chicken of the woods

noun phrase

variants: or chicken-of-the-woods

Definition of chicken of the woods

: an edible bracket fungus (Laetiporus sulphureus) of North America and Europe that forms thick, fleshy, shelflike fruiting bodies (as on tree trunks) which are usually bright orange above and sulfur yellow below Realistically, however, a 56-pound chicken of the woods is old and tough. The fungus is only appetizing when it is young and tender, but even then, it is usually big.— Nina Rao I've eaten chicken-of-the-woods, a bright orange fungus I knocked off a rotting log.— Tina Kelley

— called also chicken mushroom, sulfur shelf

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Statistics for chicken of the woods

Cite this Entry

“Chicken of the woods.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken%20of%20the%20woods. Accessed 10 Aug. 2022.

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