Laetiporus sulphureus: The Ultimate Mushroom Guide

About The Laetiporus sulphureus Mushroom

Laetiporus sulphureus is an edible mushroom that often called the "chicken of the woods," appears in eastern North America's hardwood forests, where it causes a brown heart rot in the wood of standing and fallen oaks and other hardwoods. Since it is a heart rot fungus, the mushrooms appear above ground (often high on the tree)—or in a position that would have been above ground before the trunk fell.

This mushroom is said to have a lemony, meaty taste. Some think it tastes like its chicken namesake; others describe the flavour as being more like crab or lobster-like. The margins of chicken of the woods is the desirable part to consume because the inner area tends to get a bit corky or in some cases woody and requires boiling in water for about an hour. Its look-a-like, Laetiporus cincinatus (pores are white and it grows from wood in the ground), is totally palatable. It’s important to note that this is one of those mushrooms that sometimes can cause gastric distress in certain people. If you want to avoid a possible stomach ache, only try a little bit your first time to see what it does to you.

Common names: Sulphur Shelf or Chicken Mushroom.

6 Facts About The Laetiporus sulphureus Mushroom

1. This mushroom is a polypore, meaning they disperse spores through small pores (holes) on the underside of their caps. You can learn more about poroid mushrooms in this article.

2. The different species of the chicken of the woods mushroom are both saprotrophic (feeding on dead trees), and parasitic (attacking and killing live trees by causing the wood to rot). Whatever their method of feeding, you'll always find them growing on or at the base of a living or dead tree.

3. Chickens are easily recognized by their large clusters of overlapping brackets, and bright yellow-orangish colors. The colors fade as the mushroom grows older.

4. Many polypores are also medicinal mushrooms, although there hasn't been much research done on this one. One study has indicated that it inhibits bacterial growth.

5. Other names are chicken fungus, chicken mushroom, and sulphur shelf. The genus is Laetiporus.

6. There are about twelve species of chicken of the woods in the Laetiporus genus. This article focuses on Laetiporus sulphureus, the species that grows on hardwoods where I live in Eastern North America.

Laetiporus sulphureus Identification

Parasitic and saprobic on living and dead oaks (also sometimes on the wood of other hardwoods); causing a reddish-brown cubical heart rot, with thin areas of white mycelium visible in the cracks of the wood; annual; growing alone or, more typically, in shelving clusters above the ground; summer and fall, rarely in winter and spring; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains.

This mushroom does not have gills on their bottom side. Instead of gills, you will find that they have pores on their underside. All species of this mushroom will leave a white spore print when collected. Also, these mushrooms normally grow in a shelf or rosette structure.

They will typically be orange on top and yellow or white on the bottom. One species grows solely in Florida that is orange on the bottom side.

1. Fruiting Body

   Up to 90 cm across; usually consisting of several to many individual caps arranged in a lateral shelving formation, but sometimes forming rosettes when growing on top of a fallen log.

2. Caps

   5–25 cm across and up to 20 cm deep; up to 3 cm thick; fan-shaped to semicircular or irregular; more or less planoconvex; smooth or finely wrinkled; suedelike; bright yellow to bright orange when fresh—often yellow-orange overall, with a bright to dull yellow margin; fading to dull yellowish and, eventually, nearly white when long past maturity.

3. Pore Surface

   Bright to dull yellow (or rarely white; see discussion above); not bruising; with 2–4 circular to angular pores per mm; tubes to 5 mm deep; fading to dull yellowish.

4. Flesh

   Thick; soft and watery when young, becoming tougher and eventually becoming chalky and crumbling away; white to pale yellow; not changing when sliced.

5. Dried Specimens

   Cap surface and pore surface retain yellow hues for at least 8 years in the herbarium, and can be distinguished from herbarium specimens of Laetiporus cincinnatus, which lack yellow hues.

6. Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

7. Spore Print: White.

Laetiporus sulphureus Health Benefits

Cytotoxic and anticancer efects

Triterpenoids of lanostan-type isolated from the fruiting bodies demonstrate cytotoxic activity. Eburicoic acid (I, EA) is one of main cytotoxic components isolated from L. sulphureus. This substance suppresses the activation of macrophages, thereby alleviating the progression of inflammatory diseases . EA does not cause any apparent cytotoxicity but significantly inhibits the release of inflammatory mediators, suppressed levels of mRNA expression, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 COX-2, and proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. EA also reduces levels of phosphorylated PI3K, Akt, mTOR and NF-κBp65 in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells . Anti-inflammatory effects have also been demonstrated for acetyl-EA acid found in L. sulphureus var. miniature . Similarly to the lanostan-type tetracyclic triterpenoids which are potential anticancer compounds , also illudin-type sesquiterpenoids from the L. sulphureus are responsible for cytotoxicity (He et al., 2015).

Cytotoxic activities were observed also in further compouds isolated from L. sulphureus: phenolic compounds of the benzofuran lignans type egonol (II), demethoxyegonol and egonol glucoside , mycophenolic acid (III) and its derivatives , laetirobin (IV) which is capable of blocking tumor cell division (mitosis) and invoking apoptosis, and carboxymethyl derivatives of α-(1→3)-D-glucans which have a significant activity to inhibit tumor cell lines metabolism without significantly inhibiting normal cells metabolism . Also, cyclodepsipeptide beauvericin was found in this mushroom .

Antimicrobial effect

The first mention of the antibacterial effect of L. sulphureus can be found in the study of Suay et al., who investigated antimicrobial activity of 204 basidiomycetes. Antimicrobial activity of L. sulphureus against a wide spectrum of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria including methicillin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and glycopeptide-resistant strain of Leuconostoc mesenteroides was recorded by Ershova et al., . Different fruiting bodies extracts demonstrated an antimicrobial activity against the following strains: Bacillus cereus and B. subtilis, Micrococcus flavus and M. luteus , Enterococcus faecium and Proteus vulgaris , Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Micrococcus flavus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus . Antifungal activity of extracts was described against: Candida albicans , Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus wentii, Fusarium tricinctum, Microsporum gypseum, Penicillium gladioli and P. griseofulvum (Sakeyan 2006), Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum .

Anti-inflammatory effect

The anti-inflammatory effect of L. sulphureus is explained by the presence of exopolysaccharide (EPS) which protects cells from apoptosis by significantly inducing inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators in cells such as nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) without significant cytotoxicity and also by presence lanostane triterpenoids which were identified as eburicoic acid derivatives. These triterepenoids inhibited the NO production and supressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, mainly inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. Eburicoic acid is the main bioactive metabolite in the L. sulphureus against gastric ulcers in mice model .

Hypoglycemic effect

EPS also demonstrated the hypoglycemic effect in rats with single-dose streptozotocin-induced diabetes and caused an increased proliferation and regeneration of pancreatic islet β cells. Other compound with anti-diabetic potential is dehydrotrametenolic acid (V), also isolated from fruiting bodies. It induces the differentiation of adipocytes in vitro, and reduces hyperglycemia in mice with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Sato et al., 2002). Also EA (I) has antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effect and therapeutic potential in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidemia.

Laetiporus sulphureus Look-Alikes

It may be mistaken with other species growing on the wood such as: Polyporus squamosus (Hudson) Fries 1821, decorated by brown scales on the cap and with great and angular whitish pores and a short and stocky lateral stipe, blackish brown at the base; Meripilus giganteus (Persoon) P. Karsten 1882, which has brown cap, but is yellow-sulphur at the very beginning of its growth, the small pores, white-yellowish and, above all, if touched turns black in short time. Of this polypore, as well of others, exist anamorphic forms, which present with the typical colourations of the species but without porous surface, smaller, and reproducing through chlamydospores.

Laetiporus sulphureus Nutrion

Nutritioal values are 360 kcal/100 g of fresh fruiting bodies, total carbohydrates content was 64.9, proteins 11.9 and fats 5.9 g/100g of the dry mass of fruiting body. Fats are represented by long chain fatty acids with 16 to 20 carbons and ethyl esters of fatty acids with 16 to 24 carbons, as well as sterols (ergosterol, ergosta-7,22-dien-3β-ol, ergosta-7-en-3β-ol and 24 ethylcholestan-3β-ol)

Laetiporus sulphureus Taxonomy & Etymology

Originally described in 1789 by French botanist and mycologist Jean Baptiste Francois (Pierre) Bulliard, this spectacular polypore was given its current name in 1920 by the famous American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill (1869 - 1967).

The specific epithet sulphureus is a reference to the sulphur-yellow colouring of fruitbodies of this polypore, while the genus name Laetiporus means “with bright pores”.

Recipe: Drunken Chicken of the Woods

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. Chicken of the Woods mushroom, cleaned and sliced into 1/4″ thick pieces

2. 1/2 cup dry white wine

3. 1 medium onion, 1/4″ dice

4. 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5. 2 tbsp. olive oil

6. Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

7. Optional: freshly chopped herbs (such as thyme or oregano)

Instructions

1. In a medium sautée pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.

2. When oil starts to become fragrant (before smoke point) add Chicken of the Woods, stirring to coat the mushroom. Cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir, and cook for another 5-7 minutes until onion starts to brown.

4. Add a ¼ cup wine and bring the mixture up to a simmer.

5. Cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes, and then add the remaining ¼ cup of wine, stir, and simmer again. If the mushroom is still a little too tough after all of this liquid is absorbed, add more liquid and simmer longer. Otherwise, remove from heat and serve atop grilled or toasted crusty bread brushed with olive oil or butter, sprinkled with freshly chopped herbs.

Recipe: Southern Fried Chicken of the Woods

Ingredients

1. 2 large chicken of the woods mushrooms

2. 1/4 c En-Er-G Egg Replacer

3. 1/2 c water

4. 3 tbs siracha/hot sauce

5. 1 c self-rising flour

6. 1 tsp salt

7. 1 tsp pepper

8. vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. Thoroughly wash and clean the mushrooms and cut into desired size.

2. Whisk together the egg replacer and the water in a bowl until foamy and thick. Add the siracha/hot sauce.

3. In a pie pan or 8×8 baking dish, mix together the self-rising flour, salt, and pepper.

4. Warm at least 3 inches of vegetable in a pot (I used my circa 1973 Fry Daddy) until a drop of water crackles and pops when flicked into the oil.

5. Dredge the mushrooms in the egg replacer mixture and then in the flour, thoroughly coating each piece.

6. Fry two or three mushroom pieces at a time, being sure not to crowd because that will lower the temperature of the oil.

7. Once golden brown, place on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Recipe: Chicken Mushroom Hash Browns

Ingredients

1. 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes peeled

2. 1/4 cup Organic Grass-Fed Butter or Ghee or ghee (coconut oi, if vegan)

3. 1 large Onion thinly sliced

4. 1 rib celery thinly sliced

5. 1 medium carrot peeled & grated

6. 3 cups chicken of the woods mushroom cleaned, tender edges only, coarsely chopped

7. 3 tablespoons cooking sherry or dry white wine

8. 1/4 cup fresh parsely, chopped

9. 2 tablespoons Fresh Chives, chopped

10. 1/2 lemon lemon, zested

11. Sea Salt

12. Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes. Drain cool and thickly slice.

2. In a large skillet over medium/high heat, saute onions, celery and carrot in butter.

3. Add the chicken mushrooms and sprinkle with sherry, reduce heat to a simmer for 2-3 minutes. Allowing the mushroom to cook and liquid to evaporate.

4. Add potatoes, herbs, lemon zest and season to taste. Increase heat and fry until crispy brown.