''Fistulina hepatica'' (beefsteak fungus, also known as beefsteak polypore, poor man’s steak, ox tongue, or tongue mushroom) is an unusual
bracket fungus
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
classified in the
Agaricales, that is commonly seen in Britain, but can be found in North America, Australia, North Africa, Southern Africa and the rest of Europe. As its name suggests, it looks remarkably similar to a slab of raw meat. It has been used as a meat substitute in the past, and can still be found in some French markets. It has a sour, slightly acidic taste. For eating it must be collected young and it may be tough and need long cooking.
Details
The
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
is 7–30 cm wide and 2–6 cm thick.
Is shape resembles a large tongue, and it is rough-surfaced with a reddish-brown colour. The
spores are pink
and released from minute pores on the creamy-white underside of the fruit body. A younger ''Fistulina hepatica'' is a pinkish-red colour, and it darkens with age. It bleeds a dull red juice when cut, which can cause stains,
and the cut flesh further resembles meat.
[ It is sour in taste,]tubules
In biology, a tubule is a general term referring to small tube or similar type of structure. Specifically, tubule can refer to:
* a small tube or fistular structure
* a minute tube lined with glandular epithelium
* any hollow cylindrical body stru ...
. The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin word fistula
A fistula (plural: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") in anatomy is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow or ...
and means "small tube", whilst the species name ''hepatica'' means "liver-like", referring to the consistency of the flesh.
The species is fairly common, and can often be found on 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 ...
s and sweet chestnut
''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...
, 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
''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 ...
'' trees. It causes a brown rot on the trees which it infects.[
]
Relationship to other fungi
''Fistulina'' is classified in the family Fistulinaceae;[ molecular studies suggest close relations to the '']agaric
An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushroom ...
'' mushroom '' Schizophyllum'' in the Schizophyllaceae (in the ''schizophylloid'' clade), but in the separate sister ''fistulinoid'' clade.[ ''Fistulina'' is a ]cyphelloid
The cyphelloid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota that have disc-, tube-, or cup-shaped basidiocarps (fruit bodies), resembling species of discomycetes (or "cup fungi") in the Ascomycota. They were originally referred to the genus '' ...
genus, meaning that it is closely related to gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
ed 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.
See also
* Forest pathology
Forest pathology is the research of both biotic and abiotic maladies affecting the health of a forest ecosystem, primarily fungal pathogens and their insect vectors. It is a subfield of forestry and plant pathology.
Forest pathology is part ...
* List of meat substitutes
This is a list of meat substitutes. A meat substitute, also called a meat analogue, approximates certain aesthetic qualities (primarily texture, flavor and appearance) or chemical characteristics of a specific meat. Substitutes are often based ...
*
References
External links
mushroomexpert.com
Description and additional links
Beefsteak fungi and Brown Rot on oak.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q631566
Fistulinaceae
Fungi described in 1774
Fungi of Australia
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Edible fungi
Meat substitutes
Taxa named by Jacob Christian Schäffer