Neolentinus ponderosa – Giant Sawgill

Because its favorite host is pine trees, we find Neolentinus in Central Oregon each mushroom season and the mushroom itself lasts a long time.  It can grow to be over a foot in diameter! Some sources call it the Giant Sawgill. The name Lentinus ponderosus is in the older books, but is now changed to Neolentinus because the brown rot it causes in pines is not white like other Lentinus species. With that in mind, it isn’t a good candidate for your compost pile.  As an edible, it is tough and just okay, though some sites online say the young specimens are quite good. It needs to be sliced very very thin and cooked a long time.