Laetiporus sulphureus: The Chicken of the Woods

[ Basidiomycetes > Polyporales > Polyporaceae > Laetiporus . . . ]

by Michael Kuo

Often called the "chicken of the woods," Laetiporus sulphureus is easily recognized by its colors, soft texture, and absence of gills. Recent mycological "splitting" has resulted in an array of species spanning North America, nearly all of which formerly "passed" as Laetiporus sulphureus. See the comments below for some of the details.

Description:

Ecology: Parasitic and saprobic; growing alone or, more typically, in large clusters on decaying logs and stumps of hardwoods and conifers; summer and fall, rarely in winter and spring; widely distributed as a species cluster, but the "true" Laetiporus sulphureus may be limited to areas east of the Rocky Mountains (see below). Laetiporus sulphurues causes a reddish brown cubical heart rot, with thin areas of white mycelium visible in the cracks of the wood. The mushrooms do not appear until well after the fungus has attacked the tree; by the time the chickens appear, they are definitely coming home to roost, as far as the tree's health is concerned.

Fruiting Body: 5-60 cm broad, up to 4 cm thick; fan-shaped to obtusely semicircular; smooth to gently wrinkled; suedelike; bright yellow to bright orange when young, frequently fading in maturity and with direct sunlight.

Pores: Tightly packed and nearly invisible when young; sulfur yellow; sometimes bruising darker.

Flesh: Thick; soft and watery when young, becoming tough, eventually crumbling away; white to pale yellow.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5-7 x 3.5-5 µ; smooth; broadly elliptical to round.

REFERENCES: Murrill, 1904. (Smith, 1949; Overholtz, 1953; Arora, 1986; Gilbertson & Ryvarden, 1986; Phillips, 1991/2005; Lincoff, 1992; Burdsall & Banik, 2001; Roody, 2003.) Herb. Kuo 06019501, 09250101.

Laetiporus cincinnatus is a similar species, found east of the Rockies, with a white pore surface. It grows from the roots of hardwoods (mainly oaks), at the butt of the trunk or terrestrially, away from the tree.

Laetiporus gilbertsonii grows in coastal western North America, from Oregon to Baja California, on oaks and Eucalyptus. The type collection for the species was made in Golden Gate Park, on Eucalyptus. It is morphologically indistinguishable from Laetiporus sulphureus, but the two species will not "mate" in culture, making them biologically distinct. It can be found growing on dead wood and on living trees.

Laetiporus conifericola, illustrated to the right, grows on living and dead conifer wood in western North America. Though morphologically indistinguishable, it is easily separated from other species of Laetiporus by its range and host wood. It has (very) slightly larger spores (6-8 x 4-5 µ). It, too, is a biological species--but it will mate, about 15 percent of the time, with a conifer-loving chicken from the Great Lakes area, Laetiporus huroniensis (which is much more often than I would).

Further Online Information:

Laetiporus sulphureus at Roger's Mushrooms
Laetiporus sulphureus at Tree Diseases of BC
Laetiporus sulphureus at Fungi of Poland

See the description of this species to the left.

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2005, March). Laetiporus sulphureus: The chicken of the woods. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/laetiporus_sulphureus.html