Hen of the Woods

Hen of the woods
maitake (Japanese)
(Grifola frondosa)
Hen of the woods is a fluffy fungus that is most valued for its garlicy aroma and nutty, firm flesh. It is not the same as the “chicken of the woods” mushroom, but both are polyspores; that is, they have pores instead of gills or teeth. Cultivated forms can weigh from ½ to 1½ pounds; but, in the wild, they can range from three to 100 pounds. The hen is an aggragate of branched clusters of small, overlapping irregular ‘feathers’ whose paler bases are compressed into a solid masses. The leafy caps are taupe or a smokey brown, and their undersides are paler. Maitake is the Japanese name that translates into “dancing mushroom”. It grows in abundance in Japan, which now exports to the US. The first record of cultivation is from an 11th century Japanese text which describes their growth on hardwoods in the Northeastern regions of Japan, China, and Europe, where it was first discovered. It is also found in deciduous forests in Eastern Canada and in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the US. However, production in the US is minimal because of the unpredictability of the mushroom itself, sometimes producing plenty and at other times, nothing.