Laetiporus portentosus

White Punk at Mirador, NSW

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Identification history

	Laetiporus portentosus	24 May 2019	Pam
	Unidentified	21 May 2019	hynesker1234

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User's notes

The sunglasses are in shot for size.

2 comments

Pam wrote:

25 May 2019

This is a typical remnant of a Laetiporus portentosus that can be found on the forest floor. This species provides an absolute feast for the insects as you can see clearly by the little tunnels they've chewed all through the fungus. What remains (known as a punk) is very light in weight and has a bit of a look of styrofoam. If you look nearby there's a slight chance you can pick the tree it's come off, if not this year then in the years to come. I find them frequently on 'stringybarks'. We have a Eucalyptus agglomerata that I've frequently see one of these on regularly, and the tree still seems to be going strong after over a decade. This fungus causes brown cubical rot in living trees of various Euc, spp. The fresh fungus has a sweet, spicy odour. The dry remnant is said to be combustable and was used as tinder by pre-European Aborigines and early colonists.

hynesker1234 wrote:

25 May 2019

Oh that's so interesting. Thanks for your most comprehensive information Pam.

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Location information

Coordinates 149.919861 -36.881717
Altitude 21.1m
Places Mirador, NSW

Sighting information

1 - 3 Abundance
14 May 2019 07:24 AM Recorded on
hynesker1234 Recorded by

Species information

Laetiporus portentosus Scientific name
White Punk Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-Invasive
Up to 995m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information
Synonyms
Piptoporus eucalyptorum (Fr.) Warcup, Ecology Forests Woodlands South Australia: 131 (1986) Piptoporus portentosus (Berk.) G. Cunn., Bull. N.Z. Dept. Sci. Industr. Res., Pl. Dis. Div. 164: 106 (1965) Piptoporus eucalyptorum Piptoporus portentosus