Oyster Mushroom

Pleurotus ostreatus

Forests, parks, roadsides, farmsteads, on dead, less often living deciduous trees. Summer, especially autumn, even spring, mild winter.

Fruiting bodies medium-sized, large. Cap 5-12 (15) cm across, fan-shaped, semicircular, when old flattened, fleshy, surface smooth, ash-grey, slate-grey, grey, yellowish-grey, blackish-grey, with a violet tinge. Gills white, when old yellowish-grey, broad, pinkish, running far down the stem (long decurrent), the edges not toothed. Stem 1-5x0.5-2.5 cm, eccentric or lateral, firm, white, yellowish, yellowish-brownish, fibrous. Flesh fairly thick, white, soft, juicy, not bitter, with a mealy smell. Characteristic features: fan-shaped fruiting bodies, gills not toothed. Grows singly, in small groups, in colonies. A valuable edible mushroom, cultivated artificially in many countries (including Lithuania). Of interest to medical scientists.