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Oyster mushrooms are found in the wild, they are also grown on an industrial scale and at home. They are common in Europe, America, Asia. In Russia, they grow in Siberia, the Far East, and the Caucasus. They prefer a temperate climatic zone and are resistant to cold weather. Photos of oyster mushrooms and their description are presented in the article.
What is oyster mushroom
Oyster mushrooms are edible lamellar mushrooms. In their natural environment, they grow on the remains of deciduous trees, stumps, dead wood, branches, dead wood. They prefer oak, mountain ash, birch, willow, aspen. It is rare on conifers. On vertical trunks, they are usually high. They grow in groups in more than one tier, while forming bundles of several fruiting bodies - up to 30 pieces. They rarely come across alone.
Oyster mushrooms are cultivated on an industrial scale and grown at home. Along with champignons, these are one of the most popular mushrooms on the market. The most common is common, or oyster.
Photo of oyster mushrooms growing in the wild
What oyster mushrooms look like
In appearance, oyster mushrooms are similar to each other. They consist of a cap that smoothly turns into a leg that tapers towards the base. The latter in most species is not pronounced, short, often lateral, curved. Color - white, gray or yellowish. In length it reaches 5 cm, in thickness - up to 3 cm.
The cap is solid, thinner towards the edges. The shape can be different: oval, round, horn-shaped, fan-shaped, funnel-shaped. Diameter - from 5 to 17 cm, in some species - up to 30 cm.
The color of mushrooms depends on its type.
Oyster mushrooms are white, light gray, cream, pinkish, lemon, ash purple, grayish brownish.
Descending plates, spores are creamy, white or pinkish.
The flesh of a young specimen is firm, thick and juicy. In the old, it becomes fibrous and tough. Different varieties of oyster mushrooms with descriptions are presented below.
Are oyster mushrooms edible
These mushrooms are edible or conditionally edible. Even those that do not taste good can be eaten, since they are not poisonous.
It is recommended to eat young specimens, no more than 10 cm in size, without a stiff leg.
Mushrooms have all the nutrients necessary for humans: vitamins, amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, trace elements. They are rich in iron, potassium, calcium, iodine. Of the vitamins in the composition there are C, E, D2, PP, representatives of group B.
Oyster mushrooms can be fried, stewed, baked, salted, added to sauces, used as an additional ingredient in other dishes. They are consumed only after heat treatment. They contain chitin, which is not absorbed by the body, so the mushrooms must be finely chopped and cooked at high temperatures.
The aroma resembles the smell of fresh rye bread, it tastes like russula.
Types of oyster mushrooms in the forest with photos and descriptions
There are several dozen varieties of oyster mushrooms. The division is rather arbitrary. The classification depends on the type of tree on which they grow. Photos and descriptions of oyster mushrooms are presented below.
Oyster
Another name is common oyster mushrooms. These edible mushrooms grow in temperate mixed and deciduous forests.Inhabited by the remains of wood: dead wood, rotten stumps, branches. Sometimes found on live weakened oaks, aspens, birches.
Form multi-tiered colonies, growing together with fruiting bodies into bundles
The hat is 5-15 cm in diameter. The color ranges from light gray to ashy with a violet tinge. The pulp is thick, with a pleasant mushroom smell and taste with hints of anise.
Fruiting from August until the frost in early December.
Covered
Other names for oyster mushrooms are solitary, sheathed. In a young mushroom, the shape of the cap is kidney-shaped, sessile, in a mature one it is fan-shaped, the edges are curled down. Diameter - from 3 to 5 cm, sometimes up to 8 cm.The color is grayish brown or flesh brown. The plates are wide, yellowish, there is a light blanket on it, which breaks during growth and remains in the form of rather large patches. The pulp is thick, dense, whitish, with the smell of raw potatoes. There are practically no legs. Fruiting from April to June. Grows in groups, but not in bunches, but singly. Found in Northern and Central Europe. Refers to edible, suitable for eating fried and boiled. Differs in rigidity due to dense pulp.
A distinctive feature of single oyster mushroom - a bedspread on the plates
Horn-shaped
The cap is horn-shaped or funnel-shaped, sometimes leaf-shaped or tongue-shaped. Size - from 3 to 10 cm in diameter. The surface is smooth, the color is from almost white to grayish-ocher. The flesh is thick, firm, white; in old mushrooms, it is tough and fibrous. The plates are rare, sinuous, white, descending, going down to the very base. The leg is pronounced, long - from 3 to 8 cm, its thickness - up to 1.5 cm. Fruiting from May to September on the dead wood of deciduous trees. Occurs in windbreaks, clearings, dense bushes. It is considered edible.
Mushroom clusters can create bizarre shapes
Pulmonary
Other names are spring, whitish, beech. An edible mushroom of common occurrence with a rounded whitish or creamy cap, reaching a diameter of 4-10 cm. The flesh is firm, white or whitish-grayish, with a pleasant faint mushroom odor. The leg is more often lateral, less often central, with hard flesh, off-white, hairy, 4 cm long. It is found on rotten or weakened living trees, can grow in bunches and in large groups. Fruiting from May to September.
This species differs from others in white
It is considered the most common type of oyster mushrooms in the forests of Russia. It grows in the wild and is appreciated by mushroom pickers.
Oak
Quite a rare species, it comes across infrequently. The cap is elliptical or round, less often lingual, bent down. Size - from 5 to 10 cm. The color is whitish-grayish or brownish. The surface is covered with small scales, rough. The pulp is thick, light, firm, with a pleasant smell of mushrooms. On the lamellar layer there is a private veil.
The leg is short, tapering downward, eccentric, thick. Its length is from 2 to 5 cm, in thickness - from 1 to 3 cm. The color is like that of a cap or slightly lighter, the flesh is white or yellowish, at the bottom it is tough and fibrous.
Grows on dead oaks and other decaying wood of deciduous trees. Fruiting from July to September.
Oak oyster mushroom is distinguished by the scaly surface of the cap and the remains of the bedspread
Pink
A small beautiful mushroom with a pink slightly convex head measuring from 3 to 5 cm. The pulp is light pink with an oily structure. The leg is lateral, short. In nature, it is found more often in the tropical zone, adapted to a hot climate, and grows very quickly.
Pink oyster mushroom prefers warm climates
Lemon
Other names are ilmak, yellow oyster mushroom. Refers to decorative and edible. It is found in groups, individual specimens grow together with fruiting bodies. The cap is lemon-yellow, the flesh is white, tender in young mushrooms, tough and rough in old ones. Size - from 3 to 6 cm in diameter, sometimes up to 10 cm. In young ones it is thyroid, in old ones it is funnel-shaped, with lobed edges. In mature mushrooms, the color of the cap becomes faded.
The plates are narrow, frequent, descending, pinkish. The powder is whitish or pinkish-violet.
The leg is white or yellowish, at first it is central, then it becomes lateral.
Lemon oyster mushroom cannot be confused with other types
Grows in mixed and deciduous forests. Distributed in the south of the Far East. In the Primorsky Territory, it grows on elm deadwood and dry, in more northern regions - on the trunks of birches. Fruiting from May to September.
Stepnaya
Another name is royal. The white mushroom has a slightly convex cap at first, which then becomes funnel-shaped. Size - up to 25 cm in diameter. The pulp is white or light yellow, thick, dense, sweetish. The leg is more often central, sometimes lateral.
Distributed in the steppe, bears fruit only in spring - from April to May. In the southern regions it appears in March. Grows in the steppe and desert zone. It settles not on wood, but on the roots and stems of umbrella plants.
Steppe oyster mushroom is considered a valuable mushroom with high taste.
It resembles real milk mushroom and champignon, but the flesh is a little rougher.
Conclusion
Photos of different types of oyster mushrooms can be seen in the article. Wild specimens come in several varieties. Their fruiting bodies are a low-calorie dietary product containing a full range of elements necessary for the body.
