# What kind of fungus is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782 "2020-08-22T23:33:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/1 "2020-08-22T23:33:08Z")
Out for a hike in the forest and saw this. I don’t think it’s Artist Bracket or Chicken of the Woods but I can’t tell for sure. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50256913332_d8f9c2a98b_b.jpg "Fungus") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/56821557@N06/50256913332/in/dateposted-public/) We also saw this and thought it was some type of neat fungus but apparently its name is Dog Vomit Slime Mold 🤣 [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50256913222_e421f490bb_b.jpg "Dog vomit slime mold") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/56821557@N06/50256913222/in/dateposted-public/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/2 "2020-08-23T08:17:39Z")
It’s definitely NOT chicken of the woods. Can’t really tell what kind of tree it’s on because of the moss - the fungus looks like Birch Polypore to me ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/3 "2020-08-23T15:30:52Z")
What are all the drips underneath? They were a little bit thicker than water. I’m discovering that there are so many bracket-like fungi. I live in a rain forest in the Pacific Northwest and I see new mushrooms and fungi every time I go for a hike. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/4 "2020-08-23T19:50:58Z")
I don’t know exactly, but it seems that the Birch Polypore exudes ‘sweat’ drops under some circumstances [https://www.reddit.com/r/mycology/comments/bau29z/this\_sweating\_birch\_polypore/](https://www.reddit.com/r/mycology/comments/bau29z/this_sweating_birch_polypore/) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/5 "2020-08-23T21:08:42Z")
Yeah, that looks like a dead ringer for the fungus in the OP, though in that thread it is identified likely to be [Fomitopsis pinicola - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis_pinicola). ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/6 "2020-08-24T06:04:53Z")
Yeah that’s it alright! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/7 "2020-08-24T12:10:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, that looks like a dead ringer for the fungus in the OP, though in that thread it is identified likely to be [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis\_pinicola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fomitopsis_pinicola). I don’t think that ID on Reddit is correct Edit: actually, no, scratch that. I just googled younger specimens of Fomitopsis pinicola and I agree ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/8 "2020-08-24T12:14:31Z")
I’ve never seen a colored fungus before. What give it that distinct yellow color? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/9 "2020-08-24T13:33:36Z")
I don’t know what causes that particular pigmentation, but there are a good number of colorful fungi out there. Of the common ones you are likely to encounter at a mid- to upscale grocery store are chanterelles, which get quite a nice yellow/amber color to them, sometimes edging towards orange. Even chicken of the woods, depending on its age, can get quite orange-y. Like so: [![](https://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Laetiporus_sulphureus_JPG01.jpg) ](https://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Laetiporus_sulphureus_JPG01.jpg) And then you have mushrooms like this one (do not eat, though it is known to have intoxicating/psychoactive properties), probably the most recognizable toadstool: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg/1280px-2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg/1280px-2006-10-25_Amanita_muscaria_crop.jpg) or this: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Entoloma_hochstetteri.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Entoloma_hochstetteri.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/10 "2020-08-24T15:24:31Z")
Those are gorgeous! I have a bunch of Chicken of the Woods that I’m going to harvest in the fall. I read that you take it in either the spring or fall (please correct me if I’m wrong). And, don’t worry, I’ll post a picture of it before I eat it so I don’t kill myself! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/11 "2020-08-25T15:24:56Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s definitely NOT chicken of the woods. I second this. We eat a lot of chicken of the woods, and that is not cotw. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/12 "2020-08-25T19:50:16Z")
I was so excited to try chicken of the woods for the first time a couple of years back - the texture of a middle-aged specimen is so absurdly chicken like that it’s almost unreal, but the mushroom itself was not especially tasty. Younger specimens are more like eating paneer or tofu, but again, not really much on flavour. I think I will stick to ceps, chanterelles and oyster mushrooms ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/13 "2020-08-25T21:30:46Z")
I watched your chicken of the woods video and then I went out looking for some. I see them fairly frequently. What time of the year is best to harvest them? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/14 "2020-08-26T16:43:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think I will stick to ceps, chanterelles and oyster mushrooms I’ve grown oyster mushrooms a few times and it is amazing the yield you can get. I started out with a syringe of [spores available online](http://sporeworks.com/Pleurotus-columbinus-Blue-Oyster-Mushroom-Culture-Syringe.html). I sterilized a growing medium in canning jars and inoculated it. Once I had mycelium filling the jar, I used that to inoculate straw that I layered in a laundry basket. I placed the basket in a shady humid location under a rhododendron. The weather cooperated and a few weeks later there were mushrooms springing out of every hole in the basket! I harvested _hundreds_ of mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/15 "2020-08-28T07:08:10Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > I watched your chicken of the woods video and then I went out looking for some. I see them fairly frequently. What time of the year is best to harvest them? Unlike most other fungi, they really seem to keep their own schedule - I think you’ll find that any particular specimen will tend to appear again about a year after you first find it on that tree, but in the first video, it was late summer/early autumn, but the more recent one was late spring. Probably not so much in winter, but any time it is warm, and not a drought, they may appear. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/16 "2020-08-31T21:33:24Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I’ve never seen a colored fungus before. What give it that distinct yellow color? Taken in the last couple of days. [https://imgur.com/a/IMJNvA0](https://imgur.com/a/IMJNvA0) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-fungus-is-this/918782/17 "2020-09-01T11:31:06Z")
Those are downright lovely!