White Oyster Mushroom

[BADDOOKUS]

I picked some mushrooms in indiana in the fall that were growing around the bases of trees. I thought they were Oyster mushrooms but when i tasted them i got a burnig sensation in my mouth. They looked like the one you have there but whiter and flatter. Did i pick something poisonous/

[sporeprints]

@BADDOOKUS were the mushrooms woody, did they have gills on the underside or pores? If you can describe it to me, I can try to help.

[cow4652]

i am the milkgirl of mushroom kindness, i will leave an extra pint

[sdales3]

Most definitely hen of the woods. Oysters are a shelf/bracket mushrooms and do grow on downed logs but never buried. The only type of oyster the grows underground is the black jelly oyster. It grows under rotting logs so you have to be looking for it to find it. What you found here could also be a black staining polypore. Hard to tell in picture which, but a nice find none the less.

[sporeprints]

@sdales3 Definitely not a hen of the woods, and it is not a black staining polypore either. This oyster mushroom cluster was growing on roots of the tree you see in the background. Not all roots are burried. Also maitake and black staining polypore don't have gills, and these oyster mushrooms did. Watch the video again, and you will see that the mushrooms on this cluster move around, which would never happen on a maitake or BSP. Thanks for your comment.

[vorkev1]

never pull them out cut them so the balb remains to regrow.

[sporeprints]

@vorkev1 It is OK to pull them out, the mycelium (mushroom's body) is an underground network.

[vorkev1]

@sporeprints i understand that but i hope you can understand my point that the least amount of destervence to the system si the best for a regroth.

[sporeprints]

@vorkev1 Two spores land on a tree, they germinate and wait until the tree's immune system has been compromised.They colonize it, and start eating it/breaking it down. Once the whole piece of wood has been colonized, they will produce fruit when they sense a temperature change, a pressure change, etc. The mushrooms body is threaded all through this piece of wood, so pulling the mushrooms off will not hurt the production. That piece of wood will fruit until it has completely broken down the log:)

[iiaaiiaannaaiiaaii]

@vorkev1 Actually, it's better for the mycelium to pull them out rather then cut them off; cutting them off leaves a mass of protein and water mass which rots easily and that rot can spread into the mycelium. Think of the mushroom (fruiting body) as a fruit and the mycelium as an underground (or in wood) tree.

[seahag1967]

Incredible!

[msperanzo]

That look more like a polypore mushroom, maybe a berkley. they taste like shoe leather.

[sporeprints]

@msperanzo though it might look like a berkeley polypore, this was definitely oysters. so you have eaten berkley's before? I have never found it young enough for eating, as they age they get tougher and tougher.

[sporeprints]

you can dry the in the sun, or in a dehydrator, those are your best options. if you are drying them outside in the sun, you might want to protect them from flies with some mesh wire or something like that.

[SpongyLikeALizard]

@sporeprints You can't dry them out in a dark room with a fan? It works on psilcoybin cubensis.

[sporeprints]

@SpongyLikeALizard Sue thing, you can dry them that way as well.



[SpongyLikeALizard]

@sporeprints Is drying necessary? I would think they'd lose most of their flavor if you dried them. Forgive my ignorance but I've only ever eaten one kind of wild mushroom and it wasn't for nutrition.

[sporeprints]

@SpongyLikeALizard drying is not necessary, it does not improve flavor or potency at all.

[SpongyLikeALizard]

@sporeprints ok thank you..

[sbhuiyan]

oysters grow on the ground? I am not sure about those mushrooms. Oysters grow on decaying mushrooms. I just got some today and will eat them tomorrow. The wild one smell like anise and is simply marvelous!!!

[sporeprints]

@sbhuiyan they do not grow out of the ground, these were growing on a buried log/stump. how are you preparing yours?

[sbhuiyan]

@sporeprints Thank you for clarifying sir. I am actually drying my mushrooms in my cube. This is my first time drying mushrooms, do you have any advice for me? I am using the office because I see how it sucks up all the moisture from the surroundings. I plan to use the mushrooms in soups and such.

[Nick75987]

@sbhuiyan can i send u a pic i dont no if i got them or not i dont pick them only about 2 kinds so im not sure

[sbhuiyan]

@Nick75987 I would not go with pics. Smell the mushrooms. The gills should run all the way to the end. Please research before you eat. Oyster mushrooms are pretty easy to identify but please do your homework.

[Nick75987]

@sbhuiyan wat should it smell like

[texbotany]

So how do you know when oysters are too mature to pick and eat?

[murleman]

I was wondering can you fry that musroom up and eat it

[triflind]

thats looks like a hen of the woods to me, grifula frondosa.

[sporeprints]

@triflind maybe looks like it a bit cause it was growing like a florette, however it really was an oyster mushroom.

[7777dmith7777]

@triflind Thats exactly what I was thinking....I am almost positive that these are hen of the woods unless they are really old oysters that are fruited out really wide and thin but I have my doubts..

[conciencia21]

Man you should carry a pocket knife!!!!! you just killed the root system of the fungus. which means there will not be more Oyster mushrooms in that same place to pick next year!!!!

People if you go out picking wild mushrooms please watch your step, carry a knife to cut the mushroom at the base of the stem or cluster in this case. We can re-harvest them.

Also one more thing, leave enough mushroom for the animal/bugs to eat.

cheers

[ironmonger1969]

@conciencia21 Your an idiot, maybe you should study more Mycology before you comment.

[bjjc51192]

@conciencia21 By him picking up that mushroom thousands of spores have fallen down around that area. Spores = main reproduction of fungi

[jensonmin]

Let's see a close up please!

[SwingGirlBlues]

oh wow. I've gone morel hunting before, and I'm about to add oyster mushrooms to my repetoir, though I don't expect to have that good of luck! That looks amazing!

[sporeprints]

hey there.

when you find oysters, you will most possibly find them clustering like that in a large amount.

good luck, let me know what happens. :)

[sporeprintify]

@SwingGirlBlues oyster mushrooms are quite common, just go in the woods, and you will probably find them.