Shiitake
Lentinula edodes · 香菇
Common光茸菌科🍽 Cultivated Edible
A commercially cultivated edible fungus. Buy wild specimens only through reputable, regulated sources.
The same species can be described differently across regions and stages of maturity, and countless look-alike species cannot be told apart by eye. Never use the information on this page to judge whether a real mushroom is safe to eat.
How to Tell
- Cap brown, surface often cracked with white scale-like patches
- Gills white; stem off-center, with fibrous scales
- Grows on hardwood logs; cultivated stock common on wooden racks
ID notes are compiled by AI from public sources, not reviewed by a mycologist, for learning only — never a basis for foraging.
Basics
- Family
- 光茸菌科
- Hymenium
- Gills
- Grows On
- Wood
- How Big
- 5–15 cm (cap diameter)
- Encounter Rate
- Common
- Habitat
- Hardwood logs or cultivation blocks
Fun Fact
The white cracks on the cap form when cool, dry air can't keep pace with the flesh swelling underneath, splitting the skin apart. That crackling pattern is exactly what makes premium 'flower mushroom' shiitake pricier.
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