Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Shiitake is a wood-decay mushroom from East Asia and one of the most widely grown mushrooms in the world, making up about a quarter of all mushrooms produced each year. It isn't native to the US, where it's known as a cultivated mushroom — home growers and small farms often raise it on oak logs. It's also called black forest mushroom or golden oak mushroom.

Appearance

Appearance: A brown, rounded cap with gills underneath that don't attach to the stem, a smooth stem, and a white to buff .

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Hardwood forests
Log yards and mushroom farms
Range: Native to East Asia and mainland Southeast Asia. It isn't native to the US, where it's known as a cultivated mushroom.
Preferred conditions: In the wild it grows in clusters on dead wood of broadleaf trees such as oak, chestnut, chinquapin, maple, and beech, in warm, moist climates.

Life cycle

Reproduction: In nature it spreads by released from the gills. Growers use instead, because spores can produce unpredictable strains.

Growing it

Care: Ohio State University Extension recommends oak logs, with white oaks preferred for their thick bark. Logs about 4–6 in (10–15 cm) across and 3–4 ft (90–120 cm) long are cut while the trees are dormant, then drilled and filled with spawn. The first mushrooms come 6 months to 2 years later, and a log keeps producing for 3–4 years. Cold-weather strains fruit in early spring and late fall, while warm-weather strains fruit in summer and early fall.
Toxicity: Rarely, eating raw or undercooked shiitake causes an itchy rash called shiitake dermatitis. It shows up about a day after eating and can last 3–21 days. Thorough cooking may prevent it.

Name and classification

About the name: It was long known as Lentinus edodes. The name shiitake is Japanese: shii is a chinquapin tree (Castanopsis) whose logs it often grows on, and take means mushroom.