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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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The Umbrella Polypore: Polyporus Umbellatus or Zhu Ling

Umbrella polypore mushroom or Zhu Ling (Polyporus umbellatus) The Umbrella polypore (Polyporus umbellatus, formerly known as Grifola umbellata) is one of the most interesting wild, edible mushrooms I’ve harvested. Today I’ll share what I know about finding and cooking them, along with other information I think is valuable for learning about these very special mushrooms.

Habitat

These are a parasite of hardwood trees that cause a white rot in the host. The fruiting bodies appear at the base of the tree, just like chicken and hen of the woods mushrooms. I see them in mixed hardwood forests, especially woods with burr oak where I pick hens and chickens.

A few young clusters of P. umbellatus

A few nice, young clusters.

Umbrella polypores may fruit at the same time (late summer to early fall) as chickens and hens, but they can also come at the end of spring if there’s a good heavy rain at the tail-end of morel season. When you’re out foraging and find one growing on a tree, mark the location as they can come back year after year in the same spots, at about the same time.

close up of the umbrella shaped caps of P. umbellatus

P. umbellatus has umbrella-shaped caps that become plane (flat) with age.

Identification

These are easy to confuse with hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa) if you aren’t familiar with them, and the first time I found them, that’s exactly what I did.

close up of the pores of P. umbellatus

Close up of the young pores.

There’s a few things that make umbrella polypores special though, and once you find one, they’re pretty easy to separate from their close cousins, all of which are edible.

Hen of the woods
Hen of the woods
A young, perfect cluster of P. umbellatus
Umbrella polypore

Quick ID tips

  • White Spore Print
  • Growing at the base of hardwoods like oak and ash trees
  • Have pores, not gills under the caps
  • Composed of many caps with thin stems that form a large structure similar to hen of the woods
  • Caps may have an indentation in the center or a belly button or funnel shape, especially when young
  • Appear occasionally in spring in the Midwest, but I mostly see them during the summer
  • Have “umbrella-shaped” caps that become plane (flat) with age. 
Umbrella polypore mushroom or Zhu Ling (Polyporus umbellatus)

Note the “belly button” shape of the young caps.

Rarity (Is it ok to harvest these?)

These are thought to be a relatively rare mushroom. Because of that, some people will advise they not be harvested. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with harvesting them when you find multiple mushrooms.

Occasionally friends of mine will harvest many clusters from a patch of woods, but if you only see one, lone mushroom in an area, It’s probably best to leave them to spread their spores.

Harvesting

If you find a mushroom you’d like to harvest, the first thing you should do is determine the age and check for bugs. I feel like umbrella polypores have a much stronger resistance to bugs than, say, chicken of the woods, but as they get older the mushrooms will be invaded by larvae.

You’re looking for young, tender mushrooms without any sign of spores being released. When you cut the base of the mushroom from the tree, the flesh should be pure-white, without any signs of tunneling by worms.

Umbrella polypore mushroom or Zhu Ling (Polyporus umbellatus)

You’re looking for young, perfect clusters without evidence of bug damage.

Use in traditional Chinese medicine

I have to preface this by saying I don’t talk about medicinal mushrooms much, but the cultural significance is an important part of this mushroom’s history, so I’ll touch on it a little.

I first heard about Umbrella polypores being a medicinal mushroom used in Chinese herbal medicine from the documentary on mushroom hunter Larry Evans called “Know your Mushrooms”. In the film, Evans discovers an umbrella polypore and digs up the sclerotium, which he then brings to a Chinese restaurant and uses like it was currency to pay his bill!

Umbrella polypore or Zhu Ling (Polyporus umbellatus)

Note that the stems are thinner than hen of the woods.

After seeing that I was excited to find sclerotia of my own, but, with the rarity of the mushroom as it is, I don’t suggest digging your own if you find them as removing the underground portion of the mushroom could cause it to stop fruiting-similar to how removing a ramp bulb kills the plant.

The underground portion of the mushroom is traditionally cut into slices and dried for tea. Dried slices of Zhu ling sclerotia can be purchased online if you want to try it. Like a lot of medicinal herbs and mushrooms, I’ve heard some of the bioactive compounds are a strong diuretic, so be prepared to go to the bathroom if you take some.

Cooking

You can cook umbrella polypores in any recipe where you would use hen of the woods. While you can pull the fronds apart and cook like you would other mushrooms, one of my favorite things to do with them is to cook large clusters whole and make mushroom steaks.

I have a few wild mushroom recipes on this site you could use for umbrella polypores, especially hen of the woods steaks, and oyster mushroom steak. The process for both is very similar.

To make mushroom steaks, take a clean cluster of mushrooms and cook them whole in a pan, putting a weight on top of them as they begin to wilt. Once one side is browned, flip the mushrooms over, replace the weight, and cook until browned on the other side. Serve as a vegetarian main course or a mushroom side dish.

Golden oyster mushroom steaks (10)

You can cook umbrella polypores in large clusters like these oyster mushrooms to make mushroom “steaks”.

Resources

100 edible mushrooms by Michael Kuo

Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora

Know Your Mushrooms Documentary

More 

Hen of the Woods or Maitake Mushrooms 

Chicken of the Woods or Sulphur Shelf Mushrooms 

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
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Alan Bergo
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
Venison that totaled my Honda. With prairie turnip Venison that totaled my Honda. With prairie turnips, @teparybeans Huun Ga’i Pima corn, dried squash and ramps. A few comfrey flowers and dill. 

#carmeat #easyweeknightmeals #timpsila #prairieturnips #wastenotwantnot
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