(16 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Grey Oyster Mushroom
Edible 
Autumn 
Spring 
Summer 
Winter 
Fairly common but localised. Can be found in large numbers at any time of year.
| Mushroom Type | |
| Common Names | Grey Oyster Mushroom |
| Scientific Name | Pleurotus ostreatus |
| Season Start | All Year |
| Season End | All Year |
| Average Mushroom height (CM) | 0 |
| Average Cap width (CM) | 15 |
Cap
Convex and shell-shaped when young opening out flatter with wavy, sometimes split edges. Smoky grey/silver/brown.
Gills
White but turning slightly yellow and running most of the way down the stem. Crowded.
Stem
White and opening out to the cap when present as sometimes the cap appears to comes straight from the tree.
Flesh
White. Tough in the stem.
Habitat
Deciduous trees, particularly beech. Grows in large shelf-like clusters on stumps and fallen wood.
Possible Confusion
Other oyster mushrooms which can be pink, white, pictured, or yellow. These are all edible.
Oysterlings look similar but never grow more than four centimetres across.
Angels Wings, Pleurocybella porrigens, which can be deadly if you suffer kidney disease. This is usually funnel shaped with a split so the funnel is incomplete. Rare and found mainly in Scotland.
Spore Print
Lilac. Cylindrical.
Taste / Smell
Excellent. Mushroomy.
Frequency
Fairly common.
Other Facts
The Oyster mushroom has some amazing properties one of which is that it is a carnivorous mushroom which traps and ingests nematode worms to provide it with nitrogen and other useful chemicals.
The Pleurotus family contain statins which are thought to help reduce cholesterol.
Another is the fact that they have the ability to clean up pollution by hydrocarbons like petrol and oil which is quite incredible.
6 comments for Grey Oyster Mushroom
An amazingly versatile mushroom! It would be great to get some photos or a link to the experiments about oil contamination clean-up that you mention in your super-informative video! Thanks for a great video!
My willow tree is half rotted and these have grown out of it. They smell amazing. Your video is fabulous and now i love them even more.
Greetings!
I am Dr. Tarek Fakhuri, I just wanted to let you know how comprehensive and well put together your piece is. As a fellow mushroom enthisiast, I find the methods and pitfalls you provide for identification of Oyster mushrooms to be very useful to the community and I am definitely sharing it on my blog and facebook. Here’s the link if you would like to check it out: https://mushroomhealthguide.com/
Either way, keep up the great work!
Thanks for your video,
I just used my mushrooms from our garden
thanks for your guide I have just picked one oyster mushroom an fried it,it was approx 8ins across there is a heap on the bank by me,all under a beech tree,I will have to dry them to use later,no one could chomp through that many mushrooms !
Excellent – Thanks. Found mine growing out of a dead part of a live Beech.