Fistulina hepatica

Beefsteak fungus

Scientific identification: Fistulina hepatica (Schaeff.) With.
Family: Fistulinaceae
Class: Agaricomycetes
Genus: Fistulina

Names across languages

English: Beefsteak fungus
German: Eichen-Leberreischling
Finnish: Häränkieli
Estonian: Maksak
Russian: Печёночница обыкновенная

The scientific profile

From the latest record: 2026-09-05.

Hymenium

Pores initially whitish to straw-yellow, becoming pinkish-red to reddish-brown with age; tubes cylindrical and separate from one another

Cap

Tongue-, fan- to kidney-shaped; upper surface pinkish-red when young, becoming dark red-brown; finely papillate when young, later smoother

Hymenium Attachment

Pore layer on underside

Stipe

Merging directly into the bracket

Spore print

Spore print white to pale pinkish-yellow

Ecology

Weakly parasitic and saprobic, causing brown rot primarily on old oaks and sweet chestnut; usually low on trunks, root bases and stumps, also on fallen wood; solitary or overlapping; summer to autumn

Edibility

Edible when young (sour), becoming tough with age

Fruit body

Fruit body large, thick and fleshy; ~3–6 cm thick

Dimensions

Cap ∅ ~8–25 cm

Flesh

Reddish-pink, marbled with paler fibres, soft and juicy

Description

Exudes conspicuous blood-red liquid when cut

Chemical reactions

No macroscopic reagents reaction

Odour

Indistinct

Taste

Acidic, sour

Microscopy

Spores broadly ellipsoid to ovoid, smooth, hyaline, inamyloid, ~4–6 × 3–4 µm; basidia 4-spored; hyphal system monomitic with clamp connections; laticiferous hyphae with brownish contents present