Polyporus

Polyporus is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Italian botanist Pier Antonio Micheli introduced the genus in 1729 to include 14 species featuring fruit bodies with centrally-placed stipes, and pores on the underside of the cap. The generic name combines the Ancient Greek words πολύς ('many') and πόρος ('pore'). Elias Fries divided Polyporus into three subgenera in his 1855 work Novae Symbol Mycologici: Eupolyporus, Fomes, and Poria. In a 1995 monograph, Maria Núñez and Leif Ryvarden grouped 32 Polyporus species into 6 morphologically-based infrageneric groups: Admirabilis, Dendropolyporus, Favolus, Polyporellus, Melanopus, and Polyporus sensu stricto. The identity of the type species of Polyporus has long been a matter of contention among mycologists. Some have preferred P. brumalis, some P. squamosus, while others have preferred P. tuberaster. Several molecular phylogenetics studies have shown that Polyporus, as currently circumscribed, is polyphyletic and will need to have its generic limits revised.