Not edible. Tough or woody; used as tea or extract. Never eat a wild mushroom identified only from photos.
- Season in Mexico
- HabitatOn dead wood
- GrowingEasy
- FamilyPolyporaceae
How do you identify turkey tail?
- Surface
- Concentric yellowish, orangish, grayish, bluish, blackish and reddish-brown bands. Velvety zones alternate with almost smooth zones.[10]
- Size
- Cap 2–8 cm across and 1–4 cm deep.[1]
- Underside
- White to yellowish, with small pores.[10]
- Stem
- Stemless; the flat caps overlap.[4]
- Flesh
- White, very tough, leathery and fibrous.[4]
- Spore print
- Whitish.[1]
- Smell
- No distinctive odor.[1]
Can you eat turkey tail?
This is an inedible fungus with very tough, leathery, fibrous flesh. The Cochrane review mentions a possible interaction with cyclophosphamide.[4][9]
How do you grow turkey tail?
Temperature
Colonization24–29 °C
Fruiting18–24 °C
Humidity
Colonization0–95 %
Fruiting0–88 %
Full cycle: 70 days
- Light
- Indirect
Substrates
Log your batches, temperatures and harvests. The free plan needs no card.
What does research say about turkey tail?
These findings describe research. None of them is a recommendation to use it. If you take medication or have a disease, talk to your doctor.
Where and when does turkey tail grow?
Grows in overlapping clusters or rosettes on dead hardwood. It also occurs on dying trees and, rarely, on conifer wood.[10]
MushroomExpert records it year-round in North America. Fruiting months in Mexico remain unspecified by the cited sources.[1]
Widely distributed in North America. CONABIO records it as native to Mexico and documents the following states and federal entities.[1][3]
About the name
Coriolus versicolor is a synonym used in medical publications. CONABIO recognizes Trametes versicolor as the valid name.[3][9]
