How much of a DNA difference is between Chicken of the Woods, and Hen of the Woods? I've noticed that when a COW is touching the ground it turns a gray color, but when on a log/tree it's bright orange. Is there a correlation between the DNA, and where it grows?

I will assume from your comment that your question is

> Is a chicken of the woods just a hen of the woods growing on the side of a tree?

, which is very similar to me to

> Is a chicken of the woods and a hen of the woods the same species?

No, they are not the same species. Chicken of the woods is the common name of a number of species of the genus _Laetiporus_. Hen of the woods is the common name of the species _Grifola frondosa_. In fact, _Grifola_ and _Laetiporus_ don't even belong to the same family but only to the same order (order _Polyporales_ ).

According to the wikipedia links posted above, _Grifola frondosa_ is indeed usually found at the base of the tree while _Laetiporus_ is generally found in the wound of trees (mainly oak trees).