Irpex is a genus of corticioid fungi in the order Polyporales. Species produce fruit bodies that grow as a crust on the surface of dead hardwoods. The crust features an irpicioid spore-bearing surface (for which the genus is named), meaning it has irregular and flattened teeth. Irpex is distinguished from the similar genera Junghuhnia and Steccherinum by the simple septa found in the generative hyphae.

Classification

Although Irpex has been classified in the family Steccherinaceae, or the Meruliaceae, phylogenetic analysis has shown that its type species, Irpex lacteus, is more closely related to Byssomerulius in the Phanerochaetaceae. Justo and colleagues support a 2003 proposal that places Irpex as the type genus of family Irpicaceae.

Species