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The most common types of oyster mushrooms are ordinary, elm, covered, lung and autumn. All these forms have unique properties, therefore they are widely used in cooking and the pharmaceutical industry. Given the benefits of oyster mushrooms, they are actively used to prepare a variety of dishes, they are used to prepare remedies according to traditional medicine recipes for healing wounds and removing toxins.
In winter, these mushrooms tend to freeze and become hard. At the same time, they are easy to beat off with a stick. The quality of winter oyster mushrooms depends on the stage in which the mushrooms were with a sharp drop in temperature. If the frosts were early, then they can freeze in a young form. In the event of several winter thaws, these mushrooms may disappear. Useful qualities are preserved in winter.
You will learn about what oyster mushrooms look like and what properties they have on this page.
Description of oyster mushroom
The cap of the common oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) has a diameter of 4-12 cm. A distinctive feature of the species is the oyster, oval or round shape of the cap, gray-brown, creamy-brown in color with a darker central part. The bases of the fruiting bodies are fused.
In this species of oyster mushrooms, the stem is short, asymmetrically located, most often on the side of the cap, it has a height of 2-7 cm and a thickness of 10-25 mm. The stem has the same color as the hat and is located on the side of the hat.
Pulp: thin, dense, white, with a pleasant taste and smell.
The plates are adherent, descending along the stem, frequent, cream or light yellow in color.
Variability. The color of the cap varies from brown to brownish-gray.
Similar types. In appearance, the common oyster mushroom is similar to the lung oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius), which is distinguished by its cream color and ear-shaped cap.
Accumulation property of harmful substances: this species has the positive property of low accumulation of heavy metals.
Edibility: ordinary oyster mushrooms have high nutritional properties, can be boiled and fried, canned.
Edible, 2nd and 3rd categories – in the autumn period and 3rd and 4th categories – in the winter.
Oyster mushrooms in late November and early December still have their usual appearance. At the end of winter and beginning of spring, they change, acquire a yellow-brown color.
Habitats: deciduous and mixed forests, on decaying hardwood, grow in tiers and groups.
Season: intensive growth – from May to September, and starting from November and in winter, growth stops. In winter, the state of oyster mushrooms on trees depends on the stage at which frost caught them and what climate preceded the onset of negative temperatures. If, by the onset of frost, the poles have reached their maximum growth and are slightly dry, then in winter they dry out a little more and hang on trees in frosts in a semi-solid state, when they can be cut.
If at the time of the onset of frost there was wet weather, then the mushrooms freeze and become hard, “glassy”. In this state, they cannot be cut off the trunk, but they can be beaten off with a stick or plucked off with a knife. The use of an ax is not allowed to avoid damaging the trees.
Here you can see a photo of an oyster mushroom of an ordinary species, the description of which is given above:
What does elm oyster mushroom look like (with photo)
Elm lyophyllum, or elm oyster mushroom (Lyophyllum ulmarium) is extremely rare in winter. In fact, they are edible in the same way as ordinary oyster mushrooms, but are difficult to access due to their high location on tree trunks.
In winter, they most often remain on the bends of oaks, often at a height of more than one and a half meters. Their external condition depends on the moment when the frosts caught them. If the weather was not wet by the onset of negative temperatures, and the oyster mushrooms reached their maximum growth, then they will remain so throughout the winter. In the thaw, they can fade, their edges can become even more wavy, and individual mushrooms turn from light brown to brown-black and completely fade.
These mushrooms should be collected at the beginning of winter or before the end of winter, but not allowed to thaw, when they can wilt, fall off like old leaves.
These mushrooms are the largest among edible winter mushrooms, with an average cap diameter of 10-20 cm.
Habitats: deciduous forests, parks, on stumps and trunks of oak, elm, elm and other deciduous trees, singly or in small groups.
The cap has a diameter of 5-15 cm, sometimes up to 20 cm, at first convex, later prostrate.
As you can see in the photo, a distinctive feature of this type of oyster mushroom is the unusually beautiful color of the cap, like that of a sunflower – sunny, yellowish-brown, the surface of the cap is leathery, finely rough with water spots:
By winter, the surface of the cap becomes straw-yellow and the spots are no longer noticeable. When the mushroom grows on a tree, less often on a stump, it may have an asymmetric arrangement of the legs. The edges of the cap are bent down, they are wavy. The color at the edges is slightly lighter than in the main part of the cap. In winter, the color changes to straw yellow. Old specimens darken, become black-brown or brown-brown.
Leg 4-10 cm long, 7-15 mm thick, whitish-cream at first, later yellowish and light brown. The bases of the legs are often fused.
The pulp is soft, gray-purple, with a mild taste, almost odorless.
The plates are wide, adherent, at first white, later buffy and light brown.
Variability: the color of the cap varies from yellow-golden to dark brown.
Similar types. In autumn, due to its large size and sunny color and watery spots, elm lyophyllum is difficult to confuse with other species. In autumn, this mushroom can be confused in appearance with a crowded row, which differs mainly in its habitat – on the ground, but not on trees. In winter, it has no similar species.
Cooking methods: boiled, fried, salted after preliminary boiling for 15-20 minutes.
Edible, 4th category.
See what oyster mushroom looks like in these photos:
Autumn oyster mushroom: photo and description
Habitats of autumn oyster mushroom (Pleurotus salignus): poplars, lindens; grow in groups.
Season: autumn oyster mushrooms grow in September – November until the first snows, and then they freeze until spring, in the absence of thaws in winter, they are well preserved in spring.
The hat of this variety of oyster mushrooms has a diameter of 4-8 cm, sometimes up to 12 cm. All fruiting bodies grow from the same base.
The stalk is short, asymmetrically located, most often on the side of the cap, it is 2-5 cm high and 10-40 mm thick, pubescent. The color of the legs is cream or white-yellowish.
Pulp: thin, dense, white, with a pleasant taste and smell.
As shown in the photo, the plates of this variety of oyster mushrooms are adherent, descending along the stem, frequent, cream or light yellow in color:
Variability. The color of the cap varies from gray-brown to dark brown.
Similar types. Autumn oyster mushroom is similar in shape to oyster oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), but has a much darker color with a predominance of dark brown.
Cooking methods: mushrooms can be boiled and fried, canned.
Edible, 4th category.
Next, you will find out what other varieties of oyster mushrooms are.
What does an oyster mushroom look like
Oyster mushroom habitats (Pleurotus calyptratus): rotting hardwood – birch, aspen, oak, less often – on stumps and dying coniferous wood – spruce and fir, grow in groups.
Season: April – September.
The hat of this variety of oyster mushrooms has a diameter of 4-10 cm, sometimes up to 12 cm. with radial fibres.
Pay attention to the photo – the leg of this variety of oyster mushrooms is either very short, asymmetrically located, or it is not at all:
Pulp: thin, dense, white, with a pleasant taste and smell.
The plates are frequent, at first white, frequent, later cream or light yellow.
Variability. The color of the cap varies from cream to light brown and gray.
Similar types. The covered oyster mushroom is similar in shape to the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius), which is distinguished by its brown cap and the presence of a stem.
Cooking methods: mushrooms can be boiled, fried, canned.
Description of oyster mushroom
Habitats of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius): rotting hardwood – birch, aspen, oak, less often – on stumps and dying coniferous wood – spruce and fir, grow in groups.
Season: April – September
The hat has a diameter of 4-10 cm, sometimes up to 16 cm. The edges of the cap are thin, often cracked. The color of the middle part of the cap often has a brown tint, while the edges, on the contrary, are lighter, yellowish.
As can be seen in the photo, the edges of the cap of the oyster mushroom of this species are fibrous and have a radial outline:
The stem is short, asymmetrically located, most often on the side of the cap, it is 1-3 cm high and 6-15 mm thick. The leg has a cylindrical shape, white, solid, pubescent.
Pulp: thin, dense, white, with a pleasant taste and smell.
The plates are adherent, descending along the stem, at first white, frequent, later cream or light yellow.
Variability. The color of the cap varies from white and yellowish white to cream and yellowish brown.
Similar types. Pulmonary oyster mushroom is similar to the common oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), which is distinguished by a bluish-gray cap in young specimens and a gray-blue cap in mature mushrooms.
Accumulation property of harmful substances: this species has the positive property of low accumulation of heavy metals.
Cooking methods: canned.
Cooking methods: boil and fry, preserve.
Edible, 3rd category
These photos show oyster mushrooms of different types, the description of which is presented on this page:
What are the benefits of oyster mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms have unique properties – a unique pantry with a set of mineral salts and other essential substances necessary for a person.
They contain a complex of vitamins: A, C, D, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, as well as 18 amino acids necessary for humans.
Also, the beneficial properties of oyster mushrooms are due to the high content of amylase and lipase enzymes, which contribute to the breakdown of fats, fiber and glycogen.
They also contain essential unsaturated essential acids, and a number of biologically active substances that help reduce cholesterol and have anti-sclerotic effects.
Oyster mushrooms are very useful for the human body, as they are an excellent effective remedy for the treatment of stomach diseases. To do this, take freshly squeezed mushroom juice on an empty stomach. At the same time, gastritis and ulcers can be cured. Other useful properties of oyster mushrooms include the following:
- they improve intestinal motility;
- used to heal wounds and treat ulcers;
- have hemostatic, emollient and enveloping properties;
- promote the removal of toxins, poisons, toxins;
- are a sorbent;
- are an important component of the anti-cholesterol diet, help lower blood fats, which is very important for heart vessels and blood circulation;
- oyster mushroom infusion is used for neurosis, for this, finely chopped fresh mushrooms in the amount of 3 tablespoons are poured with half a liter of red wine, for example, Cahors, and infused for a week, the resulting infusion is drunk 2 tablespoons before bedtime;
- contain compounds with antioxidant activity, as a result, the aging process of the body is reduced; contain substances that promote the excretion of cholesterol from the body, and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis;
- the inclusion of oyster mushrooms in the diet significantly reduces the likelihood of cancer;
- show promise in the treatment of tropical malaria.
- The benefits of oyster mushrooms for humans are also that they have high antibacterial activity.
