“Stop the car, stop the car!” I shouted as my friend Jamie Gold and I were returning from a fishing trip in the Virginia mountains.
“What is it, did I hit something?” Jamie asked. As he hit the brakes, I bolted from the vehicle.
“There’s a chicken of the woods on that tree,” I said.
“What’s a chicken doing in the woods?”
My friend’s confusion was understandable. But if you’re a fan of edible fungi, then you can understand my euphoria at glimpsing what many people—including my wife, Elaine, and me—consider the best-tasting wild mushroom. Chicken of the woods is classified as a polypore, which, as a group, tend to grow on dead or dying trees or over underground wood, especially hardwoods such as white and red oaks, ashes, and maples. Another tasty polypore is hen of the woods. And, although they aren’t polypores, other edible varieties exist that are likewise saprobic (just like most polypores), meaning they break down dead or dying organic matter to make energy—and meals for those of us who are gatherers. Here’s a closer look at seven of these edible fungi.
Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)
Chicken of the woods not only tastes sublime, but it’s also a spectacularly beautiful mushroom, with bright yellowishorange hues, a fan-shaped appearance, and wavy edges. They frequently
