Chicken of the woods

Description

The chicken of the woods grows on trees as large, thick, semicircular or fan-shaped brackets, often in overlapping clusters, 10-40 cm across. It is distinctly sulphur-yellow to orange, with an underside covered with very tiny yellow pores. It has no stem. Older fruiting bodies fade to beige or white and become hard and brittle.

It grows from April to October, most often in spring, mainly on broadleaved trees: oaks, birches, willows and fruit trees, often in parks, orchards and along roads. It is common in Poland. It destroys wood by brown rot and can lead to the death of the tree.

Raw it is poisonous, and older ones are inedible even after cooking. In some people, even properly prepared, it causes stomach complaints, so try a small portion first. Do not collect specimens from yews and eucalyptus trees.

Identification features

Cap

Usually without a stem, thick-fleshed, attached sideways to the tree; diameter 10-40 cm (some descriptions give brackets of 5-60 cm, thickness 4-12 cm). Fruiting bodies often overlap like roof tiles. Bulbous when young, later fan-shaped, hemispherical or irregular. Surface knobbly, uneven, radially wrinkled, suede-like in texture, sulphur-yellow to orange (often with a pink tinge); with age it fades to beige, buff or whitish. Margin irregular, wavy, rolled under, often lemon-coloured.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

Poroid, not separable from the flesh. Tubes short (1.5-5 mm), sulphur-yellow. Pores very small (3-5 per mm), at first sulphur-yellow, later ochre-yellow. Isolates with white pores have also been described.

Stem

No stem; the fruiting body grows directly from the trunk or branch of the tree.

Flesh

White to cream-yellow; in young fruiting bodies soft and juicy (according to some descriptions it exudes a yellowish, transparent juice), in older ones dry, brittle and hard. Smell mushroomy. Taste pleasant, slightly sour; raw fruiting bodies should not be tasted, because they are poisonous.

Spore print and spores

Spore print pale yellow, quickly fading to white (some descriptions give white). Spores colourless, smooth, ovoid, oval or teardrop-shaped, with a sharply pointed base and droplets inside; dimensions 5-6.5 × 3.5-4.5 µm.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. A tree-dwelling fungus causing brown cubical rot of wood, first of the heartwood, then of the sapwood. According to some descriptions it is a dangerous parasite, attacking healthy trees as well and leading to their death within several years; according to others a saprotroph and occasionally a weak parasite. Mainly broadleaved trees: oaks, birches, willows, fruit trees, also poplars, black locusts and beeches; on conifers very rarely. In the Mediterranean region on carob (Ceratonia) and eucalyptus.

Distribution. A cosmopolitan species, on all continents except Antarctica; most numerous in the Northern Hemisphere. Common in Poland, more often in parks, along roads, in orchards and gardens than in forests. Not legally protected.

Fruiting. Fruiting bodies annual; from April to October, mainly in spring; according to some descriptions in Europe from April to November.

What can it be confused with?

• Laetiporus persicinus — Mentioned as a species with which it may be confused; detailed differences - no data.
• Laetiporus huroniensis, L. gilbertsonii — Adverse reactions (vomiting, fever) are linked to confusion with these species; L. huroniensis grows on eastern hemlock, L. gilbertsonii on eucalyptus. North American species.
• Grifola frondosa (hen of the woods) — Mentioned mainly because of the similar English name (hen vs. chicken of the woods); the appearance is different: grey-brown, bushy caps with white pores.

Never rely on a single feature. If you are not sure — do not pick it; show the mushroom to a qualified mushroom expert.

Interesting facts

• The genus name Laetiporus means "with bright pores", and sulphureus means "sulphur-coloured".
• A specimen weighing 45 kg was found in the New Forest (England) on 15 October 1990 and recognised as a Guinness record.
• The taste of young fruiting bodies is compared to chicken, hence the English name "chicken of the woods", and also to crab or lobster.
• The fruiting bodies are eaten by some species of deer.