Laetiporus sulphureus
Encyclopedia
Laetiporus sulphureus is a species
of bracket fungus
(fungus that grows on trees) found in Europe and North America. Its common names are sulphur polypore, sulphur shelf, and chicken mushroom. Its fruit bodies grow as striking golden-yellow shelf-like structures on tree trunks and branches. Like other bracket fungi, they may last many years and fade to a more pale grey or brown. The undersurface of the fruit body is made up of tubelike pores rather than gills.
Laetiporus sulphureus is a saprophyte, and causes brown cubical rot in the heartwood of trees on which it grows. Unlike many bracket fungi, it is edible
when young.
in 1789. It has had many synonyms, and finally gained its current name in 1920 by American mycologist William Murrill
. Laetiporus means with bright pores and sulphureus means the color of sulphur.
Phylogenetic analyses of ITS
, nuclear large subunit and mitochondrial small subunit rDNA
sequences from a variety of North American species has delineated five distinct clades
within the core Laetiporus clade:
Investigations in North America have shown that there are several similar species within what has been considered L. sulphureus, and that the true L. sulphureus might be restricted to regions east of the Rocky Mountains
.
is small and knob shaped, overlapping in an irregular pattern. Wide, shaped like a fan, and directly attached to the trunk of a tree, it has a shelf-like appearance and is sulfur-yellow to bright orange in colour and a suedelike texture. When it is old, the cap fades to tan or white. The shelves often grow in overlapping clumps, and each one may be anywhere from 5 to 60 cm (2 to 24 in) in diameter and 4 cm (1.4 in) thick. The fertile surface is sulfur-yellow with small pores or tubes and has a white spore print
.
The mushroom grows on dead or mature hardwoods such as oak
, cherry
, or beech
from August through October or later, sometime as early as June. The species can also be found under conifers. It can usually be found growing in clusters.
Young specimens are edible if a large, clear watery liquid comes out of it. The mushroom should not be eaten raw. Deer like to eat the mushroom.
Studies have shown severe adverse reactions in about 10% of the population, including vomiting and fever.
(LSL) which has hemolytic and hemagglutination activities. Hemolytic lectins are sugar-binding proteins that lyse and agglutinate
cells. The hemagglutination and hemolytic activity are started by binding carbohydrates.
, commercial cultivation of Laetiporus is limited. However, it can be cultivated; the most dependable and rapid production of this mushroom is cultivation of it indoors. The mushroom does not require the heat and water that gilled mushrooms do. The mushroom is sensitive to carbon dioxide
levels and light condition. Many cultivators use controlled environment.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of bracket fungus
Bracket fungus
Bracket fungi, or shelf fungi, among many groups of the fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota. Characteristically, they produce shelf- or bracket-shaped fruiting bodies called conks that lie in a close planar grouping of separate or interconnected horizontal rows...
(fungus that grows on trees) found in Europe and North America. Its common names are sulphur polypore, sulphur shelf, and chicken mushroom. Its fruit bodies grow as striking golden-yellow shelf-like structures on tree trunks and branches. Like other bracket fungi, they may last many years and fade to a more pale grey or brown. The undersurface of the fruit body is made up of tubelike pores rather than gills.
Laetiporus sulphureus is a saprophyte, and causes brown cubical rot in the heartwood of trees on which it grows. Unlike many bracket fungi, it is edible
Edible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
when young.
Taxonomy and phylogenetics
Laetiporus sulphureus was first described as Boletus sulphureus by French mycologist Pierre BulliardJean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard
Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard was a French physician and botanist....
in 1789. It has had many synonyms, and finally gained its current name in 1920 by American mycologist William Murrill
William Murrill
William Alphonso Murrill was an American mycologist, known for his contributions to the knowledge of the Agaricales and Polyporaceae.- Education :...
. Laetiporus means with bright pores and sulphureus means the color of sulphur.
Phylogenetic analyses of ITS
Internal transcribed spacer
ITS refers to a piece of non-functional RNA situated between structural ribosomal RNAs on a common precursor transcript. Read from 5' to 3', this polycistronic rRNA precursor transcript contains the 5' external transcribed sequence , 18S rRNA, ITS1, 5.8S rRNA, ITS2, 28S rRNA and finally the 3'ETS...
, nuclear large subunit and mitochondrial small subunit rDNA
RDNA
rDNA may stand for:*ribosomal DNA*recombinant DNARDNA is also an acronym for*Reformed Druids of North America...
sequences from a variety of North American species has delineated five distinct clades
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
within the core Laetiporus clade:
- Conifericola clade: contains species that live on conifers, such as L. conifericola and L. huroniensis. All of the other tested species grow on angiosperms.
- Cincinnatus clade: contains L. cincinnatus
- Sulphureus clade I: contains white-pored L. sulfureus isolates.
- Sulphureus clade II: contains yellow-pored L. sulfureus isolates.
- Gilbertsonii clade: contains L. gilbertsonii and unidentified Caribbean isolates
Investigations in North America have shown that there are several similar species within what has been considered L. sulphureus, and that the true L. sulphureus might be restricted to regions east of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Description
The capPileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
is small and knob shaped, overlapping in an irregular pattern. Wide, shaped like a fan, and directly attached to the trunk of a tree, it has a shelf-like appearance and is sulfur-yellow to bright orange in colour and a suedelike texture. When it is old, the cap fades to tan or white. The shelves often grow in overlapping clumps, and each one may be anywhere from 5 to 60 cm (2 to 24 in) in diameter and 4 cm (1.4 in) thick. The fertile surface is sulfur-yellow with small pores or tubes and has a white spore print
Spore print
thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...
.
Distribution and habitat
Laetiporus sulphureus is widely distributed across Europe and North America, although may be restricted to east of the Rockies.The mushroom grows on dead or mature hardwoods such as oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, cherry
Prunus avium
Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean, is a species of cherry, native to Europe, west Turkey, northwest Africa, and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus, and...
, or beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
from August through October or later, sometime as early as June. The species can also be found under conifers. It can usually be found growing in clusters.
Parasitism
The mushroom causes brown cubical rot on of the heartwood in the roots, base, and stem. At first, the wood is discolored yellowish to red. Later on, it becomes reddish-brown and brittle. At the last stage, the wood can be rubbed like powder between someone's fingers.Guinness world record
A specimen weighing 100 pounds was found in the New Forest, Hampshire, United Kingdom on October 15, 1990.Edibility
Because of the taste, people have called the mushroom chicken polypore and chicken-of-the-woods. Many people think that the mushroom tastes like crab or lobster. The authors of Mushrooms in Color said that the mushroom tastes good sauteed in butter or prepared in a cream sauce served over toast or rice. It is highly regarded in Germany and North America. The mushroom is a good substitute for chicken.Young specimens are edible if a large, clear watery liquid comes out of it. The mushroom should not be eaten raw. Deer like to eat the mushroom.
Allergic effects
Some people have had gastrointestinal upset after eating this mushroom.Studies have shown severe adverse reactions in about 10% of the population, including vomiting and fever.
Medicinal
The mushroom produces the Laetiporus sulphureus lectinLectin
Lectins are sugar-binding proteins that are highly specific for their sugar moieties. They play a role in biological recognition phenomena involving cells and proteins. For example, some viruses use lectins to attach themselves to the cells of the host organism during infection...
(LSL) which has hemolytic and hemagglutination activities. Hemolytic lectins are sugar-binding proteins that lyse and agglutinate
Agglutination (biology)
Agglutination is the clumping of particles. The word agglutination comes from the Latin agglutinare, meaning "to glue."This occurs in biology in three main examples:...
cells. The hemagglutination and hemolytic activity are started by binding carbohydrates.
Cultivation
Compared to species such as Agaricus bisporus (button mushroom) and oyster mushroomOyster mushroom
Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom, is a common edible mushroom. It was first cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure during World War I and is now grown commercially around the world for food. However, the first documented cultivation was by Kaufert There is some question about the...
, commercial cultivation of Laetiporus is limited. However, it can be cultivated; the most dependable and rapid production of this mushroom is cultivation of it indoors. The mushroom does not require the heat and water that gilled mushrooms do. The mushroom is sensitive to carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
levels and light condition. Many cultivators use controlled environment.