Orange to tan, fan-shaped bracket; scaly on top; underside with rows of white, six-sided, radially arranged pores. Grows on dead branches of deciduous trees. May–November. Cap semicircular, fan-shaped; orange to tan; texture scaly, becoming smooth. Pores six-sided, honeycombed, usually in radial rows; white, drying yellow. Stalk (if present) short, thick, stubby; white, drying yellow. Spore print white. Spores magnified are cylindrical, smooth, colorless.
Lookalikes: Spring polypore (P. arcularius) is found in the spring and has smaller pores, a central stem, and a hairy cap rim. The pores of the thin-maze flat polypore (Daedaleopsis confragosa) have a more mazelike arrangement.