peach-cotw

Rare- “Peach Chicken of the Woods” (Laetiporus persicinus)


Underside: (Note the bruising)

  • Photos
  • Video
  • Description
  • Edibility
  • (Too rare for any available recipes, but certain it is probably awesome)

New pics added 8-1-2019:

New pics added 7-14-2019:

Video:

Description:

Laetiporus persicinus, commonly known as the white chicken mushroom, is an edible mushroom of the genus Laetiporus. It is closely related to the chicken mushroom, or Laetiporus sulphureus. Laetiporus persicinus has a salmon pink cap and white pores. This mushroom grows on dead and living hardwood and softwood trees. It was first described scientifically by Miles Berkeley and Moses Ashley Curtis in 1853 as Polyporus persicinus. It has been collected in Africa, Australia, Asia, North America, and South America.

Laetiporus persicinus differs substantially from the rest of the species in the genus. It is more darkly pigmented and the binding hyphae do not have the appearance of the other species. In addition, the molecular studies place L. persicinus even more distantly from the L. sulphureus complex than such other brown-rot species as Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat. Additional studies of this species may require that it be placed in a different genus.

Basidiomes annual, centrally or excentrically stipitate, with a single pileus or several arising from a central stipe, sometimes a rosette as with L. cincinnatus, up to 30 cm diam; upper surface of pileus light to dark brown (some-times with a pink tint, fide Gilbertson, 1981), finelytomentosetohispid,slightlyzonateinsome specimens; stipe simple or branched, up to 10 cm long and 4-5 cm thick; context pale tan to pinkish tan, up to 2 cm thick, sometimes thicker at the stipe; pore surface pinkish tan to creamy tan, decurrent onto upper portions of the stipe, pores up to 10 mm long, 3-4 per mm, nearly circular at first, becoming more angular in age. 
Hyphal system dimitic. Pileus surface a tis-sue of compactly interwoven hyphae 30-50µm thick. Hyphae up to 5 µm diam, but mostly collapsed, walls up to 1 µm, hyaline, smooth, septate, lacking clamp connections, grading rather abruptly into pileus context. Pileus context dimitic, composed of binding and generative hyphae; binding hyphae 5-10 µm diam, dendritically branched, hyaline, occasionally septate, lacking clamp connections, walls 1-3µm thick, dissolving almost completely in 2% KOH; generative hyphae 7-18µm diam, some with somewhat granular contents appearing as gloeopleurous hyphae, hyaline, thin-walled, smooth; pore trama dimitic, composed of skeletal and generative hyphae with more parallel organization than context. Skeletal hyphae, 4-6 µm diam, nearly parallel but somewhat sinuous and undulating, occasionally septate, lacking clamp connections, walls 1-1.5µm thick, dissolving nearly completely in 2% KOH. Generative hyphae nearly parallel in arrangement, 3-5µm, diam, thin walled, hyaline, regularly septate, lacking clamps, remaining intact in 2% KOH, some also up to 8 µm diam and containing granular content much like gloeopleurous hyphae. Subhymenium a densely compact tissue. Hyphae tightly interwoven, frequently septate, thin walled, hyaline, septate, lacking clamps, giving rise to the hymenium elements. Hymenium of basidia. Basidia clavate, 25-30x 8-10µm, hyaline, thin-walled, 4-sterigmate, lacking a basal clamp. Basidiospores broadly ovoid, 6.5-8.0x 4.0-5.0 µm, hyaline, thin-walled, smooth, negative in Melzer’s reagent. 

Habitat: Laetiporus persicinus occurs as a root-rot on living hardwoods (especially Quercus spp.) and Pinus spp. in the southeastern United States. It also occurs in Puerto Rico on hardwood species. 

Edibility:

Yes

Look Alikes:

Not Really…

References:

https://mushroomobserver.org/observer/show_observation/164698

https://www.mycobank.org/name/Laetiporus%20persicinus&Lang=Eng

#191: Laetiporus persicinus

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