Living forms / Pored · branching rosette

Maitake

Grifola frondosa

Illustrative 3D modelFruiting body / 3D

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Educational representation · not to scale

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Grifola / Meripilaceae

Maitake

Grifola frondosa

01 / The fruiting body

A closer look.

Many spoon-like caps form a layered rosette above a branching base.

Form at a glance

Many overlapping caps
Pale pore surfaces
Branching common base

Switch to Anatomy to trace individual structures, or choose a view to see another surface.

Classification & naming

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Meripilaceae
Genus: Grifola
Accepted name: Grifola frondosa

The displayed species name follows the linked account. Higher-rank classifications can differ between older field guides and current research.

Sources (1)

Hen of the Woods (Maitake)

Taxonomy in Academy →

02 / Form & function

Read the anatomy.

Choose a marker, a surface, or a structure below. The selected region is gently emphasized.

Select a structure

01CapPileus

The upper contour is simplified in this procedural model.

Function

Supports the spore-bearing surface.

When observing

Read alongside the species notes; this schematic feature cannot establish identity or safety.

Sources (2)

Hen of the Woods (Maitake) Examples of macroscopic features

02Pore surfaceTubular hymenophore

Recess-colored pore mouths mark the tube-bearing underside; the model does not resolve the tubes or measured pores.

Function

Supports spore-producing tissue inside tubes.

When observing

Read alongside the species notes; this schematic feature cannot establish identity or safety.

Sources (2)

Hen of the Woods (Maitake) Examples of macroscopic features

Continue in Academy →

03AttachmentBasal attachment

This compact base indicates a connection to wood or other substrate beyond the model.

Function

Connects the fruiting body to its substrate.

When observing

Read alongside the species notes; this schematic feature cannot establish identity or safety.

Sources (2)

Hen of the Woods (Maitake) Examples of macroscopic features

Highlighting follows the model's named surfaces when 3D is available. Microscopic layers are not represented in this macro model.

03 / Learning to observe

Notice the differences.

Read the visible form

Maitake has gray-brown caps and pale pores underneath. Its rosette contains many connected lobes; these are not gills.

Sources (1)

Hen of the Woods (Maitake)

What this illustration leaves out

This original procedural model is an educational shape study. It omits measured scale, microscopic characters and many changes caused by age, moisture and damage.

Sources (1)

Examples of macroscopic features

Natural variation

One illustrative form is shown. Age, moisture, inherited variation and damage can change real fruiting bodies; proportions are not calibrated.

Visual features alone may not establish identity. Do not use this model or visual identification alone to decide whether a wild fungus is safe to consume.

This collection does not assess edibility or toxicity; a model cannot establish identity or safety.

04 / A place in nature

Connected to its habitat.

Habitat and ecological context

This fungus decomposes wood and may occur on both living and dead trees. The visible rosette develops near the tree base.

Sources (1)

Hen of the Woods (Maitake)

Explore in Academy →

Scientific references3 sources / 2026-10-20

Source-linked editorial review; expert review pending. Species descriptions, source associations and qualified taxonomic concepts.

Reference set 2026-10-20.expansion1 · 2026-10-20

Hen of the Woods (Maitake) ↗ · Missouri Department of Conservation institutional-reference · Accessed 2026-10-20
Examples of macroscopic features ↗Heino Lepp · Australian National Botanic Gardens institutional-reference · Accessed 2026-10-20
Mushrooms: the spore-bearing surface ↗Heino Lepp · Australian National Botanic Gardens institutional-reference · Accessed 2026-10-20

Model provenance & limitationsIllustrative 3D model / v1.0.0

Creator: MycoIlm procedural generator
Asset: grifola-frondosa-procedural-v1 · v1.0.0
Added: 2026-10-20
Scientific review: Expert review pending
File: GLB · 1,002,748 bytes · 32,552 triangles
License: Project-authored demonstration asset; no third-party model license.

Project-authored procedural educational geometry. The preview is rendered from this same model, not from a specimen photograph.

Original MycoIlm procedural geometry and generated surface colors; no external model or texture files used.

Approximate form, color and anatomical detail. This is not a specimen scan, measured reconstruction, identification reference or scientifically calibrated model.

Expert review pending. Macro geometry, anatomy mappings, color, proportions and scientific scale.

Reference set 2026-10-20.expansion1