Native White Punk Fungi discovered at Reserve

During the Clean-Up Australia Day 2017 volunteer Event at the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve this year, one of the volunteers noticed this unusual looking large white fungi on the ground amongst the forest floor mulch under some Sydney Blue Gum trees.  It resembled a piece of old foam from a distance, until closer inspection discovered that it was in-fact a large fungi.  

Photos were taken in comparrision with hand-size and sent off the Fungi experts at South East Queensland Fungi Group for identification.

Megan Prance tells us that the fungi is Laetiporus portentosus which holds a funny common name of "White Punk".  Megan says that  "It would have been growing a few metres up a nearby Eucalypt. The insects eat out the flesh and leave a skeleton like mass. A new one will probably grow on the Eucalypt".

Laetiporus portentosus  White Punk Fungi, Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, March 2017

Laetiporus portentosus  White Punk Fungi, Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, March 2017

Thank you Megan for sharing your expertise for the identification of this massive fungi.

J.G.

Further Details:

Laetiporus portentosus  

White Punk

Conservation Status:  Not Listed

Scientific Classification

Class: 

Agaricomycetes

Order: 

Polyporales

Family: 

Fomitopsidaceae

Genus: 

Laetiporus

Species: 

portentosus