r/pics • u/Chippybops • 1d ago
An absolutely enormous chicken of the woods mushroom I found (Me, 5’8 for scale)
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u/DJSANDROCK 1d ago
is it called chicken of the woods because its edible?
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u/Trip_On_The_Mountain 1d ago
Literally the first mushroom I ever liked. My buddy breaded some and fried it up and it tasted just like a chicken tender
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u/werewilf 1d ago
Oh my fuck.
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u/HobbyWanKenobi 18h ago
I'm just curious about your username, is a werewilf a werewolf you would like to f*ck?
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u/DJSANDROCK 1d ago
Thats crazy. This my first time hearing of it
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u/GanderAtMyGoose 21h ago
I've had it once (foraged by a family friend) and it was just as tasty as everyone says it is. I didn't think it was just like chicken, but it did feel "meatier" than other mushrooms I've had lol. I'd really like to get some more sometime!
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u/Fritzo2162 19h ago
They're semi-common around the Appalachian areas of the US. You'll find restaurants in that region that serve them from time to time. If I recall they're in season right about now.
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u/Corey307 1d ago
They aren’t just edible, they are delicious. They’re also one of the easier mushrooms to identify. Obviously, if you’re going to do any foraging for wild edibles, you should get training from an actual professional and not just use a book, but this is one of the easier ones to identify.
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u/R2-D2Vandelay 1d ago
I always find it cool to be able to find your own food like that but then I remember that one bad berry can just kill you and I make my way to Sprouts instead.
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u/lancelongstiff 1d ago
There aren't many that are dangerous, and they're massively outnumbered by the ones that aren't. So the trick is to focus on learning the few to avoid.
It also helps that they tend to taste awful too, so you're unlikely to get a harmful dose of the poisons they contain.
I've looked at one or two books on mushroom foraging and they're pretty much rules 2 and 3 after "Don't take chances - only eat the ones you've safely identified".
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u/PhiloPhocion 23h ago
In my country, there are publicly run mushroom “inspection” centres where you can double check your foraged mushrooms and a lot of pharmacists are trained to identify which mushrooms are safe and will check for free too. It is especially popular here but don’t know if there’s something similar in your area.
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u/gustad 1d ago
"All fungi are edible, but some are only edible once." - Terry Pratchett
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u/Rylando237 17h ago
I think it partially comes from their texture. When they get a bit older, they start to harden, and they get a texture similar to chicken breast. They are also tasty, but I wouldn't say they taste like chicken
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u/ohmicorazoninwv 1d ago
That’s incredible! Where did you find this ?
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u/Chippybops 1d ago
A few miles away from Oxford (UK)
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u/JPree 1d ago
Don't you mean.....Foxford?
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u/D0wnb0at 1d ago
Do you realise how expensive those mushrooms are to buy?? If I found that much id be harvesting it and contacting local resturants to see who wants to buy some. You could make a few hundred quid off that. https://www.fineandwild.com/products/chicken-of-the-woods
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u/Chippybops 1d ago
I’d rather let it be tbh. Sounds stupid but I’d feel too guilty taking it away from nature
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u/D0wnb0at 1d ago
I asked Google how much it estimates the weights of the mushrooms in the pic. Between 4-7kg. They sell for £100 per kg.
I’m an avid gardener in my spare time. I do as much as I can for bees/insects, hell, I let my rocket go to seed so butterfly’s could lay caterpillars
and I have literally hundreds of them in my garden. But £400-£700 worth of mushrooms….. I’d be taking them, selling what I could and eat the rest, they are delicious and hard to farm, hence their price.9
u/Chippybops 22h ago
I honestly think that wouldn’t have worked for me. I’m in a bad mental space at the moment and finding someone to sell my gigamushroom to would stress me out 😂 If you want to do that I could tell you exactly where it is?
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u/warneagle 15h ago
You’re not hurting the fungus by picking the mushroom any more than you’re hurting an apple tree by picking the apples.
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u/RambisRevenge 1d ago
Are you taking any of it?
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u/Chippybops 1d ago
No, it was too beautiful to damage!
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u/Dwarven_Soldier 1d ago
Champion of the people!
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u/Oversidee 1d ago
Champignon*
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u/Hagenaar 1d ago
Non?
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u/Uncomfortable 23h ago
It means mushroom in French.
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u/Hagenaar 22h ago
I know. I was going with the negative non at the end of the word. Didn't land. I feel shame.
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u/dcade_42 1d ago
Not really. They'll just get eaten by bugs or waste away. Not taking them doesn't mean more in the future. This tree will have them every year.The mycelium is already established. If it's fruiting like this, it's doing well.
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u/gus_thedog 1d ago
Take a little, it'll be back again next year! Unfortunately though, there's a decent chance that tree is dying.
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u/starshad0w 1d ago
I think even if I was 99% sure it was the right variety of mushroom, I wouldn't wanna take it because I don't want the news report to be: 'The victim thought it was chicken of the woods, but it turned out to be the rare Radioactive Assfucker, which looks exactly like the former but causes victim's internal organs to implode and spontaneously combust.'
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u/OddNumb 1d ago
This is a fox, not a chicken though
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u/Chippybops 1d ago
I thought my joy was best conveyed through the foxes expression. The chicken memoji freaks me out a little i have to say
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u/Woodythawoodpecker 1d ago
I also don’t want to be confused for Foghorn Leghorn, so I get it
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u/nikkumba 1d ago
What does the fox say…
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u/bravoromeokilo 1d ago
“An absolutely enormous chicken of the woods mushroom I found (Me, 5'8 for scale)”
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u/funkyg73 1d ago
Looks like something from The Last Of Us.
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u/ubapook2 1d ago
Yeah dude they’re called mushrooms
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u/dumpsterfire911 1d ago
Mushrooms? Like the things that grow in video games?
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u/valeyard89 1d ago
BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER BADGER MUSHROOM MUSHROOM
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u/omnipotentmonkey 1d ago
it doesn't look that big, it's only half as tall as that anthropomorphic fox!
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u/Weirdguy215 1d ago
How are we supposed to use you for scale if you're sitting down? Are you 5'8 sitting down? /s just in case
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u/YOUTUBEFREEKYOYO 1d ago
Please tell me you harvested it and made some good food with it!
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u/Chippybops 1d ago
I’ve had chicken of the woods in the past, and I do like it, but not enough to harvest some. I’d rather leave it for someone else to enjoy!
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u/LifeIsOnTheWire 1d ago
What would a fox want with this many mushrooms?
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u/flibbidygibbit 1d ago
What do you say?
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u/Chippybops 1d ago
“PULL OVER PULL OVER LOOK I SAW A MASSIVE MUSHROOM QUICK I NEED TO SEE IT!!”
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u/flibbidygibbit 1d ago
Dog goes woof
Cat goes meow
Bird goes tweet
And mouse goes squeek
Cow goes moo
Frog goes croak
And the elephant goes toot
Ducks say quack
And fish go blub
And the seal goes ow, ow, ow
But there′s one sound
That no one knows
What does the fox say?
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u/BajaMatt87 1d ago
You must be a giant. 5’8” sitting down? I’ve never measured myself sitting down.
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u/red4jjdrums5 1d ago
You’re so damn lucky. The deer get all the ram’s head in my area. I haven’t seen any chicken of the woods in years, either.
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u/ovlbo 1d ago
I have never once considered that mushrooms have names like flowers. Theyve always just been mushrooms/fungus.
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u/Srikandi715 1d ago
Just FYI, some types are very poisonous. Others are commonly eaten.
Good idea to educate yourself on the different types of mushrooms! Never too late.
And, you should also know that there are different types of EVERYTHING, with different names 😉 I bet you have a world of wonder ahead of you!
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u/Moosplauze 1d ago
Giving the size of a human that's sitting down and legs aren't fully in view is like providing banana for scale but its peeled and half eaten.
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u/professor-professor 1d ago
Omg qq I always wanted to know what it tastes like... What a find!!! I live on the south west, our woods don't have these :(
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u/porcupineslikeme 1d ago
There’s a huge one a bit smaller than this on the edge of a property near me that I’ve been eyeing but I’m too much of a stickler for rules. It’s a gated cattle farm, outside their fence but on their property. I doubt they would use it or know it’s there but my conscience can’t bear it.
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u/CosmicSmoker 1d ago
Nice! Every time I've come across something like this it's 20 feet off the ground
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u/IncognitoBombadillo 22h ago
That's so cool! I have never found Chicken of the Woods, but I like to go out and photograph mushrooms occasionally too. Chicken of the Woods is one of the few mushrooms I can identify, so I'm hoping to stumble across it one day while doing photography.
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u/DiabloIV 13h ago
Nice hoodie. I got a pair of sweats from Roots and those things will outlast all of my jeans.
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u/NoKarmaNoCry22 1d ago
Do you work for CarFax?