Skip to main content

Black-footed Polypore




Picipes badius (syn. Polyporus badius) is an interesting mushroom. At first it appears to be a typical agaric, but when you flip it over, you see nothing but a smooth white surface. Even with a hand lens, I struggled to see the tiny pores. The largest specimen here measured 13.5 cm across. On average they were 7 cm across. The short stalks were typically around 2.5 cm. The flesh was 3-4 mm thick. The caps had incurved margins and were umbilicate. The pore surface runs down the stem, and the white shades into reddish brown and then into black. The mushroom is very fleshy except near the stem, which is difficult to tear. The mushroom produces a white rot.