''Piptoporus australiensis'', commonly known as curry punk, is a polyporous

bracket fungi Polypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, w ...

. The common name stems from its persistent

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

smell which develops with age. The white top of this large, thick bracket becomes stained pale cream to orange by the orange flesh. Deep orange-yellow pores exude copious amounts of saffron-yellow juice. It is found in Australia, often found on dead

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

trees and logs, favouring fire-damaged wood.

Description

The cap is up to wide and tall, projecting up to ; it is irregular to semicircular, flat to convex; white then staining yellow, orange to brown; soft but tough, smooth, ridged or pitted, greasy when wet; margin smooth, incurved. There are 1–10 pores per mm; round, angular or irregular; saffron-yellow, aging to orange, rusty-brown; weeps saffron-yellow juice when wet. There is no stem, instead being laterally attached to substrate by a broad base. There is a strong persistent

smell when old or dry. Bruce A. Fuhrer describes the species:

''Piptoporus australiensis'' is usually called Curry Punk because of its persistent curry-like odour, even when old and dry. In contrast to other spongy
polypore Polypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, ...
s, this species appears to be immune to insect attack. The large brackets occur on logs, particularly those that have been charred by fire, causing a brown cubical rot.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7197517 Fomitopsidaceae Fungi of Australia Fungus species