Mushroom of the Week: Chicken of the woods, a forest parasite saving lives

Mushroom of the Week: Chicken of the woods, a forest parasite saving lives

Residents of Aiken-Augusta might soon observe vivid yellow shelves growing from local oak trunks. This fungus, Chicken of the Woods, is a natural contradiction. Sometimes, it causes the wood to turn reddish-brown and powdery, a process called brown heart rot. While this eventually kills host trees, it simultaneously carves out vital nesting cavities for forest animals. Widely found east of the Rocky Mountains, French mycologist Pierre Bulliard f…