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A friend of mine on FaceBook posted this on Saturday, September 15, 2018; “Believe it or not, this is a mushroom we found growing on my uncle’s property in Minnesota….isn’t it weird??” They were wondering if it was edible. My response was; “All mushrooms are edible… once.” NEVER eat mushrooms that you are not 100% sure are edible. Having said that, it looks like a “Chicken of the woods”.
You can easily spot the chicken of the woods mushroom by its impressive size and vibrant yellow-orange colors. This large polypore has surprised many a nature lover the first time they found it! Yet did you know they’re also edible, and considered a delicacy in some parts of the world?
This mushroom has a lemony, meaty taste. Some think it tastes like its chicken namesake; others describe the flavor as being more like crab or lobster. Whatever your opinion, the chicken fungus makes a great substitute for meat in almost any dish.
It’s important to note that this is one of those mushrooms that sometimes causes gastric distress in certain people. If you want to avoid a possible stomach misadventure, only try a little bit your first time to see what it does to you. Also always avoid chicken of the woods growing on conifers, eucalyptus, or cedar trees, as these are reported to contain toxins that can make people sick.
Chicken of the Woods identification is infamously easy, thus they’re considered one of the “safe” mushrooms for beginners. I encourage hands on education from a local expert, so please don’t rely on just the Internet to learn how to identify mushrooms.
If you think you’ve found a chicken of the woods, check for these familiar features:
Cap/Stem:
- The sulphur shelf has no real stem. The caps grow in large brackets, which are individual “shelves” ranging from 2 to 10 inches across (about 5 to 25 cm) and up to 10 inches long.
- The brackets are roughly fan-shaped and may be smooth to lightly wrinkled. They grow in an overlapping pattern stacked one on top of the other. Thus the fruiting body can be quite large!
- The outside cap color ranges from bright whitish-yellow to bright whitish-orange. If you cut them open, the inside flesh will be soft and similarly colored. As the mushroom ages, the brightness of the colors fade and the flesh becomes harder and more crumbly.
- The caps sport whitish to yellowish pores on the underside, not gills.
Habitat:
- Always found growing on or at the base of dead or dying trees, never on the ground or alone in fields.
- These mushrooms grow on dead or dying hardwoods, most commonly oak but also cherry or beech. Species growing on eucalyptus or cedar trees should be avoided, as they may cause gastric distress. They’re sometimes found under conifers as well.
- Laetiporus species are all over North America and Europe.
Time of Year:
- Summer through fall, which is August through October in most areas. Other species that grow in warmer climates may be found in early winter as well.
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