Hen of the Woods Grifola frondosa (Dickson) Gray    
Kingdom Fungi   >   Phylum Basidiomycota   >   Class Agaricomycetes   >   Order Polyporales   >   Family Fomitopsidaceae   >   Genus Grifola   

Status:

Found on ground at the base of living or dead trees in open woods.

Description:

Rosettes of flattened caps attached to a branching stalk. Caps gray/brown above, white pores below. Fruiting bodies may be up to two feet across and may weigh several pounds. Pores do not bruise blackish, which Black-staining Polypore (Meripilus sumstinei) does.

There are 73 records in the project database.

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Hen of the Woods (fruiting body) in Howard Co., Maryland (10/3/2008). Photo by Wesley Earp. (MBP list)

Hen of the Woods (fertile surface) in Howard Co., Maryland (10/4/2014). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Hen of the Woods in Queen Anne's Co., Maryland (10/13/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Hen of the Woods in Howard Co., Maryland (10/4/2014). (c) Joanne and Robert Solem, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Hen of the Woods in Garrett Co., Maryland (9/9/2017). Photo by Matt Tillett. (MBP list)

Hen of the Woods in Baltimore Co., Maryland (10/16/2018). Verified by Jo Solem. Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)

Hen of the Woods in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (10/22/2020). (c) Matthew Beziat, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Matthew Beziat. (MBP list)

Spores collected from a Hen of the Woods specimen in Howard Co., Maryland (10/21/2014). Ellipsoid, smooth, hyaline; measured 5.4-5.9 X 3.8-4.1 microns. Photo by Robert Solem. (MBP list)


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