Arricciata

The cauliflower fungus does not look like a mushroom at all. It grows at the base of old pine trees during the autumn, reaches more than 50 cm (20 inches) in diameter and weighs several kilos. It develops from a single thick, short stem hidden at the base of the tree, into a series of tightly packed branches with little off-white lobes at the end, which makes it look like a huge cauliflower or brain (hence its other English name, ‘brain fungus’). It is not a common fungus and cannot be bought easily in Italy, except in local markets such as Trento where, in autumn, up to 60 different types of mushroom are on sale in any one day.