Hen of the Woods

On one of my walks, I ran into a hiker who was on a mission. A mushroom mission. I can usually tell, because such walkers are rarely in a mood to talk, especially if they know exactly where they're going and are reasonably certain of finding what they seek. The guy admitted as much: he'd found a small clump of a fungus known as Hen of the Woods, and he was checking on it to determine whether it was ready to pick. Grifola frondosa is listed in the mushroom guides as a "choice" edible, and it's a species that brings out collectors every fall, particularly the Italian mushroom hounds who call this polypore "signorina" and their Japanese counterparts who know it as "maitake." Whatever you call it, G. frondosa is delectable. I joked with the guy about following him; he joked with me—this is standard mushroom-hunter banter—that he'd have to kill me if I found it. I laughed and told him not to worry. He could have the hens all to himself. I already had my own stash, I said. He didn't ask where.