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Eastern Cauliflower Mushroom
Scientific Name: Sparassis crispa
Family Name: Clavariaceae
Edibility: Choice
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Description: Large, stalkless, rounded mushroom with finely wavy, white to pale yellowish, flat-edged, leaflike branches. Mushroom: 6 - 12 inches (15-30 cm) wide, 6 - 10 inches (15-25 cm) high; large, somewhat rounded, rosettelike, composed of variously curled, folded, lobed, and flattened branches, usually wavy; white to creamy yellow, cordlike root at base. Flesh white, fleshy-tough. Spores: 4-7 X 3-4 microns; oval, smooth, colorless. Spore print white. Edibility: Choice. Season: July-October. Habitat: Open oak and sandy oak-pine woods. Range: Eastern North America. Comments: The Eastern Cauliflower Mushroom can be common in wet summers, but is rare in dry weather. When fresh, it is white or whitish, has a crisp texture, and is usually large enough to provide several meals. Nothing known to be poisonous even remotely resembles this Elizabethan ruff of a mushroom. Also known as S. herbstii. [Lincoff, Gary H., The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1981]