Here I am posting my first Fungi Friday photos!! I must warn you that I am not a specialist in Fungi identification, but I am a mushroom lover who found an ally in iNaturalist to get some species identifications ;) I get always pleased when I find some mushrooms in my field walks, but now I can photograph and ask the app for identification which may be validated by other iNat users and I get thrilled with that!!
Laetiporus sulphureus - Chicken of the woods
I found this "Chicken of the woods on the past 27th July 2022 at Mata Nacional do Bussaco (Luso - Portugal).
It is a thick, fleshy bracket fungus, with a smooth, hairy appearance ranging from sulfur yellow (hence its specific epithet sulphureus) to dark orange.
| Family | Scientific name | Common names | Fruiting season | Habitat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polyporaceae | Laetiporus sulphureus | chicken of the woods, chicken mushroom, sulphur shelf, sulphur polypore | late spring to autumn | tree trunks in broadleaf woodland |
It is undoubtedly a very showy and interesting fungus
This fungus is a hardwood parasite and becomes saprobic on dead trees, mainly on oak trees. Laetiporus sulphureus may be found across Europe and North America and is characterized by growing in overlapping, shelving clusters.
If the upper surface is velvety, the underneath has a spongy structure consisting of tubes and micropores, through which the spores are expelled by gravity.
As you may have realized due to its common name (chicken of the woods), this fungus is edible and much appreciated in Germany and North America. Some say only young specimens are edible, while older portions tend to be tough, unpalatable, and bug-infested, and thus should not be colected. Also, this mushroom should not be eaten raw.
The young mushrooms have bright yellows and oranges colors; in age they acquire whitish colors.
Chicken of the woods supports wildlife as some specialist beetles feed on its brackets, such as Pseudotriphyllus suturalis. Sometimes it is also eaten by deer. Although Chicken of the woods consumption has a beneficial effect on human health, it is crucial to assure its correct identification because it can be confused with other toxic species.
This post is my contribution to #FungiFriday by @ewkaw :)
Sources: - Chicken of the woods. Woodland trust - Eating the Chicken of the Woods - Beetles on Laetiporus fungus - Will the sulphur polypore (laetiporus sulphureus) become a new functional food? - Que espécie é esta: galinha-do-bosque