Cinnabar Polypore

Photo of a cinnabar polypore, which is a reddish orange bracket fungus
Not recommended/not edible
Scientific Name
Pycnoporus cinnabarinus
Family
Polyporaceae
Description

Tough, fan-shaped bracket fungus; bright red-orange above and below. Grows on dead deciduous branches, twigs, and wood, mainly oak. Year-round. Cap semicircular, flat; bright cinnabar-red to orange-red; texture finely hairy. Pores angular, irregular; bright cinnabar-red to orange-red, same color as the cap. Stalk not present. Spore print white. Spores magnified are cylindrical, curved, smooth. This species is easy to spot, as both the top and underside are the same color — bright cinnabar-red to orange-red.

Lookalikes: No other small Missouri polypore is bright red-orange on the cap and on the underside.

Size

Cap width: 1–5 inches.

Where To Find
image of Cinnabar Polypore Distribution Map

Statewide.

Grows singly or in groups of up to several on dead deciduous branches, twigs, and wood, mainly oak. It discolors the wood red.

Not edible.

This species lives within rotting wood as a network of cells (mycelium) that digests and decomposes the dead wood. When ready to reproduce, the mycelium develops the bracket that emerges from the log — this is the reproductive structure. In polypores, spores are produced in the pores beneath and are released to begin new mycelia elsewhere.

Mushrooms decorate nature the way wildflowers do, adding to our pleasure on hikes. Like wildflowers, even the humblest of fungi can be strikingly beautiful. Discovering these organisms can bring out our innate capacity for awe and wonder.

This is one of the many fungus species that live on decaying wood. It and many other saprobic fungi play an incredibly important role in breaking down the tough materials wood is made of and returning those nutrients to the soil.

Media Gallery
Photo of a cinnabar polypore, which is a reddish orange bracket fungus
Cliff White
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Photo of two cinnabar polypores, bright red-orange bracket fungi, on a log
The cinnabar polypore grows on dead deciduous branches, twigs, and wood, mainly oak.
Robert Anderson, Bugwood.org
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Photo of a cinnabar polypore bracket fungus growing on dead wood
The cinnabar polypore is a bracket fungus that is tough, fan-shaped, and bright red-orange above and below.
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Closeup photo of pore surface beneath cap of cinnabar polypore, a bracket fungus
The pores under the cap of the cinnabar polypore are angular and irregular and are bright cinnabar-red to orange-red.
Robert Anderson, Bugwood.org
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Photo of cinnabar polypore brackets on a dead branch, top view
The cinnabar polypore is a bracket fungus that is tough, fan-shaped, and bright red-orange above and below.
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Photo of cinnabar polypore brackets showing underside and attachment to dead branch
Note the bright color of this cinnabar polypore, and how it grows from the dead tree branch it is digesting.
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Photo of a cinnabar polypore viewed from below, showing red pores
The underside of a cinnabar polypore is the same bright orange-red as the top.
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Photo of a cinnabar polypore, which is a reddish orange bracket fungus
Photo of two cinnabar polypores, bright red-orange bracket fungi, on a log
Photo of a cinnabar polypore bracket fungus growing on dead wood
Closeup photo of pore surface beneath cap of cinnabar polypore, a bracket fungus
Photo of cinnabar polypore brackets on a dead branch, top view
Photo of cinnabar polypore brackets showing underside and attachment to dead branch
Photo of a cinnabar polypore viewed from below, showing red pores
Similar Species
About Mushrooms in Missouri

Mushrooms are a lot like plants, but they lack chlorophyll and have to take nutrients from other materials. Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. They are in a different kingdom — the fungi. Fungi include the familiar mushroom-forming species, plus the yeasts, molds, smuts, and rusts.

Always be cautious when eating edible mushrooms. Be absolutely sure of the ID, and only eat a small amount the first time you try it to avoid a reaction..