''Laetiporus gilbertsonii'' is a species of

polypore Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polyp ...

fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It is found in western North America. It was one of three new ''

Laetiporus ''Laetiporus'' is a genus of edible mushrooms found throughout much of the world. Some species, especially ''Laetiporus sulphureus'', are commonly known as sulphur shelf, chicken of the woods, the chicken mushroom, or the chicken fungus because ...

'' species published in 2001, which were distinguished genetically from the common ''

Laetiporus sulphureus ''Laetiporus sulphureus'' is a species of bracket fungus (fungi that grow on trees) found in Europe and North America. Its common names are crab-of-the-woods, sulphur polypore, sulphur shelf, and chicken-of-the-woods. Its fruit bodies grow as ...

''; the others were '' L. conifericola'' and '' L. huroniensis''. The type collection, made in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

's Golden Gate Park in 1997, was found fruiting on a

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

tree. It has also been collected in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The fungus is named in honor of mycologist

Robert Lee Gilbertson Robert Lee Gilbertson (January 15, 1925 – October 26, 2011) was a distinguished American mycology, mycologist and educator. He was a faculty member at University of Arizona for 26 years until his retirement from teaching in 1995; he was a Prof ...

. ''L. gilbertsonii'' is

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

, although some people have reported experiencing upset stomach after consuming it. '' Laetiporus conifericola'' is very similar in appearance, but is readily distinguished by its growth on conifers.

References

Edible fungi Fungi described in 2001 Fungi of the United States Fungal plant pathogens and diseases gilbertsonii Fungi without expected TNC conservation status {{Polyporales-stub