Pycnoporus cinnabarinus

Taxonomy

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Polyporales

This very rare and beautiful polypore is saprophytic on hardwood trees, including Beech, birches and Cherry. Only once have I seen this species, and that was in Bulgaria. If you think that you have found one, check again: often the Beefsteak Fungus, Fistulina hepatica, is mistaken for this cinnabar polypore. (Both are beautiful fungi, so it’s no cause for tears.) If you do come across this bracket in Britain or Ireland count it as the find of a lifetime. (Picture copyright: David Adamson.)

Pycnoporus cinnabarinus is rather more likely to turn up in foray records on mainland Europe, but even there it is a rare species and so it should never be picked.

Identification Guide

Description	The whole fruitbody is b right orange; up to 10cm across and projecting typically 4 to 6cm from substrate; usually between 1 and 2cm thick; the upper (infertile) surface is rough or wrinkled, orange-red, fading with age; margins are rounded (left) in young specimens, which are downy or finely hairy on the upper surface; margin becomes more acute as fruitbody ages; lower (fertile) surface with tubes.
Tubes	Pale orange; 2 to 6mm deep.
Pores	Cinnabar red; round or angular, spaced at 2 to 4 per mm.
Spore print	White.
Odour/taste	Not distinctive.
Habitat	Saprophytic on hardwoods, particularly Beech and birches.
Season	Late summer and autumn.
Occurrence	Very rare.
Similar species	Fistulina hepatica is bright red when young; its spores are pinkish yellow.