With all the rain that has been happening this summer, mushroom foraging seems to be going quite well. I have already casually encountered Chanterelles, and horn of plenty in pretty high traffic areas- but this was my first time finding a giant polypore – the creatively named black-staining polypore.

A few steps from the edge of the rumney parking lot I found a few large clumps of grey and white mushrooms. I know that most large polypores are ok to eat, and after misidentifying them as hen-of-the-woods I realized I had a different mushroom on my hands.

The giveaway was the “black staining” nature of the mushroom- breaking off a little piece, or bruising the mushroom causes it to blacken. The fronds (?) are also a lot wider and meatier than hen of the woods, closer to 4-5″ across and not very symmetrical. These are edible, and I second the general opinion of many posts online suggesting that it is preferable to eat them when young. These became a very mushroomy broth, and a few choice fronds were baked/stewed (confirming chewiness).