Polypores And Bracket Fungi

This group gathers Fungi subcategory members belonging to the polypores and bracket fungi, a loose, informal grouping spanning several families united by a fruiting body that releases spores through a spongy or leathery surface of fine pores rather than through gills, often shelf- or hoof-shaped and growing directly out of living or dead wood. It includes species that persist for years as woody, perennial shelf-shaped growths on tree trunks, wound parasites and decay fungi that break down dead wood and, in some cases, weaken or kill the living trees they infect, playing an outsized role in forest nutrient cycling by being among the few organisms capable of breaking down tough structural wood compounds such as lignin. Several species gathered here have a long history of use beyond ecology, employed historically as tinder for fire-starting, as a traditional medicine ingredient, or, in the case of one famous Alpine discovery, carried by a five-thousand-year-old mummified traveler.