Polyporaceae

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Polypores

Dryad's saddle (Polyporus squamosus)

Kingdom:	Fungi
Phylum:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Polyporales
Family:	Polyporaceae

Polyporaceae are a family of Bracket fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruiting bodies varies from soft (as in the case of the Dryad's Saddle illustrated) to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymenium (fertile layer) in vertical pores on the underside of the caps, but some of them have gills (e.g. Panus) or gill-like structures (such as Daedaleopsis, whose elongated pores form a corky labyrinth). Many species are brackets, but others have a definite stipe - for example: Polyporus badius.

Most of these fungi have white spore powder but members of the genus Abundisporus have coloured spores and produce yellowish spore prints. Cystidia are absent.