Italian botanist Pier Antonio Micheli introduced the genus in 1729 to include 14 species featuring fruit bodies with centrally-placed stipes, and pores on the underside of the cap.

[1] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek words πολύς ("many") and πόρος ("pore").

[2] Elias Fries divided Polyporus into three subgenera in his 1855 work Novae Symbol Mycologici: Eupolyporus, Fomes, and Poria.

[3] In a 1995 monograph, Maria Núñez and Leif Ryvarden grouped 32 Polyporus species into 6 morphologically-based infrageneric groups: Admirabilis, Dendropolyporus, Favolus, Polyporellus, Melanopus, and Polyporus sensu stricto.

[4] The identity of the type species of Polyporus has long been a matter of contention among mycologists.