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Oyster Mushroom

Pleurotus ostreatus and P. pulmonarius
Family: 
Pleurotaceae
Description: 

Gilled, in shelflike clusters; broad, fleshy, whitish, grayish, or tan cap; stubby, off-center stalk. Grows on stumps, logs, and trunks of deciduous trees. Year-round. Cap shell-shaped, semicircular to elongated; margin is lobed to wavy; whitish to grayish to tan; texture velvety; flesh is thick, white. Gills narrow to broad; spacing close to nearly distant; white, becoming yellowish; attachment descending the stalk. Stalk (if present) short, thick; white; base is hairy; off-center, solid. Spore print white to grayish-lilac. Spores magnified are narrowly elliptical, smooth, colorless.

There are no lookalikes in Missouri that are poisonous.

Size: 
Cap width: 1–6 inches; stalk length: to 1¼ inches; stalk width: to ¾ inch.
Habitat and conservation: 
Grows in clusters on stumps, logs, and trunks of deciduous trees. Of the two species, P. ostreatus fruits year-round, especially after a good rain and when the weather is mild. P. pulmonarius fruits only during warm months.
Distribution in Missouri: 
Statewide.
Status: 
Considered a choice edible, and wild oyster mushrooms have a much better flavor than the cultivated oyster mushrooms available at stores. That said, easy-to-use kits for growing oyster mushrooms are available, and these are educational, fun, and provide some food for the table.
Life cycle: 
This species exists most of the time as a network of fungal cells (mycelium) within rotting stumps, logs, and trunks. The mycelium obtains nourishment by digesting, and rotting, the wood. When ready to reproduce, the mycelium develops mushrooms, which are reproductive structures. Spores are produced in the gills and are released to begin new mycelia elsewhere.
Human connections: 
In addition to being a prized culinary mushroom that is eaten worldwide, oyster mushrooms are also being explored as a "digester" of waste plastics and petroleum spills, and as a more ecologically responsible substitute for Styrofoam.
Ecosystem connections: 
This is one of the many fungus species that live on decaying wood. It and other such saprobic fungi play an incredibly important role in breaking down the tough materials wood is made of and returning those nutrients to the soil.

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