Polypore Mushrooms Bracket fungi, conks, and shelf mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
Polypores produce spores inside tiny tubes that open as pores on the underside of the fruitbody — not gills, not ridges, but a surface of tiny holes. Most grow as brackets or shelves on wood, though a few are stemmed and grow on the ground. Many are tough, woody, or leathery and persist for months or years.
These are the recyclers and parasites of the forest. Some attack living trees (Phaeolus, Laetiporus). Others colonize dead wood and accelerate decomposition (Trametes, Fomitopsis). Some form perennial conks that keep growing for decades (artist’s conk, red belt conk, agarikon). Old-growth forests host rare species such as agarikon and Bridgeoporus nobilissimus.
Explore Forest Types on Forayz
Polypores are tied to their host trees. Use forest type layers and public land overlays to locate conifer stands, hardwood corridors, and riparian zones. Pro members get full access to forest type data.
Notable PNW Species
Chicken of the Woods — Laetiporus conifericola
Bright orange shelving brackets, 5–20 (30) cm across, often in overlapping clusters. Pore surface is sulfur yellow. Grows on conifers — living trunks, stumps, and big logs — most often true firs and spruce, and causes a brown cubical rot. Edible and very good when young (soft and brightly colored). Older specimens become tough. Some people experience GI upset — cook it thoroughly and try a small amount the first time. Fruits summer through fall. The similar L. gilbertsonii (pictured below) grows on hardwoods, mostly in inland valleys. Full guide →
Western Reishi — Ganoderma oregonense
Fan-shaped annual brackets, 10–60 cm across, with a shiny, lacquered reddish-brown upper surface when mature. Pore surface cream, bruising brown. Grows on conifers, especially hemlock. Not edible due to tough texture, but collected for purportedly medicinal tinctures and teas; Mushrooms of Cascadia (Siegel & Schwarz) asks collectors to use restraint. Unlike other Ganoderma it is annual: it emerges in late summer and usually begins to rot by late winter.
Artist’s Conk — Ganoderma applanatum
Perennial bracket, 6–30 cm across, woody and fan-shaped with concentric growth rings. Gray-brown upper surface, white pore surface that bruises dark brown instantly when scratched — used for etching artwork. Grows on trunks, stumps, and logs, often of hardwoods but also conifers. Easily confused with the very similar G. brownii, which needs spore size to separate. Not edible. Sometimes collected for medicinal preparations; collect sparingly, since the conks keep growing for decades if left alone.
Red Belt Conk — Fomitopsis mounceae
One of the most common polypores in PNW conifer forests. Hoof to cushion-shaped perennial conk, 5–30 cm across, often three-toned: dark near the attachment, a reddish band, and a pale margin. Some lack the red band, and then it is easily confused with F. ochracea (pictured below), which has a dark center running straight into a pale margin. Siegel & Schwarz’s test: a flame melts and bubbles the red belt’s cap surface but chars F. ochracea. Creamy pore surface that doesn’t stain brown. Fragrant when fresh. Found on both conifers and hardwoods but far more common on conifers. Causes brown cubical rot. Inedible. Formerly called F. pinicola.
Turkey Tail — Trametes versicolor
Thin, flexible, fan-shaped shelves in overlapping rows on dead hardwoods. Surface has striking concentric color zones — brown, tan, gray, blue, and cream. Pore surface white to cream with tiny, round pores. Very common throughout Cascadia. Stereum species look similar from above but have a smooth underside with no pores. Too tough to eat.
Dyer’s Polypore — Phaeolus schweinitzii
Spongy cushion when young, expanding into a flat disc or rosette. Golden-yellow to orange with a darker brown center when fresh, becoming reddish brown to blackish; greenish-yellow pores bruise dark brown. Grows at the base of conifers or from their roots, causing a butt rot. One of the most common fungi in Cascadia, and genetically several species under one name. Prized by dyers: gold with an alum mordant, olive green with iron. Not edible, possibly toxic. Full guide →
Agarikon — Laricifomes officinalis
Hoof-shaped when young, becoming a multi-tiered column up to 120 cm long on the trunks of conifers, especially old-growth Douglas-fir and western larch (Gilbertson). Whitish when fresh, grayish to tan on older parts, with chalky, extremely bitter flesh. Uncommon. Inedible, but prized for purported medicinal properties and over-collected as a result.
Veiled Polypore — Cryptoporus volvatus
Small (1–6 cm), round to hoof-shaped polypore with a smooth, shiny surface and a thick membrane sealing off the pore surface; mature ones usually have a small hole in it. Grows on conifers, mostly pine and fir, that have died recently, and is plentiful in the mountains after forest fires. Insects feeding inside carry its spores to new trees. Inedible. Full guide →
Albatrellus avellaneus
Stemmed polypore growing on the ground, 3–12 cm across, with a whitish to pale buff cap that stains yellowish, and white pores. Often forms large patches in moss and duff under conifers, above all Sitka spruce; common near the coast. The identical-looking A. ovinus may be more common in the Cascades. Edible and good — firm, meaty texture with sweet flavor, and the flesh turns golden when cooked. Fruits early fall into winter.
Western Conifer Polypore — Bondarzewia occidentalis
Large (up to 50 cm) rosette of fan-shaped lobes at the base of dead or dying conifers or stumps. Brown to grayish brown at the center, yellowish brown outward with a pale margin, often zoned; white pores. Uncommon. Edible but tough and often bitter.
Pycnoporellus fulgens
Orange to rusty, hairy, fan-shaped shelves, 3–10 cm across, with paler angular pores. Grows on conifer logs, trunks, and branches, occasionally hardwoods. A Haida Gwaii study found it almost always with old red belt conks (Fomitopsis). Common. Inedible. Full guide →
Pores, Not Gills
Turn a polypore over. Instead of blade-like gills, you’ll see a surface covered in tiny holes — those are the pore openings. In some species (Ganoderma, Trametes) they’re barely visible without a lens. In others (Laetiporus) they’re clearly visible. This pore surface is the defining feature of the group.
Find Old-Growth Habitat for Rare Polypores
Agarikon and Bridgeoporus depend on old-growth forests. Use the public lands layer and forest type overlays on Forayz to find conifer forest in national forests and wilderness areas, and burn perimeters to find recently burned forest for fire-associated species like Cryptoporus.
Habitat & Season
Polypores are primarily wood decomposers. Most grow on dead or dying trees, logs, and stumps. Tough bracket-forming species (Trametes, Fomitopsis, Ganoderma) can be found year-round as persistent fruitbodies. Fleshy polypores are seasonal: Laetiporus in summer and fall, Albatrellus from early fall into winter. Old-growth conifers host rare species like Laricifomes officinalis and Bridgeoporus nobilissimus.
Sources: Mushrooms of Cascadia (Siegel & Schwarz, 2024); MycoMatch (© Ian Gibson), a compilation of published descriptions through which most other field-guide authors named here are quoted.