Chicken of the Woods A.K.A. Sulfur Shelf

 Laetiporus sulphureus, Chicken of the woods as it is commonly known is a great mushroom. The name refers to the texture of the cooked mushroom which is very much like the texture of chicken breast meat. The sulfur part of it's Latin name refers to the bright yellow underside. It is a good mushroom for beginners since there are no poisonous mushrooms that look like it. It only grows on wood, never on soil. It is large, this clump went about 5 pounds but they occur in much larger bunches. These were actually past prime and at this stage only about an inch of the outer edge is edible, the inner portion being to tough. The smaller ones on the far end are a better size for eating.When picking any wild mushroom to eat you must be absolutely sure of correct identification and most should not be eaten raw. Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora is a very good book on mushrooms. While this is not the best eating wild mushroom you will find it is fairly palatable and it is easy to identify. As long they are not to old I would never pass them up.