Beefsteak Fungus

Fistulina hepatica

Edible

Also called beefsteak polypore, ox tongue.

The beefsteak fungus is a soft, red, tongue-shaped bracket that grows on oaks and chestnuts. Its cut flesh is streaked like raw beef and leaks red juice. It appears at the base of trunks and on stumps in late summer and fall.

A small reddish-brown beefsteak fungus bracket growing from the bark of a tree trunk

The tell

A blood-red, tongue-shaped bracket on oak whose cut flesh looks like raw meat and oozes red juice.

Field marks

What to look at

Cap, underside and stem show in a photo. The spore print does not, and it is often the deciding check.

Cap
Tongue- to liver-shaped bracket, red to reddish orange or liver brown, moist and slightly sticky, with a rough surface.
Underside
Whitish to pinkish-yellow pore surface that bruises reddish brown. Each tube is separate from its neighbors, like a bundle of tiny straws, which sets it apart from other bracket fungi.
Stem
None, or a short, thick lateral stub attaching it to the wood.
Flesh
Thick, soft and juicy, red with paler streaks like marbled meat, and exuding red juice. Taste sour.
Spore print
Pinkish to pale pinkish brown.
Size
Bracket 3 to 10 inches (7 to 25 cm) wide and up to 2 inches (5 cm) thick.

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Hardwood forests, at the base of living oaks, on oak stumps, and on chestnut.
Grows on
Living and dead hardwood, mainly oak.
Season
Late summer through fall.
Range
East of the Rocky Mountains, most common in eastern oak forests.

Lookalikes

What the beefsteak fungus gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

Edibility

What the field guides say

Edible

Field guides list the beefsteak fungus as edible. Its flesh is described as sour or acidic, with a texture like meat. It causes a brown rot in oak heartwood that darkens the wood; furniture makers once valued this as brown oak.

This page states what field guides record. It is not advice to eat, taste or handle anything, and a photo cannot settle edibility. If someone has eaten a wild mushroom that may be toxic, call poison control (1-800-222-1222 in the US) right away, before symptoms start: the deadliest species act hours later.

FAQ

Questions about the beefsteak fungus

Is beefsteak fungus edible?

Field guides list it as edible. They describe the flesh as juicy and sour, and red juice runs from it when cut.

Why is it called beefsteak fungus?

Its red, streaked flesh looks like raw beef when cut, and it releases red, blood-like juice. The species name hepatica refers to its liver-like shape and color.

Where does beefsteak fungus grow?

At the base of living oaks and on oak stumps, sometimes on chestnut, in late summer and fall. In North America it is found mainly east of the Rocky Mountains.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Fistulina hepatica

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Fistulina hepatica

    Fungi Growing on Wood, Gary Emberger (MushroomExpert.com)

  3. Beefsteak Polypore

    Missouri Department of Conservation

  4. Fistulina hepatica

    Index Fungorum

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