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Oyster mushroom is a mushroom highly valued by people who adhere to dietary rules. Pleurotus ostreatus is very low in calories and also useful, as it contains a lot of substances useful to the body.

Below you can read a description of the oyster mushroom, learn about its use and distinctive features. You will also see a photo of an oyster mushroom in the forest; you will find out when you can start "mushroom hunting" and get information about where oyster mushrooms grow in their natural habitat.

Category: edible.

An unusual-shaped hat (height 0.5-2 cm, diameter 6-30 cm): usually glossy, white, gray or ashy, less often brown, purple, brown, light yellow. Round and fleshy.

As you can see in the photo and the description of the oyster mushroom, the cap of the young mushroom has the shape of an auricle and is characteristically wrapped around the edges. Over time, the edges straighten, and the cap becomes almost flat with characteristic wavy edges. The mushroom cap is very smooth to the touch.

Leg (height 0.5-3 cm): usually white or slightly grayish, smooth to the touch, very little or almost none. Usually cylindrical, often curved to the side, expanding from bottom to top.

Plates: very rare and delicate, mostly the same color as the cap.

Pulp: very juicy and dense.

Pay attention to the photo of the oyster mushroom in the context: the color of the flesh almost coincides with the cap or plates.

Oyster mushroom is a predatory fungus that can paralyze and digest some primordial worms thanks to the nematoxin it contains. Therefore, it is practically never wormy.

Doubles: absent.

Where and when do oyster mushrooms grow

Where do oyster mushrooms grow: often on dead trees or rotten stumps, less often on dying deciduous and coniferous trees. It prefers to grow next to birches, willows and aspens.

In many countries, they are grown in a production environment. In the forest, oyster mushrooms are quite unpretentious, therefore, when artificially grown, they are planted in large groups on sawdust, small shavings and even paper, waste from processing plants and vegetables (husk or straw).

When oyster mushrooms grow: from mid-September to late December in the countries of the Eurasian continent. Oyster mushroom prefers low temperatures, therefore it begins to grow with the onset of autumn. But it can also appear in the summer, if the weather is cool for a long time.

Eating: it is not only a low-calorie mushroom, but also a very healthy mushroom. It contains a lot of protein, amino acids necessary for the human body, ascorbic acid, vitamin PP, phosphorus, iron and other elements.

Application in traditional medicine: does not apply.

Other names: oyster mushroom, oyster mushroom, lump.