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Chicken of the woods

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Chicken of the woods is a sulphur-yellow bracket fungus of trees in woods, parks and gardens. It can often be found in tiered clusters on oak, but also likes beech, chestnut, cherry and even yew.

Scientific name

Laetiporus sulphureus

When to see

June to November

Top facts

Stats

Cap diameter: 10-40cm
Common.

About

The chicken of the woods is an easy-to-spot bracket fungus due to its distinctive sulphur-yellow colour; in fact, it is also called the 'Sulphur polypore'. It grows high up on the trunks of standing deciduous trees, such as oak. Fungi belong to their own kingdom and get their nutrients and energy from organic matter, rather than photosynthesis like plants. It is often just the fruiting bodies, or 'mushrooms', that are visible to us, arising from an unseen network of tiny filaments called 'hyphae'. These fruiting bodies produce spores for reproduction, although fungi can also reproduce asexually by fragmentation.

What to look for

The chicken of the woods is a bright sulphur-yellow fungus comprising several thick, overlapping brackets. The individual brackets are soft and spongy when young and exude a yellow liquid if squeezed. They are fan-shaped with an undulating margin. The upper surface is velvety and yellow-orange with a zoned margin, while the underside is yellow and covered with pores.

Where to find

Widespread.

Did you know?

The chicken of the woods gets its name from the texture of its flesh, which is said to resemble cooked chicken.