Grifola frondosa
Maitake, or hen-of-the-woods, is a large clustered polypore that fruits at the base of old oaks and other hardwoods in late summer and autumn, returning to the same tree for years. It is a weak parasite and saprotroph that causes a white butt rot. It can be cultivated on supplemented oak sawdust or buried hardwood logs, but it is slower and fussier to fruit than oyster or shiitake.
Where it grows wild
Fruits at the base of living or dead hardwoods, especially old oaks, and also maples and other broadleaves, arising from an underground sclerotium. It is weakly parasitic on living trees and saprobic on dead wood, causing a white butt rot. Clusters of overlapping grey-brown caps reach 15–50 cm across.
Mostly lowland. Few records carry an elevation; it follows its oak hosts rather than a particular altitude.
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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.