Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) is one of the most common and wide spread mushroom in the area where I live. Relatively easy to spot and quite easy to identify. They start to show several weeks after the end of morel season (June) and last all the way into November, depending on weather. Sometimes they will sprout during the worm spell even in the middle of the Winter

Name

The new DNA identification methods show that in North America there are three closely related species:

• P. populinus is found on aspen, growing in spring and summer; spore print buff (off-white);
• P. pulmonarius (P. sapidus) is found on hardwoods other than aspen and has a lilac color spore print;
• P. ostreatus has a white spore print and is also found on hardwoods other than aspen; grows late summer an fall

As far as I can tell, Pleurotus populinos is my most frequent find. It is supposed to be mainly white and generally smaller. Anyway, for all practical stuff, this makes no difference since all of the oysters are excellent edibles

Characteristics

• always growing on the wood (dead trunks or live trees)
• grows in overlapping layers and usually in great numbers
• gills are well spaced
• stalks are off-centered and usually very short
• odor is very characteristic and hard to describe
• caps are light colored; in my area usually from white to tan to brown

The main habitat is hardwoods. Apparently they do grow on conifers, too, but I never found any. Slugs love this mushroom. They do get infested with small, white worms. There is very characteristic tiny black and red bug tunneling and living in the mushroom.

Edibility

The Oyster Mushroom is high on all lists of choice edibles. It is cultivated and sold in many better supermarkets, although that is, in my opinion, inferior in taste to the wild variety.

My favorite way of cooking is sauteed in butter with couple of eggs on  the top. I recommend stalk removal since they tend to be rather tough. The mushroom can be easily dried, pickled etc.

I do plan to try and ferment them in the future. They absorb flavors and are well suited for stews ragùs and similar dishes.

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