''Sparassis'' (also known as cauliflower mushroom) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

and

saprobic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

characterised by its unique shape and appearance and is found around the globe. Its appearance can be described as similar to a

sea sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through th ...

, a

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

or a head of cauliflower, hence its popular name. It is increasingly cultivated and sold in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, Japan, the United States and Australia. The generic name comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''sparassein'', meaning ''to tear''.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Sparassis'': *'' Sparassis americana'' R.H. Petersen *'' Sparassis brevipes'' Krombh. *'' Sparassis crispa'' ( Wulfen) Fr. *'' Sparassis cystidiosa'' Desjardin & Zheng Wang *'' Sparassis foliacea'' St.-Amans *'' Sparassis herbstii'' Peck *'' Sparassis kazachstanica'' Shvartsman *'' Sparassis laminosa'' Fries *'' Sparassis latifolia'' Y.C. Dai & Zheng Wang *'' Sparassis miniensis'' Blanco-Dios & Z. Wang *'' Sparassis minoensis'' Blanco-Dios & Z. Wang *'' Sparassis nemecii'' Pilát & Veselý *''Sparassis radicata'' Weir *'' Sparassis simplex'' D.A. Reid *''

Sparassis spathulata ''Sparassis spathulata'' is a species of fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organ ...

'' (Schwein.) Fr. *'' Sparassis subalpina'' Q. Zhao, Zhu L. Yang & Y.C. Dai *'' Sparassis tremelloides'' Berkeley The best-known and most widely collected species are ''S. crispa'' (found in Europe and eastern North America) and ''S. radicata'' (found in western North America). These species have a very similar appearance and some authorities treat them as

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

. Their colour ranges from light brown-yellow to yellow-grey or a creamy-white cauliflower colour. They are normally 10 to 25 cm tall but can grow to be quite large, with reported cases of

fruiting bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

more than 50cm tall and 14 kg in weight. Their unique look and size means they are unlikely to be mistaken for any poisonous/inedible mushrooms. They grow as

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

or saprobes on the roots or bases of various species of

hardwoods Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

, especially

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, and conifers, and hence are most commonly found growing close to fir,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

or spruce trees.

Edibility

''Sparassis crispa'' can be very tasty but should be thoroughly cleaned before use. The folds may contain dirt and other material because, as it grows, the

basidiocarp In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do ...

envelops objects such as pine needles. Italian

gastronome Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gast ...

Antonio Carluccio Antonio Carluccio, OBE OMRI (; 19 April 1937 – 8 November 2017) was an Italian chef, restaurateur and food expert, based in London. He was called "the godfather of Italian gastronomy", with a career of more than 50 years. He is perhaps best re ...

said that

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an ''S. crispa'' should be picked when creamy white, because once yellow it is too indigestible to eat. It is suitable for drying and reconstituting because it retains its cartilaginous texture and hence is good for soups. ''S. radicata'' is also edible, as is ''S. spathulata'', a cauliflower mushroom which looks similar to ''

Grifola frondosa ''Grifola frondosa'' (also known as hen-of-the-woods, in Japanese, ram's head or sheep's head) is a polypore mushroom that grows at the base of trees, particularly old growth oaks or maples. It is typically found in late summer to early aut ...

''. ''S. crispa'' is also widely used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

because it contains active pharmacological ingredients. In order to study its medicinal value better, the

genomic sequence In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...

of ''S. crispa'' was published in October 2018. The dry weight of the basidiocarp was found to contain up to 43.6%

Beta-glucan Beta-glucans, β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides (glucans) naturally occurring in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and fungi, with significantly differing physicochemical properties dependent on source. Typically, � ...

, which was approved for the treatment of cancer in Japan and most recently recommended for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

patients to overcome

inflammation Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...

. Experiments suggest that ''S. crispa'' contains chemicals that may stimulate the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splint ...

and has many biological properties including:

anti-tumor Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothera ...

, antiviral activity (

reverse transcriptase inhibitor Reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) are a class of antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV infection or AIDS, and in some cases hepatitis B. RTIs inhibit activity of reverse transcriptase, a viral DNA polymerase that is required for replicati ...

y activity),

neuroprotection Neuroprotection refers to the relative preservation of neuronal structure and/or function. In the case of an ongoing insult (a neurodegenerative insult) the relative preservation of neuronal integrity implies a reduction in the rate of neuronal lo ...

cardioprotection Cardioprotection includes all mechanisms and means that contribute to the preservation of the heart by reducing or even preventing myocardial damage. Cardioprotection encompasses several regimens that have shown to preserve function and viabilit ...

, anti-inflammation,

hyperlipidemia Hyperlipidemia is abnormally elevated levels of any or all lipids (fats, cholesterol, or triglycerides) or lipoproteins in the blood. citing: and The term ''hyperlipidemia'' refers to the laboratory finding itself and is also used as an umbre ...

anti-diabetic medication Drugs used in diabetes treat diabetes mellitus by altering the glucose level in the blood. With the exceptions of insulin, most GLP receptor agonists ( liraglutide, exenatide, and others), and pramlintide, all are administered orally and are th ...

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...

compounds, and

methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

(MRSA).

Species

Edibility

See also

References

Further reading