Hen of the woods or Cauliflower fungus

The fruit body is a large bushy cluster of 30-200 fused, frond-like “caps” on a shared branching trunk. Individual caps are 4-10 cm wide, fan-shaped, thin, with a wavy margin. Color gray-brown or gray-olive, paler (ash-gray) in young specimens, dark brown in old ones. The surface is smooth or finely radially fibrous. Total weight of the cluster is 2 to 15 kg.

The fruiting body is shaped like a large, fluffy “head” 10–30 cm across, sometimes up to 50 cm and 5 kg in weight. It’s made up of countless flat, wavy, curly lobes — “petals” — branching off a short common trunk. Young ones are white or cream; with age they turn yellow to brownish-ochre, and in old mushrooms the edges of the lobes darken and dry out.

pored hymenophore — an important feature that sets it apart from frond-like gilled species. The tubes are short (2-4 mm), uneven, running down onto the stalks of the caps. Color whitish to yellowish. Spore print white.

The spore-bearing layer is smooth and sits on the lower (concave) surface of the “petals.” No gills, no tubes. The spore print is white.

The shared trunk of the cluster is thick, fleshy, whitish and repeatedly branched, each branch ending in a separate cap. The cluster is 15-30 cm tall. There are no separate stems as such — it is a single, segmented structure.

There’s no stem in the usual sense — instead there’s a short, thick base-trunk that sinks into the substrate (root or stump). The visible part is 3–8 cm, with the curly lobes spreading out from it.

flesh is white to pale cream; springy and fleshy in young ones, stringy and tough in old ones. Does not change color when cut. Young flesh has a pleasant nutty taste, similar to chicken.

The flesh of a young mushroom is white, dense, springy and brittle. With age it becomes tough and waxy, and in very old specimens it’s like dry cardboard. Only young individuals are fit to eat — white, clean, without brown spots.

Pleasant mushroomy smell with a nutty note, with a hint of fruit in some clusters. Mild taste, with subtle nutty and woody notes.

The smell is distinct, pleasantly nutty, with a note of forest litter and fresh wild berries. One of the most pleasant aromas among Ukrainian mushrooms. The taste is mild and slightly sweet.