Cauliflower Fungus

Sparassis crispa

Its highly folded, cauliflower-like structure greatly increases its surface area, allowing it to release millions of spores from a compact shape.

Scientific name: Sparassis crispa
Taxonomy: Fungi › Basidiomycota › Agaricomycetes › Polyporales › Sparassidaceae › Sparassis
IUCN Red List status: Least Concern
Population trend: stable
Biome: forest
Habitat: Coniferous forests, growing specifically at the base of pine, spruce, and larch trees, arising from buried roots or stumps.
Diet: Saprophytic and parasitic; derives nutrients by causing brown rot in the heartwood of living conifers and decaying dead wood.
Range: Europe, North America, East Asia
Size: Fruiting bodies typically 10 to 40 cm in diameter, weighing up to several kilograms.
Lifespan: Fruiting body lasts 2-4 weeks; the underground mycelium can live for decades.
Active: diurnal
Threats: Over-harvesting by foragers, intensive forestry practices that remove old-growth host trees, and habitat fragmentation.
Safe to approach?: Harmless to touch. If foraging, ensure positive identification as it has toxic look-alikes. Do not consume raw; wash thoroughly to remove dirt, pine needles, and insects hidden within its dense, brain-like folds.

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

Photo: Katja Schulz, CC-BY, via iNaturalist