Sparassis crispa

Scientific classification

Kingdom:        Fungi

Division:          Basidiomycota

Class:   Agaricomycetes

Order: Polyporales

Family:            Sparassidaceae

Genus: Sparassis

Species:           S. crispa

Binomial name           Sparassis crispa

View the Mycomorphbox template that generates the following listMycological characteristics

            smooth hymenium

            no distinct cap

            hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable

            lacks a stipe or is bare

            spore print is white to cream

            ecology is saprotrophic

            edibility: choice

Sparassis crispa is a species of fungus in the genus Sparassis. In English it is sometimes called "Cauliflower Fungus".

S. crispa grows in a globe that is up to 24 in (61 cm) in diameter. The lobes are flat and curly, resembling lasagna noodles and they are colored white to creamy yellow. They are found growing on wood, usually conifers.

These large, unmistakable "cauliflower mushrooms" can be found growing from the bases or roots of trees in eastern North America's hardwood forests (the western version is Sparassis radicata).

Recent DNA studies (Wang and collaborators, 2004) support the idea that there are at least two species, or species groups, in eastern North America; see the description below if you are interested in identifying your cauliflower mushroom precisely.

Ecology: Pathogenic and saprobic; growing from the roots or bases of trees; found primarily under hardwoods--especially oaks--but occasionally reported under conifers; annual, but often recurring yearly in the same location; causing a brown rot or a butt rot; summer and fall; fairly widely distributed in eastern North America.

Fruiting Body: 10-40 cm broad; composed of tightly packed branches which arise either from a common base (S. spathulata) or from large basal branches that in turn arise from a large underground base (S. crispa); branches long and flattened (S. spathulata) or short and contorted (S. crispa); whitish to yellowish or tan; each branch with fairly conspicuous zones of color (S. spathulata), or evenly colored (S. crispa).

Spore Print: Whitish.

Microscopic Features: Spores 5-7 x 4-5 µ (S. crispa) or 6-8 x 5-6 µ (S. spathulata); smooth; broadly elliptical; inamyloid. Clamp connections present (S. crispa) or absent (S. spathulata).