How to use: Chicken of the woods is best suited for culinary purposes. They are the most popular substitutes in recipes that call for Chicken and other nonvegetarian varieties.

Where do they grow: Chicken of the woods grow in large groups on the stumps and trunks of Oak, Willow, Cherry, Sweet Chestnut, Yew, and on the wood of other hardwoods living or dead.

11. Enokitake:

Enokitake, also known as Lilly mushrooms, Nim Kim Châm in Vietnamese, Jingu in Chinese, and PaengiBeoseot in Korean, is found in the wild and cultivated. They are being cultivated for hundreds of years and are commonly used in culinary applications, often in soups and noodle bowls.

Other names: Flammulinavelutipes

Characteristics: CultivatedEnokitake looks like long strings, almost noodles like and have tiny, convex caps. They are thin and tightly packed in clusters and can grow up to twelve centimeters. Wild ones are different in appearance as they have shorter stems and larger caps, and their color ranges from slight orange to brown. These are rubbery and slightly sticky to touch.

Taste: Enokitakesare mild and have a slight fruity flavor. They are well known for their crispy and crunchy texture.

How to use: Commonly used in Japanese and Chinese cuisines, Enokitakes are usually added as textural enhancers to ramen bowls, soba noodles, hot pot soups, stir-fries, and stews.

Where do they grow: In the wild, enokitake grows in clusters on rotting wood, especially on the stumps of Chinese hackberry trees and mulberry, persimmon, and ash trees. Commercial varieties are cultivated in a dark carbon dioxide-rich environment to encourage the stems to stretch to become noodle-like, trying to reach the light.

12. Shaggy Mane:

Shaggy mane mushrooms are very common, widespread, wild mushrooms. They belong to the “Coprinus” genus and are called inky caps’ due to their unique auto digestion feature. As the name suggests, autodigestion is where the mushroom’s fruiting body melts into black, gooey liquid within a few hours of harvesting.