Oyster mushrooms grow on rotting and old trees. They belong to saprophytic fungi. In nature, they are found mainly in the forests of the temperate climate zone. Some species prefer warmer regions. They are unpretentious to habitat conditions, so they are successfully grown artificially.

Do oyster mushrooms grow in the forest

Oyster mushrooms are cultivated on an industrial scale, and also bred at home. But they also grow naturally. Many mushroom pickers consider wild specimens to be more tasty and fragrant.

Important! Before going to the forest to collect oyster mushrooms, you need to familiarize yourself with their appearance and where and how they grow. This knowledge will help not to confuse them with inedible species.

How oyster mushrooms grow in the forest

In the wild, you can find several varieties of oyster mushrooms: common (oyster), abundant (horn-shaped), lung (whitish), oak, late (autumn), steppe (royal), orange.

Oyster mushrooms grow in the forest on rotting wood. They can be seen on rotten stumps, in broken trunks, on fallen trees. They are saprophytes that decompose dead organic matter. These mushrooms can be called predators: they secrete poisons that fall into rotten wood, paralyze the nematodes living in it, and extract the nitrogen necessary for protein synthesis from these decayed roundworms.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Oyster mushrooms are almost never found singly, more often in large groups.

They grow in large groups in several tiers far enough from the ground. They almost never meet alone. Fruiting bodies grow together, forming bundles weighing up to 3 kg. In one bundle there are from 30 fruiting bodies.

One of the most common varieties of oyster mushrooms in Our Country is ordinary, or oyster. It grows only on trees in large groups, consisting of several tiers, resembling a kind of overhanging steps. It can settle both on vertical trees and on horizontal ones. In the first case, it is attached to the trunk with short legs, in the second they are longer, attached closer to the edge of the cap.

Late forms colonies consisting of fruiting bodies of greenish or olive color. They are located one above the other, grow together with legs, forming bundles resembling a roof.

Abundant is attached to the bark of old deciduous trees with a long, curved stem that connects to the hat in the very center.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Pulmonary oyster mushroom is called spring or beech

The lung grows together with legs, forming large bundles. It differs from others in white color and a leg with a velvety delicate edge.

Due to its bright color, orange oyster mushroom looks very impressive in the forest, it can overwinter, but in spring it becomes more faded. It has practically no legs, it is attached to the trunk with a hat. It is usually found in small groups, it is rare to see single specimens.

The steppe settles in atypical places: pastures, deserts, and other open spaces where there are umbrella plants.

Oak forms numerous intergrowths that grow in several tiers and can completely cover a rotting tree.

Covered settles on fallen aspens and deadwood. It bears fruit in groups, but single specimens that do not grow together with each other. Because of this, it received an additional name – single. It is attached to the trunk with a sessile dense hat without a leg.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Colony of mushrooms on an old tree

Where do oyster mushrooms grow in nature

They are distributed throughout the world in the middle lane. Oyster mushroom grows in the forests of Europe, America, Asia. They are not tied to regions and can appear wherever there are suitable conditions.

Where do oyster mushrooms grow in Our Country

In our country, they are found everywhere: in Europe, Siberia, the Far East. The middle lane, the Krasnodar Territory, Primorye, and the Caucasus are especially replete with them.

Four varieties of oyster mushrooms grow in the Moscow region: ordinary (oyster), horn-shaped (abundant), autumn (late), oak, lemon (ilmak). Especially a lot of them are found in the Kolomna region.

Royal oyster mushroom (eringi, white steppe mushroom) grows in the southern regions of Our Country, in the steppe and desert climatic zone.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Royal oyster mushroom is especially appreciated by mushroom pickers for its good taste.

In the Caucasus, on beech trunks, you can find Florida oyster mushroom, originally from North America.

Horn-shaped is common in central Our Country, in the Caucasus, in the Primorsky Territory, in Ukraine.

Orange oyster mushroom lives in the temperate climate zone in the Northern Hemisphere. It is found in Europe, including Our Country, and in North America.

Lemon (ilmak) grows in the south of the Far East (in the Primorsky Territory).

Covered is common in the northern and southern regions of Europe.

In what forests do oyster mushrooms grow

They can be found in forests where there are deciduous trees. They prefer slightly shaded places. They often settle in ravines, on forest edges. They are quite rare in the taiga.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Bright orange mushroom – a real decoration of the forest

What trees grow oyster mushrooms

They prefer hardwoods – linden, aspen, oak, willow, mountain ash, birch. Sometimes oyster mushrooms grow on poplars and chestnuts. Much less often you can see this fungus on conifers.

Attention! It is not recommended to collect oyster mushrooms from poplar, since its fluff is a carrier of plant pollen, which is an allergen.

Mushrooms settle on the organic remains of deciduous shrubs and trees: old or rotting wood, in which there is a lot of nitrogen necessary for the nutrition of oyster mushrooms. They absorb lignin and cellulose from the substrate. Deadwood, deadwood, living weak trees, moss-covered stumps, and the remains of logging are suitable for them.

Ordinary settles on the trunks and stumps of deciduous trees.

Royal (steppe) grows not only on stumps, but also on dead umbrella plants, such as bluehead, smooth, ferula.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Plentiful oyster mushroom is distinguished by high legs and deep funnels

Horn-shaped is found on deciduous trees, prefers the stumps and trunks of birches, elms, maples. She settles on old oaks and mountain ash. He loves hard-to-reach places: windbreaks, clearings, difficult-to-pass bushes, deadwood, so her colonies are inconspicuous and go unnoticed by mushroom pickers.

Pulmonary prefers old birches, beech trees, aspens, oaks. It grows on rotting wood, occasionally on living, but weak or diseased trees.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Autumn oyster mushroom has a greenish tint and a bitter taste.

Late grows on deciduous trees, less often on conifers. He loves the remains of wood and stumps of such species as maple, poplar, aspen, linden, birch, elm.

Orange comes across infrequently, prefers deciduous and coniferous species, is found on stumps and fallen trees.

Oak settles not only on the remains of oaks, but also on other trees, for example, elm.

Lemon bears fruit on elms (elms): deadwood, dead or live. It grows in forests of mixed type, where there are broad-leaved and coniferous trees. In more northern latitudes, it can settle on birch trunks.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

Ilmakh performs a decorative function, decorating the forest

When oyster mushrooms grow

It is impossible to accurately determine the appearance of fruiting bodies in the forest. It depends on the weather conditions, which differ from year to year.

In the warm regions of Our Country, oyster mushrooms appear from April to November, in more northern regions – from August to September. You need to focus on air temperature and precipitation. Under favorable conditions, it can bear fruit until frost.

For the growth of oyster mushrooms, the following conditions are necessary:

  1. Increased air humidity, which happens after heavy rains.
  2. Air temperature from 8 to 17 degrees.

Oyster mushroom, or oyster, appears at the end of summer and pleases mushroom pickers until late autumn, sometimes until December. Under favorable conditions, you can meet her in May.

Pulmonary and horn-shaped are heat-loving species, you need to go after them at the height of summer, in hot weather, when they are actively growing. The fruiting period of abundant oyster mushroom is from May to early September, it is afraid of frost and loves moisture, therefore it bears fruit massively during the rainy season – in early summer and towards the end of autumn. Pulmonary grows from May to October.

Steppe, or royal, bears fruit only in the spring months. In the south appears already in early March.

Autumn grows from September to December, until frost and snow. In order for fruiting bodies to appear, it is enough to raise the temperature to only 5 degrees.

The fruiting time of orange oyster mushrooms is from the beginning of autumn to November. In warmer regions, it grows in winter.

Oak can be found from July to September.

Lemon appears in May and bears fruit until October.

Covered begins to appear in spring (April), around the same time as morels/stitches. Especially actively grows in May. The fruiting season ends in July.

How much oyster mushroom grows

They grow very quickly, populating the nearest territory. Fruits in waves. The first falls in May and is the most fruitful. The next one can be expected in two weeks. Each new wave will be more and more scarce.

When to pick oyster mushrooms in the forest

The season for harvesting oyster mushrooms depends on its variety, the climate of the area, and weather conditions. In general, they bear fruit from spring to mid-autumn. The traditional time for harvesting oyster mushrooms in Our Country is September-October. It is at this time that the autumn, or late, oyster mushroom bears fruit.

The ripeness of the fungus is indicated by open plates ready for sporulation, the fruiting body becomes thin and light.

Oyster mushrooms: how they grow in the forest, when to collect, how to cut

One bundle can weigh up to 3 kg

How to properly cut oyster mushrooms

They bear fruit in large conglomerates, growing together with fruiting bodies. It is recommended to cut them with a sharp knife, trying not to damage the rhizome. You need to shoot everything at once, even if there are small specimens in the bundle: if you leave small ones, they will die anyway.

You should take mushrooms whose caps do not exceed 10 cm in size: these are most suitable for eating, because they have a delicate structure, unlike old specimens.

Wet fruiting bodies are best left as they will rot very quickly.

Some advise eating only the caps, and cutting off the hard legs and throwing them away. But experienced mushroom pickers believe that they should be used. The fact is that the legs require a longer heat treatment. From them you can cook a delicious soup, caviar or sauce.

Important! For cooking, you need to take the legs of only young mushrooms. It is better not to use old ones, because they have lost their aroma and taste and do not soften during cooking, but become rubbery.

Conclusion

Oyster mushrooms grow in large bunches, so mushroom pickers love to pick them: in a short time, baskets can be filled with a rich harvest. They also have other advantages. You don’t have to stoop down behind them. Among similar mushrooms, there is practically no poisonous one, so oyster mushrooms are considered the safest for beginners.

Everyone to the forest! Found a lot of oyster mushrooms!

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