Dryad’s Saddle Edibility, Identification, Distribution Galloway


DRYAD’S SADDLE MUSHROOM (Polyporus squamosus). Photographed April 19

The dryad's saddle ( Cerioporus squamosus, formerly known as Polyporus squamosus ), and referred to as the pheasant's back or pheasant back mushroom, or hawk's wing, is a widespread edible wild fungi that is easy to spot beginning in mid to late April and continuing through June.


Dryad's Saddle, a Unique and Tasty Mushroom Eat The

How to Cook a Perfect Pheasant Back / Dryad's Saddle Mushroom — Font and Flora Wild Southern Food and Typography The flavor of this mushroom is absolutely beautiful! It tastes somewhere between pork and chicken, with that hint of nuttiness that mushrooms often have.


How to Cook the Dryad Saddle or Pheasant Back Mushroom

Season - April - August Habitat - growing as a parasite on dead and dying deciduous trees, especially elm, beech and sycamore. The pores of young dryad's saddle often smell of water melon! I have harshly rated this beautiful fungi for edibility due to the difficulty of catching it in its youthful prime.


The dryad saddle mushroom, polyporus squamosus

A simple preserve of dryad saddle or pheasant back mushrooms. It's similar to a mushroom duxelles and can be used in sauces and stuffings. It's springtime again, and with it comes the onslaught of Dryad Saddle, a.k.a Pheasant Back mushrooms here in Minnesota.


Dryad's Saddle or Pheasant Back Mushroom Forager Chef

Health benefits Dryad's saddle (Polyporus squamosus) Young Specimens (Photo by: Phil Sellens/Flickr) Much like other wild mushrooms, dryad's saddle can be a nice addition to your daily diet. These mushrooms are a wonderful source of protein and other essential nutrition.


Three Dryads saddle mushrooms growing on a fallen log Photograph by

Dryad's Saddle, also commonly known as Pheasant Back, is a large bracket mushroom that grows on dead or dying hardwood trees. It causes a white rot which will kill the tree if it isn't already dead. Dryad's Saddle has beautiful, decorative light and dark brown markings on its cap that look like scales.


Dryad Saddle Shelf Mushroom Photograph by Dale Kincaid

Edible Scientific Name Polyporus squamosus Family Polyporaceae Description Large, fleshy, scaly, yellowish tan bracket fungus; large, yellowish white pores; short stalk; smells like watermelon rind. Grows singly or in layers, on living or dead deciduous wood. May-October. Cap circular to fan-shaped; yellowish tan; covered with dark, hairy scales.


Dryad’s Saddle Edibility, Identification, Distribution Galloway

Dryad's Saddle, also known as Pheasant's Back and Hawk's Wing, is a polypore-like bracket mushroom. It fruits on dying or dead hardwood trees. Dryad's Saddle is easily distinguishable by the cap's stylish light and dark brown patterns. They look like finely drawn scales or the back of a brown-feathered bird.


Mushroom. Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporaceae ) photo by John Jeffries. The

Dryad's saddle, also known as pheasant's back, is a large, scaled cap mushroom that can decay dead trees and the sapwood of living trees. The fruiting body ranges from 3-18 inches across and can get quite thick with a yellow/brown body and a scale pattern on the top. The fruiting body is tanish/brown on top and cream on the bottom.


Dryad's Saddle Mushrooms Photograph by John Wright/science Photo

Home / Mushroom Guide / Dryad's Saddle ( 90 votes, average: 3.69 out of 5) Dryad's Saddle Edible Spring Summer View Full Size Image The largest of these specimens was over 50cm in diameter The largest capped mushroom in the UK starting early in the year and sometimes lasting until the end of Summer. Watch our videos on YouTube


Dryad's Saddle (Massachusetts Mushrooms) ·

Dryad's saddle typically has a 6 cm (2.36") stem that is attached to the wood and is up to 4cm (1.57") thick. Habitat Dryad's saddle grows saprotrophically on fallen logs and tree stumps. It can also be found growing parasitically on hardwood trees such as maple, elm, box elder and other deciduous trees.


Dryad’s Saddle Edibility, Identification, Distribution Galloway

Dryad's saddle is an annual [6] mushroom commonly found attached to dead logs and stumps or on living hardwood trees at one point with a thick stem. Generally, the fruit body is round and between 8-30 centimetres (3-12 inches) across and up to 10 cm (4 in) thick. The body can be yellow to brown and has "squamules" or scales on its upper side.


Dryad's Saddle

Dryad saddles have a very strong farinaceous odor, similar to Clitopilus prunulus and others. To me (and most people) it resembles cucumber or watermelon rind--not a typical mushroomy aroma. Cooking will soften the flavor, but it won't remove it, and for me, and other people that like this mushroom, that's a good thing.


Dryad's Saddle, a Unique and Tasty Mushroom Eat The

The other common name, dryad's saddle, refers to the shape, which suggests a seat for a tree spirit (a dryad). It is also sometimes referred to as "Hawks Wing Mushroom".


Mushroom Identification Dryad's Saddle

How to identify. Starting out as stout little ears a little like Shrek's, this fungus grows rapidly into beautiful saucers, often in tiers all down the side of the tree upon which it lives. The cap surface is pale cream/golden and has the most beautiful pattern of brown scales on top, which also gives it it's other nickname - 'Pheasants back.


Dryad's Saddle Mushroom ID & Recipe YouTube

One of the most underrated mushrooms, the Dryad's saddle ( Cerioporus squamosus, formerly known as Polyporus squamosus) is an edible mushroom with a pattern on the top of the cap that resembles pheasant feathers, hence the common name pheasant back. Pheasant tail mushrooms and saddle mushroom are two other common names.