Laetiporus sulphureus - Chicken of The Wood
Its fruit bodies grow as striking golden-yellow shelf-like structures on tree trunks and branches.
It can be found growing on trees, mostly on Willow tree, but It can be found also on the other species. Laetiporus is saprophyte and parasite causing rot in heartwood of trees on which it grows. It's edible when young.
A specimen weighing 100 pounds (over 45 kg) was found in the New Forest, Hampshire, United Kingdom, on 15 October 1990.
Because of the taste, many people think that the mushroom tastes like crab or lobster.
The mushroom produces the Laetiporus sulphureus lectin (LSL) which has haemolytic and haemagglutination activities. Haemolytic lectins are sugar-binding proteins that lyse and agglutinate cells. The haemagglutination and haemolytic activity are started by binding carbohydrates.
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Banat, 2015
Canon 600D, 24-105mm f/4L
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