellent edible fungus, belongs in the Polyporaceae but it
appears to be so rare in Canada as to be scarcely worth including. It is a fleshy
tongue-shaped fungus, said to resemble a beefsteak in color, and with the pores
separate from each other. It may be found in southern Ontario.
Key to the species described
1. Pileus and stipe appearing as if varnished Ganoderma tsugae
1. Pileus and stipe not varnished 2
2. Pileus yellowish, scaly; pores large Polyporus squamosus
2. Pileus not scaly 3
3. Pileus with strongly projecting, thick sterile margin,
growing on birch Polyporus betulinus
3. Pileus without a projecting sterile margin 4
4. Pileus stipitate 5
4. Pileus not stipitate 6
5. Fruiting bodies occurring singly or gregarious,
whitish to yellowish
5. Fruiting bodies densely cespitose; stipes numerous,
branching, arising from a fleshy mass
Polyporus ovinus
Polyporus frondosus
237