Fistulina hepatica
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Fistulina hepatica, commonly known as the beefsteak fungus, beefsteak polypore, poor man's steak, ox tongue, or tongue mushroom, is a bracket fungus classified in the Agaricales. As its common names suggest, it visually resembles a slab of meat.
The species can be found in Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America. It is edible when cooked, although older specimens may need special preparation.
TaxonomyEdit
Fistulina is classified in the family Fistulinaceae;<ref name=Bon/> molecular studies suggest close relations to the agaric mushroom Schizophyllum in the Schizophyllaceae (in the schizophylloid clade), but in the separate sister fistulinoid clade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Fistulina is a cyphelloid genus, meaning that it is closely related to gilled fungi, but its fertile surface consists of smooth cup-shaped elements instead of gills. The underside (the hymenium) is a mass of tubules which represent a "reduced" form of the ancestral gills.
EtymologyEdit
The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin word fistula and means "small tube", whilst the species name hepatica means "liver-like", referring to the consistency of the flesh.
DescriptionEdit
The cap is Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert thick.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Its shape resembles a large tongue and it is rough-surfaced. It is pinkish-red when young, darkening to reddish-brown with age.<ref name=":0" /> The stem, if present, is up to Template:Convert long and 4 cm wide.<ref name="audu">Template:Cite book</ref> The hymenium is creamy-white. The flesh bleeds a dull red juice when cut, which can cause stains.<ref name=":0" /> The cut flesh itself resembles meat.<ref name="Collins" /> It is sour in taste.<ref name=":0" /> The spores are pink<ref name=":0" /> and the spore print pinkish.<ref name="audu" />
Similar speciesEdit
Lookalikes include Pseudofistulina radicata, Amylocystis lapponica, Ischnoderma resinosum, Leptoporus mollis, and Rhodofomes cajanderi.<ref name="audu" />
Distribution and habitatEdit
The species is commonly seen in Britain and the rest of Europe from July to October,<ref name="tfb">Template:Cite book</ref> but can also be found in North America,<ref name="audu" /> Australia, North Africa, and Southern Africa.
It is fairly common, and can often be found on oaks and sweet chestnut, from August to the end of autumn, on either living or dead wood. It has a tendency to impart a reddish-brown stain to the living wood of oaks, creating a desirable timber type. In Australia, it can be found growing from wounds on Eucalyptus trees. It causes a brown rot on the trees which it infects.<ref name="Funga" />
UsesEdit
It is edible and considered "reminiscent of raw meat" in texture by some,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> although older specimens should be soaked overnight, as their juice can cause gastric upset.<ref name="Miller 2006">Template:Cite book</ref> It does not tend to preserve well.<ref name="tfb" />
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- mushroomexpert.com Description and additional links
- Beefsteak fungi and Brown Rot on oak.