Cinnabar Polypore Pycnoporus cinnabarinus (Jacq.) P. Karst. syn. Polyporus cinnabarina (Jacq.) P. Karst. (illustrated 40% life size) Fruit body 3–11cm×2–8cm, 0.5–1.5cm thick, semicircular or fan-shaped; bright red or orange-red, becoming less bright with age; leathery, drying corky, upper surface covered in fine, soft hairs when young, later smooth and slightly wrinkled. Tubes 2–6mm long; pale orange. Pores 2–3 per mm, circular or angular; cinnabar- or saffron-red. Spores 4.5–6×2–2.5¼, oblong-elliptical; white. Hyphal structure trimitic. Habitat on dead deciduous trees, especially cherry, beech, and birch; autumn. Very rare, endangered on Red Data List, possibly extinct in Britain; this collection was photographed in Germany. Not edible.
