Fistulina hepatica

[ Basidiomycetes > Agaricales > Fistulinaceae > Fistulina . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Sometimes called the "Beefsteak Polypore" or the "Ox Tongue," this fungus is virtually unmistakable. It looks like a slab of red meat clinging to a stump or a tree. Its flesh is soft and streaked-looking, and when the mushroom is fresh it exudes a blood-like juice when squeezed.

Species in the genus Fistulina have clearly separated tubes, packed tightly together (see the illustration on the page for Fistulina radicata for an example). Though the mushrooms have been often treated as polypores, recent DNA research has placed Fistulina within the "Schizophylloid Clade," near Schizophyllum commune.

Fistulina hepatica is a popular edible, but its sour taste is disagreeable to some. I have not tried it.

Description:

Ecology: Saprobic and sometimes parasitic on the wood of hardwoods (especially oaks and chestnut), growing alone or in small groups near the bases of trees and on stumps; summer and fall; eastern North America, Texas, and California.

Cap: Up to 30 cm across; irregular in shape but often fan-shaped or tongue-like; sometimes with multiple caps; surface finely bumpy, velvety, or fairly smooth; the margin lobed; red, reddish orange, or liver colored.

Pore Surface: Whitish or pale pinkish, becoming reddish brown in age; bruising reddish brown; tubes distinctly separated (use a hand lens), to 1.5 cm long.

Stem: Absent or rudimentary and lateral; colored like the cap; firm.

Flesh: Whitish, streaked with reddish areas; thick; soft; watery; exuding a reddish juice when squeezed.

Taste: Sour or acidic.

Spore Print: Pinkish to pinkish brown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 3.5-6 x 2.5-4 µ; smooth; elliptical.

REFERENCES: (Schaeffer) Fries, 1821. (Atkinson, 1901; Smith, Smith & Weber, 1981; Gilbertson & Ryvarden, 1986; Arora, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Roody, 2003.)

Further Online Information:

Fistulina hepatica at Roger's Mushrooms
Fistulina hepatica at Fungi of Poland

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2004, July). Fistulina hepatica. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/fistulina_hepatica.html