Grifola frondosa is called “Maitake” in Japanese, which means “dancing mushroom”. Some say it is so named because in ancient times people who found the mushroom danced with joy as it could be exchanged for its weight in silver.
Others believe that the name “Maitake” comes from the fact that the fruiting bodies overlap each other, to look like butterflies in a wild dance.
It is also called “The Hen of the Woods”
This mushroom is found in the northern hemisphere, growing on decideous trees but it is never common and is not known to occur in South Africa. | 
