The oyster mushroom is the great democratizer of mycology: it fruits in two to three weeks on straw, spent coffee grounds, or even cardboard, tolerates a wide temperature range, and forgives beginners. In the wild it grows in shelving clusters on dead and dying hardwoods. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet with a whisper of anise, and the texture is tender and silky — it can be torn and fried into convincingly crisp 'fried oyster' or pulled like meat. Several color strains (pearl, golden, pink, blue) are sold, all closely related.
Mild, gently sweet, faintly anise; tender and velvety.
Cultivated year-round; wild flushes peak in cool, damp spring and autumn, some strains into winter.
Identification is a chain of clues that must all agree. This is a reference, not an identification authority -- confirm every wild find with an expert.
Thinner, pure-white, grows on CONIFER wood; implicated in fatal poisonings in vulnerable people. Oysters are thicker and on hardwood.
Fuzzy orange cap and foul smell — not deadly but unpleasant.
Shelving clusters on wood, oyster-shell cap, decurrent gills running down a stubby off-center stem, white-to-lilac spore print.
Always cook thoroughly before eating, and try only a small test portion of any species new to you.