| Ecology & Habitat | Parasitic, and Saprotrophic. Clustered (arising from a common base) Deciduous forests, often near the base of trees. Oak trees specificially. |
| Edibility, Taste & Odor | Choice Edible |
| Cap | The cap is brown, or brownish-gray with a velvety texture and bruises yellow-brown |
| Pores | White to cream, bruising brown |
Grifola frondosa, also known as the hen-of-the-woods mushroom is highly valued for its delicious taste and numerous health benefits. It grows in large rosettes consisting of many individual fan shaped caps. The caps are grayish-brown in color and has a smooth or velvety texture, while the lighter colored underside is covered with tiny pores. A stem not really distinguishable on this mushroom, although it does have a cental base or attachment point from which the fans radiate upward and outward from giving it a rosette shape. The inner flesh is white, and is increasingly firm towards the base. A common look-alike of Grifola frondosa would be Meripilus sumstinei (Black Staining Polypore) and Bondarzewia berkeleyi (Berkleys Polypore). However, Grifola frondosa can be easily distinguished by its many fan-shaped caps on the fruiting body, and distinctive grayish-brown color. The look-alikes have fewer, larger, more uniform caps. This is one of my favorite edibles because a single mushroom can get quite large. Finding only one and preserving it by dehydration or freezing can make many meals.
