Hen of the Woods
(Grifola frondosa)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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| IUCN Red List | not listed |
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| NatureServe | not listed |
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| Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Description |
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Hen of the Woods easily recognized stalked polypore is common in eastern North America. The numerous, overlapping, smoky-brown caps are reminiscent of a fluffed-up chicken, giving this mushroom its common name. It is found in deciduous woodlands, especially woodland edges. It usually occurs at the base of a dead or dying tree or stump, especially oak. Sometimes it is found apparently on the ground but growing on submerged, rotting roots. It is both saprobic, on dead and rotting wood, and parasitic, on a living tree. It causes butt rot in the heartwood and sapwood of its host. When on a living tree it exploits a wound already created by another organism, rarely being the primary source of infection. It appears in summer and fall as a large cluster of rosettes of numerous small, overlapping, fan-shaped caps rising from a single base. The base is fleshy but tough and repeatedly branched, with each branch ending in a cap. The clusters are usually 6″ to 16″ in diameter and weigh 5 to 10 pounds, though they can get up to 40″ in diameter and weigh more than 100 pounds. Each cap is ¾″ to 4″ in diameter, flattened, and spoon-, tongue-, or fan-shaped. It is usually attached to the stalk branch laterally, at the side, sometimes off center but near the side. The upper surface is dark grayish-brown at first, becoming paler and lighter gray with age. It may be smooth, rough, or velvety-hairy. The margins are often wavy. The flesh is firm and white. The underside (pore surface) is white or yellowish. The spore print is white. Tender young caps are edible after long, slow cooking. The taste is mild. |
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Similar Species |
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| Grifola umbellata caps are larger and lighter in color. They are attached near the center, not at or near the side. It is much less common. | ||
Habitat and Hosts |
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Deciduous woodlands, especially woodland edges, on hardwoods, especially oak. |
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Ecology |
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Season |
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Summer and fall |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 10/8/2021 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Widely distributed and common in eastern North America |
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Taxonomy |
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| Kingdom | Fungi (fungi) | ||
| Subkingdom | Dikarya | ||
| Phylum | Basidiomycota (club fungi) | ||
| Subphylum | Agaricomycotina (jelly fungi, yeasts, and mushrooms) | ||
| Class | Agaricomycetes (mushrooms, bracket fungi, puffballs, and allies) | ||
| Subclass | Agaricomycetidae | ||
| Order | Polyporales (shelf fungi) | ||
| Family | Grifolaceae | ||
| Genus | Grifola | ||
The genus Grifola is placed by some in the family Meripilaceae, by others in the family Grifolaceae. |
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Synonyms |
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Agaricus frondosus Boletus frondosus Polyporus frondosus |
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Common Names |
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Dancing Butterfly Mushroom Hen of the Woods Maitake Sheep’s Head |
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Glossary
Parasitic
Obtaining nutrients from another living organism.
Saprobic
A term often used for saprotrophic fungi. Referring to fungi that obtain their nutrients from decayed organic matter.
Visitor Photos |
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Alli Gao |
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Hen-in-the-woods? |
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Bill Vose |
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Is this hen of woods popped up over the week in my yard about 20 feet from an old white oak? |
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rlaz84 |
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Cannon Valley Foraging |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this fungus. |
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Other Videos |
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| Hen Of The Woods (Maitake, Sheep's Head) Mushroom Identification & Health Benefits with Adam Haritan Learn Your Land |
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About
Published on Oct 6, 2015 Maitake (Grifola frondosa, hen of the woods, sheep's head) is a choice edible and medicinal mushroom that can be found during the autumn months. In this video, Adam Haritan discusses identification, look-alikes, medicinal benefits, and more! www.learnyourland.com is an online community and database of naturalists, foraging events, wildflower hikes, mushroom forays, bird walks, and more. Check it out! |
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| Mushroom Hunting Maitake Grifola Frondosa Hen of the woods thethangswedo1 |
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About
Published on Jan 2, 2013 These maitakes were harvested in october of 2012, last year was the biggest amount of these mushrooms that I harvested with the amount over 25 lbs. I have froze them after cleaning them along with dehydrating them and put them back for food storage. So next october get out there and find some of these nice blooms. Mushroom hunting is a big part of our activities that we do and is a big part of wilderness survival. I have put together a collection of photos and video to share with you from all of our findings and havesting. This video is just one part of a series that I'm going to do of all the mushrooms that I have collected through out the last few years. Enjoy this collection and look for part 2 "Morels" coming soon! Mushrooms are very good for you. i dont listen to mushroomhead. This is about mushroom hunting. I have made mushroom soup before. The smurfs have a mushroom house. Dryads are fictional creatures. What are dryads bells. I like dryads and trolls. i do like wild mushrooms hunting. I do go wild mushroom picking. I do like wild mushroom soup. I have made wild mushroom sauce. We do some mushroom hunting while we are out camping hiking and fishing. |
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| Hen of the Woods Mushrooms 330 MaNiaC |
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About
Published on Nov 16, 2014 A video of me hunting Hen of the woods mushrooms in central minnesota and I stumble across 3 prime ones at the base of a dead oak tree. Followed by some pictures of a few other ones I found this year with different color variations. |
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| Maitake - Sheepshead - Hen of the Woods - Cooking Mushroom Leatherwoodoutdoors2 |
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About
Published on Oct 18, 2013 Maitake, Sheeps Head, Hen of the Woods, Rams Head Mushroom. John Royer finds a couple nice Maitake by some white oaks and talks about this delicious mushroom. Later John shows how to pick, clean and prepare, cook and eat this mushroom. Grifola Frondosa |
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| Hen of the woods wild mushroom harvest Greg Seitz |
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About
Published on Oct 18, 2015 Here's a clip of us harvesting a Hen of The Woods wild mushroom in s.e. PA on October 17, 2015. This mushroom is one of the easiest ID , but don't eat any wild mushroom unless you are 100% sure of what you find. |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Report a sighting of this fungus. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
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| Alli Gao 10/4/2021 |
Location: Rosland Park, Hennepin County, Edina MN Hen-in-the-woods? |
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| Hen of The Woods 9/8/2019 |
Location: Becker County near Ottertail county line. Growing below a dead oak tree on hill in backyard. |
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| Scott Johnson 9/4/2018 |
Location: Forest Lake MN At the base of an Oak tree |
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| rlaz84 9/30/2016 |
Location: Twin Cities, MN |
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| Cannon Valley Foraging 5/13/2016 |
Location: Afton, MN |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 5/15/2016
Last Updated: