Chicken of the Woods: The Forest's Brightest Shelf, Painted by Hand

Most mushrooms hide. Chicken of the woods does the opposite. On a dead or dying hardwood, often an oak, it grows in overlapping, fan-shaped shelves of a startling orange with sulphur-yellow edges, so bright that hunters can spot it from far down the trail. Its other common name says the same thing: sulphur shelf.

Why it's called chicken

Chicken of the woods belongs to the Laetiporus genus. It's a polypore, so instead of gills it has tiny pores on its underside, like the bracket fungi in our polypore shelf story. Foragers prize the young, tender edges, and cooked, the texture is famously close to chicken, which is where the name comes from. It shows up in Michigan from summer into fall, often returning to the same tree year after year.

As with any wild mushroom: enjoy the hunt, but never eat one you can't identify with complete certainty, and try only a small amount the first time, because some people react to it.

Our newest mushroom

This is the latest addition to our mushroom family, and it's a showpiece. We 3D print the overlapping shelf shape and then paint each one by hand, blending vivid orange into yellow so it matches the real mushrooms we find in the woods. No two come out with exactly the same brushwork.

It measures 6.75 inches across, 4.75 inches deep and 3.5 inches tall, roomy enough to be a real little shelf for:

• A votive candle (battery votives are best near walls and decor)
• A small succulent or air plant
• Small trinkets, crystals or a favorite figurine

Where it shines

It looks especially good mounted at eye level, so the color catches the light. Try a hallway, a reading corner or a kitchen wall that needs some warmth. Pair it with our other mushrooms for a forest-floor wall. The oyster and polypore sets are smaller and more subtle, so the chicken of the woods becomes the bright centerpiece of the cluster.

A gift for the mushroom hunter

If someone in your life comes home every fall with a bag of orange mushrooms and a big grin, this is their gift. It's the trophy they can hang on the wall, and it never goes bad in the fridge. It makes a great Christmas present for a forager dad, too.

Want it in another color, like a white-pored version or a forest-green blend? Ask us. Custom colors are welcome. See every mushroom we make in the mushroom shelf guide.