Hen of the Woods

Hen of the woods, also called maitake, forms a large rosette of many overlapping grey-brown, spoon-shaped caps clustered on a branched white base, appearing at the foot of old oaks in autumn. A single clump can be substantial and reappears at the same tree for years. Underneath the caps are tiny white pores rather than gills — it is a polypore, not a gilled mushroom.

Ecologically it decomposes the roots and lower trunk of hardwoods, so like chicken of the woods it can indicate slow decay at the base of an old oak while recycling that wood. It has no deadly lookalike, though it should not be confused with the darker, tougher, less palatable polypores that share the same habitat. Its reliable return to the same tree makes it a familiar autumn landmark for anyone who walks the same oaks each year.