(no subject)
side view
I identified the fungus that Alex found during our July 7 hiking trip along the Brock University trails. More pictures of it, and the hike, can be seen in my "Hiking" album on facebook.
I've identified it as Laetiporus huroniensis apparently a confier-loving variance of Laetiporus sulphureus from the Great Lakes area.
Basidiomycetes - Polyporales - Polyporaceae - Laetiporus
The "Chicken of the Woods" is a popular edible, and easily recognized by its color, soft texture, and absence of gills. The young rosettes and the tender edges from mature clusters are more palatable than the older, tougher specimens. Though the Chicken of the Woods is a safe and easily recognized edible mushroom, it should not be eaten raw; there are reports of people being adversely affected when the mushroom was not cooked.
Recent mycological "splitting" has resulted in an array of species spanning North America, nearly all of which formerly "passed" as Laetiporus sulphureus.
Ecology: Parasitic and saprobic; growing alone or, more typically, in large clusters on decaying logs and stumps of hardwoods and conifers; summer and fall, rarely in winter and spring; widely distributed as a species cluster, but the "true" Laetiporus sulphureus may be limited to areas east of the Rocky Mountains. Laetiporus sulphurues causes a reddish brown cubical heart rot, with thin areas of white mycelium visible in the cracks of the wood. The mushrooms do not appear until well after the fungus has attacked the tree; by the time the chickens appear, they are definitely coming home to roost, as far as the tree's health is concerned.
Fruiting Body: 5-60 cm broad, up to 4 cm thick; fan-shaped to obtusely semicircular; smooth to gently wrinkled; suedelike; bright yellow to bright orange when young, frequently fading in maturity and with direct sunlight.
Pores: Tightly packed and nearly invisible when young; sulfur yellow; sometimes bruising darker.
Flesh: Thick; soft and watery when young, becoming tough, eventually crumbling away; white to pale yellow.
Spore Print: White.
Microscopic Features: Spores 5-7 x 3.5-5 µ; smooth; broadly elliptical to round.
top view
Kuo, M. (2005, March). Laetiporus sulphureus: The chicken of the woods. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/laetiporus_sulphureus.html