Pheasant’s Back Mushroom

Pheasant’s Back mushrooms are a fungi named for the pattern on their caps, which resembles the white and brown feathers seen on the backs of pheasants. The mushrooms grow on hardwood, sometimes on already rotting dead wood and sometimes as a destructive parasite on living trees.

Pheasant’s Backs are edible when young, gathered and sliced before cooking. They have a scent many have compared to watermelon rind. Older mushrooms become tough and inedible, but can be processed to create a form of paper.