Wood cauliflower

Description

The wood cauliflower forms a large, curly fruiting body 10–50 cm across, resembling a clump of folded leaves or waves. When young it is white, later straw-yellow; the outer parts are thickly wavy and often coloured in zones. The flesh is white, odourless, with a mild taste.

It grows from August to October on the roots of trees, mainly beeches and oaks, but also firs, larches and spruces. In Poland it is rare and threatened.

It is similar to the cauliflower fungus (Sparassis crispa), from which it is often paler and has more widely spread lobes. The species is partially protected, so before collecting you must check the regulations in force; if in doubt, it is better to leave it in the forest.

Identification features

Cap

No typical cap; the fruiting body is branched, curly, 10–50 cm across, made of thick, leaf-like-wavy to fan-shaped elements, fairly erect outwards. White when young, later straw-yellow; the surfaces of the lobes are often coloured in zones.

Hymenophore (underside of the cap)

No data.

Stem

No data; the name “brevipes” (short-stemmed) suggests a short base from which the fruiting body grows. The fruiting bodies grow from a hard, compact mycelium.

Flesh

White, odourless, with a mild taste.

Spore print and spores

Spores measure 4.5–6 × 3.5–4.5 µm. Spore print colour: no data.

Habitat and distribution

Ecology. A tree-dwelling fungus, growing on the roots of beeches, oaks, firs, larches and spruces. The fruiting bodies grow from a hard, compact mycelium.

Distribution. Rare in Poland; on the Red List of Plants and Fungi of Poland with the status V (vulnerable). In the scientific literature, 45 sites had been reported by 2020. In 1995–2014 under strict protection, since 2014 under partial protection (Dz.U. 2014 item 1408). It is also on the lists of threatened species in Germany, England and Norway.

Fruiting. From August to October.

What can it be confused with?

• Sparassis crispa (cauliflower fungus) — Similar in colour and size, but the wood cauliflower is paler and has more widely bent, more spread-out leaf-like ends of the branches.

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

• In 1995–2014 it was under strict protection in Poland, and since 2014 it has been partially protected.
• The fir wood cauliflower (Sparassis nemecii), which grows under firs, was formerly regarded as a separate species; it is now a synonym of the wood cauliflower.
• By 2020 only 45 sites of this species in Poland had been reported in the scientific literature.