Oyster Mushrooms

 Wild Harvest Tour Exclusive

 

This post is based on something we may encounter in the fall on a Wild Harvest Tour. The Pleurotus family is found worldwide but Oyster Fungi are also cultivated and come in a number of shapes and colors.

 

https://www.facebook.com/p/Sandhills-Wild-Harvest-61557940700225/

 

These Oysters emerged in m y compost pile a month or two after I discarded a few 'C' grade mushroom compost blocks in there. I did not get to harvest them but they may make another push in the fall.

These Pink Oysters are very dramatic and in this specific cultivated form the gills go all the way down the stem. I would not expect this to be the case in the wild.

 

 

Common Name: Oyster Mushroom

 

Other Common Names: Hiratake

 

Botanical Family: Pleurotaceae (The Oyster Mushroom Family)

 

Botanical Latin Name: Pleurotus species

 

Description & Habitat:  Oyster mushrooms as noted before come in a large variety of sizes and shapes. The members of the Pleurotus family are known to have white spores and the family itself contains thirteen genera and more than four-hundred and twelve species. This species of mushroom has numerous cultivated forms and can readily be found in the wild at the right time of year under certain environmental conditions. The most common form of this Mushroom is the Pearl Oyster Mushroom (P. ostreatus) which is the light gray colored Oyster Mushrooms you might find at the supermarket. A close second for availability is the Golden Oyster Mushroom (P. citrinopileatus) which is often found in mushroom blends and has a golden yellow color. In the wild it’s more likely that you will find something close to Peal Oyster Mushroom, and this specific species is a saprotroph which means it feeds on decaying wood and as such Pearl oysters tend to prefer deciduous trees with a preference for beech. It constitutes also as a white rot fungus given how the fungal mass tends to look when infesting wounds on a tree before it produces a flush of mushrooms. However as with the picture of them in the wild, they can appear in almost any hardwood tree such as Oaks (Quercus sp.), but they seem to have a preference for the softer less rot-resistant species like Aspen (Populus sp.), Birch (Betula sp.), Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera) and the softer wooded Maples (Acer sp.). Your basic Oyster Mushroom has a wide flat cap that is roughly shells shaped. The margin of the cap is smooth though may be a bit wavy. In the case of the Pearl Oyster Mushroom, the upper surface of the cap may have some luster and be greyish to tan in color while the undersides tend to be white. The texture over all is velvety while the interior of the flesh is white.

 

          In an unrelated note in doing research for this post I found out that Pearl Oyster Mushroom is one of the few confirmed carnivorous mushrooms. It actively preys on nematodes in the soil and its mycelia are able to kill and adsorb nutrients from dead Nematodes. This is theorized as an evolved means for the fungi to get nitrogen. Beyond the basic implications of this this also may mean oyster mushroom compost may be a ecologically friendly way of destroying nematode populations in agriculture while also improving soil quality and structure as earthworms are unaffected.

 

When & What to Harvest: In North Carolina,  typically flushes of harvestable Oyster mushrooms appear after a period of weather that is moist and has had a period in the 70’s followed by a few weeks of weather that is 50-60 degrees. Basically this would be some time in mid to late spring or mid to late fall into early winter.

 

Dangerous Lookalikes: There are a few species of mushrooms that look similar such as Oysterlings (Crepidotus mollis), Ivory Funnel Mushrooms (Clitocybe dealbata), The Western Jack O’ Lantern (Omphalotus olearius) and Ghost Mushroom (Omphalotus nidiformis). The latter is unlikely to be found in North America as it is endemic to Japan and Australia but better to give a warning that is never used then to risk harm to a reader. This species is readily identifiable it glows greenish under certain conditions.

 

Related Useful Species:  King Oyster Mushroom (P. eryngii), Phoenix Mushroom (P. pulmonarius), Pink Oyster Mushroom (P. djamor), White Oyster Mushroom (P. opuntiae ), there are many more but these are the ones you have a higher chance of finding in the wild in North America.

 

Recipe:  In general Oyster mushrooms lend themselves to soups, stir-frying as well as to being a good additive to an omelet.  One especially good way to use them is to sauté them in butter and cream then add them to pan-fried chicken breast with a dash of garlic. In just about every conceivable way the Oyster Mushroom is more flexible in a culinary sense over the super-common White Button/Cremini/Portobello mushrooms that you can find at every supermarket right now.

 

Additional Information: (If applicable)

 

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog.  In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

 

For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.

 

Fresh Foods:

Soup Kit – Parsnip

Soup Kit – Turnip

Garlic Bulbs

 

 

Soil Amendment Products:

Live Mushroom Compost – 18 Gallon Tote*

Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag

Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag

 

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Turkey Tail Tincture

Sandhills Mushroom Farms – Lion’s Mane Mushroom Grow Kit (New!)

 

Garden Plants, Perennial:

Gentian Sage

Spineless Prickly Pear

Spanish Bayonet

 

Garden Plants, Fall Foods:

Collards, Green Glaze

 

Coming Soon:

Fall vegetables

 

*The 18 gallon tote is by special order only and is delivered to any address within the Fayetteville city area.

 

 

How to stay in Contact with Us!

Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.

 

Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville

 

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>Newest videos (1): Lily Turf

 

Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is September 14^th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.