Laetiporus montanus

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Laetiporus montanus is a bracket fungus that grows on mature conifers in the high mountains of central Europe and in China. It can be mistaken for Laetiporus sulphureus, but it is genetically different.

The fruit bodies have overlapping, fan-shaped orange caps up to about 30 cm wide and 1–3 cm thick. The top starts bright orange and fades to light brown with age. The underside pores begin bright yellow and fade to pale tan, with about 1–4 pores per millimeter. Spores are egg-shaped, translucent, and 6–8 μm long, larger than many other European Laetiporus species. Like other Laetiporus, it causes brown rot in its host trees.

It grows on mature conifers, especially Norway spruce (Picea abies) and European larch (Larix decidua). In Europe it has been found in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria; in 2010 a record from Inner Mongolia, China was reported. It seems to occur above 1,100 meters in elevation and may have a wider distribution in other mountain regions.

Taxonomically, Černý first described the species in 1989, but the name was invalid under the rules at that time; it was validly published in 2009 by Tomšovský and Jankovský. Insects such as the fly Ula bolitophila and the moth Spelobia parapusio use the fruit bodies for their larvae.