JimDiGriz Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 Hello everyone! I'm looking for a final confirmation that what I'm looking at is indeed chicken of the woods (laetiporus sulphureus). This was the firs time I actually found one. I barely noticed a bunch of bright yellow blobs growing on the base of the cherry tree. My first thought was chicken of the woods, knowing it basically has no lookalikes that are this yellow. But on further inspection I was a bit confused because I expected fan like shelves, not blobs. My confusion grew once I poked the "blobs" with my finger and noticed it's not spongy and leather like, but really like wet bread and full of transparent liquid. Later I read in the book this is exactly how young specimens are. And cherry tree is noted as a common host along side oak, beech and willow. I took these pictures in this stage on 22.05: Now I returned at the place on 06.06. and to my surprise, the few blobs really took off big time! bunch of shelves on top of each other, everything really fanned wide. Not really that yellow anymore but still enough for me to be reasonably sure it's chicken of the woods. The feel to it now is really what I expected in the first place, spongy and brittle. I'm not really sure if it's a good edible at this stage, but I don't think I would have trouble chewing it after cooking. Unfortunately, it was really low to the ground so it got tangled in with the grass and dirt. Also, bunch of beetles are boring the cherry wood around it so it's also full of the wood chips on top.. Spore print is white: I'm basically just looking for a confirmation and maybe a thought or two about edibility at this stage. Also, I keep reading about some people not having a good stomach reaction to chicken of the woods, but I can't seem to find a proper explanation is it really inability to process it or is the problem because people sometimes confuse it with another lookalike that grows on eucalyptus. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svs Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 Yes, it is chicken, good edible as shown on first couple picks, not so much couple weeks later. Check the same spot same time next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimDiGriz Posted June 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 ok got it, I hope the tree will still stand there the next year. Maybe it'll grow again this autumn.. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svs Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 May be, from my experience there are more chicken around during fall but I can't pinpoint for sure if late are growing from the same spots as early ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 8, 2022 Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 Laetiporus will sometimes fruit from the same tree during the same year. Timing is difficult to predict. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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