Oyster mushroom
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 Fruiting body of the Oyster mushroom in the Middlesex Fells Reservation.
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| Pleurotus ostreatus Champ. Jura. Vosg. 1: 112, 1872 |
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The Oyster mushroom, or Pleurotus ostreatus, is a common mushroom prized for its edibility and lack of confusing look-alikes. It is related to the "king oyster mushroom". Oyster mushrooms can also be used industrially for mycoremediation purposes.
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[edit] Name
Both the latin and common name refer to the shape of the fruiting body. The latin pleurotus (sideways) refers to the sideways-growth of the stem with respect to the cap while the latin ostreatus (and the English common name, oyster) refers to the shape of the cap which resembles the bi-valve of the same name. Many also believe that the name is fitting due to the flavor resemblance to oysters.
In Chinese, they are called píng gū (平菇). Meaning "flat mushroom".
[edit] Identification
The oyster is one of the more commonly sought wild mushrooms, though it can also be cultivated on straw and other media.
[edit] Cap
Size:5-25 cm broad, fan or oyster-shaped; Natural specimens range from white to gray or tan to dark-brown; margin inrolled when young, smooth and often somewhat lobed or wavy.
[edit] Flesh
Flesh white, firm, varies in thickness due stipe arrangement.
[edit] Gills and stem
Gills are white to cream, descend stalk if present. If so, stipe off-center with lateral attachment to wood.
[edit] Spores
The spores form a white to lilac-gray print on dark media.
[edit] Mycelium
The mycelium is white and grows rapidly.
[edit] Habitat
The Oyster Mushroom is wide-spread in temperate forests throughout the world. Saprophyte that acts as a primary decomposer on wood.
[edit] Additional Information
Oyster mushrooms are a source of statin drugs. The oyster mushroom is also one of the few known carnivorous mushrooms. Its mycelia can kill and digest nematodes. This is believed to be a way to obtain nitrogen.
Oyster mushrooms contain very small amounts of arabitol which can cause gastrointestinal distress in some people.
[edit] References
- Stamets & Chilton, The Mushroom Cultivator, 1983
- Stamets, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (Third Edition), 2000
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, 1997
[edit] External links
