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White Punk
Conservation status: Not listed.
Laetiporus portentosus grows on wood and is a common sight on Eucalypts in the bush.
It has been recorded in all Australian states, except for the Northern Territory. It is also found in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile.
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Scientific Classification
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Agaricomycetes
Polyporales
Fomitopsidaceae
Laetiporus
portentosus
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| It is a distinctive looking bracket fungus when fresh, with a smooth, pale-brown upper surface and white pored surface underneath. However, the fungus is usually quickly eaten by insects, which riddle it with holes so that it ends up looking like a large, dirty, ragged sponge. You can sometimes find the decayed fungus at the base of trees where it has fallen away from the trunk.
The living fruiting body is called a "conk", and one that has fallen is a called a "punk" - thus its common name. There is a simlar species (Piptoporus australiensis) commonly called the "Curry Punk" because it is coloured yellow and smells like curry.
It is thought that this fungus was used by Aboriginals and New Zealand Māori people as a tinder and to carry fire from camp to camp. It is also possible that it was eaten as an emergency food by Tasmanian Aboriginals.
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