English: Cauliflower fungus.
German: Krause Glucke.
Synonym: Clavaria crispa; Sparassis radicata.
Clades:
Sparassidaceae;
Polyporales;
Agaricomycetes;
Basidiomycota;
Fungi.
Region: temperate Europe, Great Britain.
Habitat: growing at the base of conifer trunks, pines, also spruce, cedar, larch and others.
Use: edible, when young and fresh, difficult to clean; blanched in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes before being added to the rest of the dish.
MycologyType: saprotrophic, producing brown rot fungus; entangled globe; up to 60 centimetres diameter; lobes carry the spore-bearing surface, are flat and wavy, resembling lasagna noodles, coloured white to creamy yellow, tough and rubbery when young, later soft; monomitic; odour is pleasant; taste of the flesh mild; flesh contains clamp connections.
Cap: not distinct.
Stipe: not distinct.
Hymenium:smooth; attachment is irregular or not applicable.
Spore print: white to cream
Spores: smooth; oval; 5 to 7 µm by 3 to 5 µm.