Tag Archives: Chicken-of-the-woods

The Sulphur polypore

02 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by in fungi, trees

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This lovely old Oak tree was a victim of a storm back in the spring. As it’s in a corner of a local nature reserve, it’s been left for the fungi and insects to enjoy and, eventually, break down. And, when I walked that way on Tuesday, I noticed the fungi have been busy. This is Chicken-of-the-woods (Laetiporus sulphureus), normally a bright sulphur yellow, hence its alternate name of Sulphur polypore, but well past its best now and looking quite woody. To see a younger version of this fungus, check out my previous post on the topic, Chicken-of-the-woods, September 2021.

220902 chicken of the woods

Chicken-of-the-woods

10 Friday Sep 2021

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This glorious cascade of brackets was a delightful surprise during a recent woodland meander.

This is the wonderfully named Chicken-of-the-woods (Laetiporus sulphurous), which apparently tastes like chicken, hence the name. However, as Pat O’Reilly writes in Fascinated by Fungi: ‘Young caps taste rather like chicken; old ones taste more like the wood!’ and ‘Never eat Chicken of the Woods gathered from Yews’ because, of course, almost every part of the Yew is poisonous.

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I’ve only seen these bright yellow-and-orange brackets growing on Oak, though they can also be found on Beech and Sweet chestnut as well as Yew. They are large, growing up to 40cm across, with a velvety upper surface and pores below.