Hexagonal-pored Polypore

Description

Hexagonal-pored Polypore is an easily recognized, common, and widespread bracket fungus. It occurs in Europe, Japan, and North America east of the Rocky Mountains. In the United States it is especially common east of the Great Plains. It is one of the first mushrooms to appear in deciduous and mixed woodlands in the spring. It first appears in May, the same time as morels, and persists through November. It grows alone, scattered, or in small groups on recently fallen branches and small logs of hardwoods. It is saprobic, obtaining its nutrients from decaying wood and causing white rot.

The fruiting body is a semicircular to kidney-shaped, ⅜″ to 4″ wide, shelf-like bracket. When it first appears in late spring it is orange or orangish. It is at this stage that it is most easily recognized. The upper surface is dry, hairless, and covered with minute scales or delicate fibers (fibrillose). It is not concentrically zoned. As the season progresses the bracket fades to yellowish or nearly white.

It usually has a short, stubby stalk (stipe) but it may appear stalkless, and sometimes it has a more substantial stipe. The stipe, when present, is 3 ⁄16″ to ¾″ long and 1 ⁄16″ to 3 ⁄16″ thick. When stubby, it is positioned laterally. When substantial, it is positioned centrally and the cap is more or less round.

The pore surface is white to pale yellowish and is covered with conspicuous, large pores that are radially arranged in rows. The pores are up to 1 ⁄16″ (2 mm) long, up to 1 ⁄32″ (1 mm) wide, and diamond-shaped or six-sided. They are not all hexagonal, as the bracket’s common name suggests. The pore surface continues down the stalk.

Hexagonal-pored Polypore is not poisonous but the bracket is too small and the flesh is too tough to be edible.

Similar Species

Dryad’s Saddle (Cerioporus squamosus) is a much larger bracket with much larger scales and fibers.

Spring Polypore (Polyporus arcularius) is dark brown at first, becoming yellowish-brown as it ages. It always has a conspicuous, centrally positioned stalk.

Habitat and Hosts

Deciduous and mixed woodlands

Ecology

Season

May through November