CHICKEN OF THE WOODS : Laetiporus sulphureus
The Mushroom Appreciation website tells us that one 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 many parts of the world?
Explore West Dunbartonshire does not recommend eating or even handling any plant, fungis etc without expert advice. Many wild food need proper preparation and even before that certain identification. Also see index.asp?pageid=732037
Wikipedia tells us that Laetiporus is a genus of edible mushrooms found throughout much of the world. Some species, especially Laetiporus sulphureus, are commonly known as sulphur shelf, chicken of the woods, the chicken mushroom, or the chicken fungus because it is often described as tasting like and having a texture similar to that of chicken meat.
Individual "shelves" range from 5 to 25 centimetres (2 to 10 inches) across. These shelves are made up of many tiny tubular filaments (hyphae). The mushroom grows in large brackets; some have been found that weigh over 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
For more details refer to the links below.
A large Chicken-of-the Woods fungus appeared on a fallen log in Fishers Wood in mid May 2023. There was a smaller one nearby on the same log.
A week later this cluster appears elsewhere in these small woods - presumably from spores from the first.
A great display on a single tree in Fishers Wood near the upper Leven.
It is mid-summer in 2025 and the heat is on. It has been in the 30s. Yet we see this cluster exhuberant. Very large fronds, some larger than an adults outstretched hand throng this tree stump, defying misconceptions about fungi requiring cold damp weather. This is the same tree stump as in the photo above. The fungi recede for ages, but the spores remain viable and regrow. The woods here right against the towpath are shady and a little damper, but at this time there had been clear skies for a few days, a light rain preceeding some before that.
MUSHROOM APPRECIATION website : https://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/chicken-of-the-woods.html
WIKIPEDIA : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetiporus
