Chicken of the Woods Fungus

2023 November 26

Another thing that Sam and I found while walking in the woods on September 10, 2023 was this enormous fungus growing on a dead tree stump. Here’s another picture of it, with Sam included for scale:

I am pretty sure that this is “Chicken of the Woods”, Laetiporus_sulphureus. That particular shape and coloration, plus the sheer size, is pretty distinctive.

I have actually posted pictures of this fungus species before, when one of my co-workers brought one into the office to identify back in 2015. This is one of the edible fungus species, but as we found out that previous time, they get kind of woody and unappealing when they get old. It looks like they normally fruit in late July or early August, which means that when you find them in August or September it is probably too late. The best way to harvest these is probably to find them in late August or early September when they are very obvious, and then mark the location with the GPS on your phone. Then, go back around mid-July and try to catch them just as they are starting to fruit.

3 Responses
  1. Darin Wiseman permalink
    December 11, 2023

    Just fyi, I have found Fresh Laetiporous sulphureus (Chicken of the Woods) in and around Mansfield, ohio in every month of the year except March. Those above actually look quite pristine towards the front of each frond. I actually look harder during the frozen months of winter because these fruitings have inherently wayyy less bugs to contend with. This is a prize haul.

  2. December 15, 2023

    That top photo is absolutely gorgeous. I love the contrasts. and sharp distinctions of color!

  3. January 15, 2024

    Thanks, KT. Considering that I took these pictures with my cellphone camera, it came out pretty nice.

Comments are closed.