Polyporus alveolaris

[ Basidiomycetes > Polyporales > Polyporaceae > Polyporus . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

This small polypore can be found from morel season, in the spring, until meadow mushroom season, in the fall. Its orange cap and diamond-shaped to hexagonal pores make it an easy species to recognize. Look for it on sticks and small decaying logs.

There has always been confusion regarding the proper name for this mushroom; it has been called Polyporus mori, Favolus alveolaris, and so on. The most recent mycological sources, however, place the species in Polyporus, and evidence from DNA studies and mating studies supports this idea.

Regardless of its name, the mushroom is much too tough to consider eating, though several field guides list it as edible.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic on decaying sticks and logs (occasionally on living branches) of hardwoods; causing a white rot; growing alone or gregariously; typically fruiting in early summer, but frequently found from spring to fall; widely distributed in North America.

Fruiting Body: 1-10 cm broad; variable in shape but generally semicircular or kidney shaped; reddish yellow to orangish, or fading with age; scaly, becoming smoother; typically with a short and stubby lateral stem but occasionally with a centrally located and more substantial stem (in which case the cap is round, rather than kidney shaped); pore surface descending the stem, whitish to yellowish white; pores diamond-shaped or "honeycombed," usually radially arranged; flesh to 2 mm thick, white.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 9-11 x 3-3.5 µ; smooth; cylindrical.

REFERENCES: (De Candolle ex Fries, 1821) Bond. & Singer, 1941. (Overholts, 1953; Smith, Smith, Weber, 1981; Arora, 1986; Gilbertson & Ryvarden, 1987; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Barron, 1999.) Herb. Kuo 05029502, 05099502, 06160201.

Favolus alveolaris and Polyporus mori are synonyms.

Further Online Information:

Polyporus alveolaris at Roger's Mushrooms
Polyporus alveolaris at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, November). Polyporus alveolaris. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/polyporus_alveolaris.html