Local name: Meto Shamong

Edibility:  Edible

Habitat: On the wood debris and at the base of the trees and caespitose.

Description: Fruiting bodies: 15-50 cm broad and composed of multiple caps with many branches and a stem like structure. Each cap is 2-10 cm across, more or less fan-shaped, creamy to dirty white in colour and finely velvety with wavy margins. Hymenophore: Creamy when young, becoming dirty whitish to yellowish at maturity.  Stem: Branched, whitish, tough and often off-centre. Flesh: Firm and white. Spore Print: White.

Comments: As its common name suggests, the densely branched fruiting body of Sparassis crispa resembles a cauliflower. Initially creamy-buff in colour the long-lived fruiting bodies gradually darken in age especially along the branch edges. Sparassis crispa is believed to be parasitic on conifers. Affected trees produce annual fruiting, sometimes bushel basket in size. The size, colour and flattened branch structure of Sparassis crispa distinguish it from other members of the coral group.