picture courtesy of michael wood
No it’s not a real chicken, if you’re wondering. It’s another name for a mushroom. This mushroom’s real name is Laetiporus Sulphureus or Sulphur Shelf. Other names for it are, Chicken of the Woods, Chicken Mushroom, or Chicken Fungus. Each shelf ranges from 2-10 inches across. These mushrooms grow in brackets or shelves, hence the name. Sulphur shelves are mostly spotted on oak trees but they are also commonly spotted on yew, cherry wood, sweet chestnut, eucalyptus and willow trees. 
Although these mushrooms grow on live wood, they grow yearly and every time they grow they produce rot and then when they grow back the next year they are going to produce rot on top of the rot they have already created. Once you have spotted a sulphur shelf on one your trees they are usually there to stay.
Many of you might be wondering why this mushroom has so many names that revolve around chickens. Well the reason for that is, when you eat the mushroom is has the texture, consistency, and taste of chicken!! Did you know that some vegetarians use these mushrooms as an actual substitute for chicken? This mushroom can be cooked any way you would usually cook chicken. Isn’t that cool! It can also be frozen for a long period of time and it can still keep its edibility. But, there is some bad news. Although there are no poisonous look alikes, it can cause distress to some people. There is small percentage of people who eat this kind of mushroom and their lips swell up. In bad cases, it could give you stomach distress or vomiting. The only way to find out if you are one of those people is to try a very small bite of mushroom. My mom, my brother, my dad, and I all tried them and we are fine!
This is a very unusual mushroom because, unlike most mushrooms that grow low on the ground after the rain, fall through winter, this mushroom grows very high up in trees and it grows from spring to fall. It also has some interesting uses. It is very fibrous and can be made into paper if left on the tree long enough. It makes a very beautiful warm honey colored paper. It can also be made into pastel crayons. Once you notice this mushroom you will see that it has a very pretty bright yellow color
to it. Despite it pretty bright color, this mushroom doesn’t make a very good dye.
So next time you see this beautiful mushroom, you can say too, that you also saw a chicken in a tree.
Tags: chicken fungus, chicken mushroom, chicken of the woods, dye plants, mushrooms, oak, papermaking
