GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

370 GROWTH PARAMETERS
I igure 332. G. frondosa
)*
Common Names: Maitake ("Dancing Mushroom"
Kumotake ("Cloud Mushroom")
Hen-of-the-WOOdS
The Dancing Butterfly Mushroom
Taxonomic Synonyms & Considerations: Synonymous with Polyporusfrondosus Dicks.: Fr.
Closely allied to Polyporus umbellatus Fr. (also known as Grifola umbellata Pers.: Fr.) which has
multiple caps arising from a common stem, a lighter color and a more fragile texture. The primordia
of G. frondosa are rich, dark gray brown to gray black in color whereas the fruitbody initials of G.
umbellata are light gray. MacroscopicallY, these two mushrooms are easily distinguished by their
Maitake or "Dancing Mushroom"
naturally comes into question. According to
fable, the ingestion of Maitake caused a group of lost nuns to fall into uncontrolled
frenzied dance with a band of
woodcutters. The reaction attributed to the Nuns finding this mushroom, their
chance encounter with the male
woodcutters, and the party-like atmosphere that ensued, seems incongnlous with the effects of this mushroom
compared to, for instance, the effects of the well known consciousness-raising
psilocybian mushroom species like
Gymnopilus spectabilis, a far more likely
candidate. (G. spectabilis is known as the Big Laughing Mushroom, or
O'warai-take.) The first report of Maitake was
recorded in a tale from the 11th century Japanese text Konjaku
Monogatari. Imazeki (1973) & Wasson (1973) first cast doubt about the authenticity of"Maitake" being
frondosa. Whatever species induced frenzied dance with the nuns and woodcutters, Maitake is today synonymous
with G.frondosa.
* The validity of the common name of
Grtfola frondosa (Dicks: Fr.) S .F.Gray
4 and 10 days after inoculation onto malt extract agar.
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