In this video, I discuss 2 mushrooms that look like Hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa). These two mushrooms are edible, but they’re not as tasty as Hen of the woods.
1. Black-staining polypore (Meripilus sumstinei). As the name suggests, this mushroom turns black when damaged or handled.
2. Berkeley’s polypore (Bondarzewia berkeleyi). This funky species is creamy-tan and its “leaves” of overlapping tissue are thicker and broader than Grifola specimens
Both Berkeley’s polypore and the Black-staining polypore grow under oak and look a good bit like Grifola frondosa. But the color, shape, and staining reactions of these mushrooms make it fairly easy to distinguish them from the extremely popular and brag-worthy Hen of the woods.