Editing Polypore (section)

==Uses==
Some species of bracket fungi are edible, such as [[Laetiporus sulphureus|chicken of the woods]];<ref name="Kuo 2007">{{cite book |author=Kuo, Michael |title=100 Edible Mushrooms |publisher=The University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/100ediblemushroo00kuom/page/79 79–84] |isbn=978-0-472-03126-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/100ediblemushroo00kuom/page/79 }}</ref> the [[lingzhi mushroom]] is another, which is used in Chinese medicine.  They can also be used as a wick in an oil/fat lamp.

The tinder fungus (''[[Fomes fomentarius]]'') has been used as [[tinder]] since at least the time of [[Ötzi]] the Iceman. It has also been used to make a material similar to leather.

''[[Ganoderma applanatum]]'', the artist's conk, is used as a substrate for drawings. Fresh specimens develop dark brown lines when drawn upon with a stylus. The lines become permanent when the specimen is dried.<ref name="Roberts 2011"/>

===Traditional uses===
{{See also|Medicinal fungi}}
Most polypores are edible or at least non-toxic, although one genus of polypores has members that are [[Mushroom poisoning|poisonous]]. Polypores from the genus ''[[Hapalopilus]]'' have caused poisoning in several people with effects including kidney dysfunction and deregulation of central nervous system functions.<ref name="Saviuc 2006"/> Some polypores have been used in ritual and for utilitarian purposes for ages; [[Ötzi the Iceman]] was found carrying two different polypore species: ''[[Piptoporus betulinus]]''<ref name="Grienke 2014"/> and ''[[Fomes fomentarius]]''.<ref>{{Citation | doi = 10.1017/S0953756298006546 | title = The iceman's fungi | year = 1998 | last1 = Peintner | first1 = U. | last2 = Pöder | first2 = R. | last3 = Pümpel | first3 = T. | journal = Mycological Research | volume = 102 | issue = 10 | pages = 1153}}</ref>

Polypores used in [[traditional medicine]] are ''[[Lingzhi mushroom|Ganoderma lucidum coll.]]'' (reishi or lingzhi),<ref name="Bishop 2015"/> ''[[Trametes versicolor]]'' (turkey tail) and ''[[Ganoderma applanatum]]''.{{medcn|date=March 2025}}