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Red beefsteak fungus bracket growing from an oak trunk
Ediblebeginner-friendly group

Beefsteak Fungus

Fistulina hepatica / Ox tongue

A red, tongue-shaped bracket on oak and chestnut whose marbled flesh oozes red juice like raw meat.

Photo: Charles Joynson, CC0
Compiled by Mushroom Forage Map field deskExpert review pendingContent checked
Identification warning

Sour and acidic; soak or cook, and avoid old, soft specimens.

Season
Late summer to autumn
Habitat
Trunks of oak and sweet chestnut
Underside
Cream pores of separate tiny tubes, bruising reddish
Spore evidence
Pale pinkish brown

Where it grows

Tracked records and known growing zone

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Squares: where people recorded it, brighter where more people did
Verified records
6,594
People who recorded it
3,822
Most records (northern hemisphere)
Sep–Oct
Records span
1988–2026

Research-grade iNaturalist records, snapshot Aug 27, 2026. The growing zone combines areas where different people have repeatedly verified it. Records show where people looked and found it, not current abundance or permission to gather.

Observation season

When field records occur

Choose a hemisphere · All recorded years; not a current forecast.

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Lookalikes to rule out

Chicken of the woods is orange and sulfur yellow with a yellow pore surface.

Red-belted conks

harmless

Fomitopsis shelves are hard and woody, not soft and juicy.

Bleeding polypores

harmless

Few other soft brackets bleed red juice and show marbled flesh.

Identification

The bracket is soft, fleshy, and liver- to blood-red, shaped like a tongue or kidney. Cut it and the flesh shows red and white marbling like raw beef, releasing red juice. The cream underside is made of separate tubes that can be seen with a lens. It grows low on the trunk of oak or chestnut.

Uses and ecology

Beefsteak fungus causes a slow brown rot that stains oak heartwood a rich brown, once valued by furniture makers. The flesh is tart from organic acids and is usually sliced thin, soaked, and cooked.

Memorable fact

Oak stained by this fungus was sold as "brown oak" and prized for its warm color.

Sources

Never eat a mushroom from this page alone

Confirm identity using the whole specimen, multiple reputable sources, and a qualified local expert. Identified edible species still require appropriate preparation. Cooking does not make a poisonous mushroom safe.

Safety and poison response
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