Cauliflower Mushroom

Sparassis americana

Edible

Also called cauliflower fungus.

The cauliflower mushroom is a rounded mass of flat, wavy, cream-colored lobes that grows at the base of conifers, especially pines, in late summer and fall. It has no cap, gills or pores, and resembles a sea sponge or a head of leaf lettuce.

A large tan cauliflower mushroom made of wavy, ribbon-like folds at the base of a tree

The tell

Rounded mass of flat, wavy, cream-colored lobes like a sea sponge, at the base of a conifer.

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
No true cap. The fruiting body is a rounded cluster of many thin, flattened, curly lobes, white to cream or pale yellow, darkening to tan at the edges with age.
Underside
No gills, pores or spines. Spores are produced on the surfaces of the lobes.
Stem
A thick, tough, rooting base that extends into the soil toward the host tree's roots.
Flesh
Whitish, firm but flexible. Smell is mild.
Spore print
White to pale cream.
Size
6 to 24 inches across (15 to 60 cm).

Where and when

Where and when it grows

Habitat
Conifer and mixed forests, at the base of living or dead conifers, especially pines.
Grows on
Roots and the base of conifers; it causes a brown rot in the roots and lower trunk.
Season
Late summer to fall.
Range
Across much of North America under conifers; related cauliflower mushrooms with oaks in the East and in the Pacific Northwest are treated as separate species.

Lookalikes

What the cauliflower mushroom gets confused with

Each card says how to tell the two apart.

  1. Coral fungi (Ramaria species)

    Coral fungi branch into rounded, upright, finger-like tips rather than flat, wavy ribbons, and some species are recorded as causing gastrointestinal upset.

  2. Compare side by side

Edibility

What the field guides say

Edible

Field guides list cauliflower mushrooms as choice edibles. Some coral fungi in the genus Ramaria, which have rounded rather than flattened branches, are recorded as causing gastrointestinal upset.

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 cauliflower mushroom

Is cauliflower mushroom edible?

Field guides list Sparassis species as choice edibles. The main confusion guides record is with Ramaria coral fungi, some of which cause gastrointestinal upset and which have rounded rather than flat branches.

What does a cauliflower mushroom look like?

A rounded mass of thin, flat, wavy lobes, white to cream or pale yellow, often compared to a sea sponge, a head of leaf lettuce or a pile of egg noodles. It has no cap, gills or pores, and can reach 2 feet across.

Where do cauliflower mushrooms grow?

At the base of conifers, especially pines, from late summer into fall. The fungus lives on the tree's roots, so it often returns to the same tree in later years.

Sources

Where these facts come from

  1. Sparassis americana

    MushroomExpert.com

  2. Sparassis americana

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

  3. Sparassis americana

    Index Fungorum

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