Can anyone ID this fungus?

17 years ago

Ummm...Yeah.I found this mushroom near my road,and I have no idea what it is.It's long dead by now,but...

{{gwi:2110902}}

Can anyone figure out what it is?

P.S. Sorry if it's too big;Photobucket confuses me.

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Comments (3)

indigosun
17 years ago
In what region do you live? When during the year was the photo taken? How big was the fungus? What type of tree was this on? Tree alive or dead? I have a few types I think it might be, so whatever info you have would be great.
indigosun
17 years ago
As best as I can figure out, this is a Chicken Mushroom (Laetiporus sulphureus), also known as the Sulfur Shelf. Here's a description:

Single to overlapping clusters of fleshy, smooth, orange-red to orange-yellow caps with sulfur-yellow spores.
Cap: 2-12" wide; usually overlapping, flat, semicircular to fan-shaped; salmon to sulfur-yellow or bright orange, weathering to white; smooth. Flesh 0.4-2 cm thick, white, light yellow, or pale salmon.
Edibility: Choice
Season: May-November
Habitat: On stumps, trunks, and logs of deciduous and coniferous trees and buried roots.
Range: E. Canada to Florida; Midwest; Pacific NW to California.
Comments: Also called the "Sulfur Shelf" and Polyporus sulphureus. This popular mushroom can grow in large overlapping clusters of 5 to 50 or more, with shelves weighing up to a pound each, or in rosettes 10-30" wide. A choice edible, it tastes like chicken. It becomes somewhat indigestible as it ages and, in some, causes an allergic reaction, such as swollen lips. Specimens from a few tree hosts, such as eucalyptus, can cause digestive upset. A variety, semialbinus, has a salmon-colored cap and white spores.

*****WARNING*****

This is my best guess. DO NOT TAKE THIS AS A CONFIRMATION. DO NOT EAT THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE AN EXPERT LOOK IT OVER. THIS IS ALL BASED OFF OF A PHOTO, WHICH IS NOTORIOUS FOR BEING WRONG.

That said, I think it's a chicken mushroom, but you should have someone who can look at it personally (if and when it returns), to verify. If it is, then cut that summbich off, fry 'er up, and dig in!
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There is a little mushroom extremely common to the typical potting medium called Leucocoprinus bimbaumii. Associated with this harmless fungi is a network of underground mycelium and hyphae, the webby and grainy looking part of the mushroom body that does most of the work....feeding and decomposing. Neither a mycologist nor a microscope required for this identification. ;-) It's very common. Within the confines of a container, the always growing mycelium/hyphae network are found where there is oxygen....at the bottom near the drainage hole and even outside the container, especially if made of a porous material like terra cotta. The mycelium balls are often seen at the surface of the potting soil, too. Saprophytic fungus of most varieties have networks of underground mycelium but they are out of sight therefore out of mind. In our container plants, we get to observe the phenomenon closely. Leucocoprinus is the only fungus that I know of that has the bright yellow hyphae and mycelium. For other species, it's usually white or tan. It's also the only mushroom so common to peat based potting mixes. If you Google yellow houseplant mushroom, you will see what the fruiting bodies of this fuzzy stuff look like. Now, to the question of whether it's benecial or not! Outside in native soil, saprophytic fungi are typically beneficial, even essential. But in a container, not so much. These fungi are decomposers! The organic matter particles in your potting mix are what it's breaking down into what will eventually be washed out of the drainage hole. A nice course mix can become sludgy pretty quickly. If this were my plant, I'd be repotting in the spring with a brand new coarse textured medium. Commercial potting mixes come contaminated with the spores of this mushroom, by the way. It's a tropical species.
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mdvaden_of_oregon
16 years ago
That Sulfur Shelf suggested sounds just about right.

I've just started to become familiar with a few of many, the past several years.

Slowly filling in the captions ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Oregon Mushroom Photos

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Can anyone ID this fungus?

Comments (3)

indigosun

indigosun

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