Laetiporus cincinnatus

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

by Michael Kuo

Recent DNA studies and "mating analyses" have separated several species of Laetiporus from the "true" Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus. One recently published eastern North American species is Laetiporus cincinnatus, which is apparently genetically different, and which cannot "mate" with Laetiporus sulphureus (loosely speaking, "mating" is determined when the cells of two fungal organisms will fuse together in culture).

Laetiporus cincinnatus has a white, rather than yellow, pore surface. Like Laetiporus sulphureus, it prefers hardwoods, especially oak, and is found east of the Rocky Mountains (though not too far east of them, as is evidenced by contributor Ronald Meyers's photo, top right, of the species in Kansas). Laetiporus cincinnatus fruits from the roots of trees (thus often appearing terrestrial), which helps to separate it from Laetiporus sulphureus, which typically fruits on logs or well above the ground on stumps and trees.

Laetiporus cincinnatus is every bit as edible as Laetiporus sulphureus--in fact, Tom Volk believes Laeticporus cincinnatus is better than the "true" Chicken of the Woods, and argues that Laeticporus cincinnatus specimens are often nearly entirely soft and palatable, while Laetiporus sulphureus specimens may be tough except at their extreme outer edges (see link below). However, the various species in the Chicken of the Woods cluster should always be thoroughly cooked; there are adverse reports from people who have eaten raw specimens.

Description:

Ecology: Parasitic and saprobic; growing from the roots of hardwoods (nearly exclusively oak) near the bases of trees, thus sometimes appearing terrestrial; in clusters of rosettes; summer and fall, rarely in winter and spring; east of the Rocky Mountains.

Fruiting Body: 5-60 cm broad, up to 4 cm thick; fan-shaped to obtusely semicircular; smooth to wrinkled; suedelike; bright to pale orange, often with vague concentric bands of alternating shades of color; frequently fading in maturity and with direct sunlight.

Pore Surface: Tightly packed and nearly invisible when young; white.

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

Spore Print: White.

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

REFERENCES: (Morgan) Burdsall, Banik & Volk, 1998. (Overholts, 1953; Banik, Burdsall & Volk, "Identification of groups within Laetiporus sulphureus in the United States based on RFLP anlysis of the nuclear ribosomal DNA," Folia Cryptogamica Estonia 33: 9-14; Volk, 2001; Roody, 2003.)

Laetiporus sulphureus var. semialbinus Peck is a synonym; Laetiporus sulphureus var. cincinnatus (Morgan) Overholts is a former name.

Further Online Information:

Laetiporus cincinnatus at Tom Volk's Fungi

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Cite this page as:

Kuo, M. (2005, March). Laetiporus cincinnatus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/laetiporus_cincinnatus.html