Laetiporus portentosus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It is found in South America, Australia, and New Zealand. It has been used traditionally as a tinder and to carry fire by Australian Aboriginals,[1] and by New Zealand Māori people. The Māori have also used it as a "wound protector, to soften and ease a difficult labor."[2]
The white-throated treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) has been recorded feeding on this fungus in a heathy dry forest in Victoria.[3]
The fungus was first described in 1844 by English mycologist Miles Joseph Berkeley. Mario Rajchenberg transferred it to the genus Laetiporus in 1995.[4] The fungus has acquired an extensive synonymy in the interim:[5]
Laetiporus portentosus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It is found in South America, Australia, and New Zealand. It has been used traditionally as a tinder and to carry fire by Australian Aboriginals, and by New Zealand Māori people. The Māori have also used it as a "wound protector, to soften and ease a difficult labor."
The white-throated treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) has been recorded feeding on this fungus in a heathy dry forest in Victoria.
