Photo by Public domain (iNaturalist) on iNaturalist · CC0 (public domain)
Hen of the woods (maitake)
Grifola frondosa
- When
- Typically September – November — September, October, November. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- The base of old oaks, at the trunk or on stumps. Returns to the same tree each autumn.
- How to know it
- A big grey-brown rosette of overlapping spoon-shaped fronds on a branching white stem, with pores underneath.
- Look-alikes
- Berkeley's polypore is similar but tougher and paler; nothing dangerous grows this way at an oak base.
- Harvest and use
- One find can weigh several kilos. Roast, or dry the surplus.
Found in these regions
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.