A blood-red bracket fungus that grows on oak and chestnut, named for its meat-like appearance and red juice.
Where it grows
The beefsteak fungus fruits from late summer into autumn, almost always on the trunks of old oaks and occasionally sweet chestnut. It causes a brown rot in the heartwood, but slowly — host trees often live with the infection for many years. The dark red staining that the fungus produces in oak heartwood (“brown oak”) is prized by furniture makers.
How to recognise it
A fleshy single bracket like a slab of raw liver, dark blood-red on top with a sticky cuticle. The undersurface is a mass of fine separable tubes (not gills), cream when young and pinking with age. A cut reveals flesh marbled red and white that bleeds a red juice.
Edibility & cautions
Edible but sharply acidic — closer to sorrel than steak. The flesh is best sliced thin and used sparingly. There are no dangerous look-alikes; nothing else on oak resembles its red-meat appearance.
Culinary use
Marinate thin slices in oil and lemon, or use raw in salads to balance richer dishes.
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Beefsteak Fungus starts with B and ends with S. Browse other mushrooms along the same letter.
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