Laetiporus sulphureus (Fr.) Murrill

Common name: Chicken of the Woods. This fungus has no common name in Australia but it is frequently given this name in England because of its intense orange-yellow colour and clustered habit.

Description: Laetiporus sulphureus forms enormous, rosette-like clusters of concentric and/or overlapping caps or brackets which can be up to 50 cm wide; individual caps or brackets are usually 230 cm wide. The upper surface is usually more or less smooth to velvety, but raised in ridges or rough areas. The overall colour is bright yellow to orange and is often zoned over the surface of the cap or bracket. The pore surface is yellow, and the context is soft and fleshy, white or yellow-tinted and usually quite brittle and easily broken.

The spores measure 57.5 × 34.5 µm and are broadly ellipsoidal, smooth,colourless under the microscope and white in mass.

Substratum: The fungus occurs in subtropical rainforests on fallen logs that are perhaps 23 years old. It is particularly spectacular and cannot be mistaken for any other species.

Distribution: Known from Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. While not yet recorded from Victoria, it probably does occur in that State.

Notes: Laetiporus sulphureus is considered a delicacy in parts of North America and Europe. However, it is also known to cause allergic reactions in some people, and overseas reports suggest that it should be eaten with caution. The part eaten is the cap edge which is trimmed off and then prepared in various ways. There are no reports of this fungus being used as food in Australia.