Oyster mushroom ( Pleurotus cornucopiae )
Systematics:- Department: Basidiomycota (Basidiomycetes)
- Subdivision: Agaricomycotina (Agaricomycetes)
- Class: Agaricomycetes (Agaricomycetes)
- Subclass: Agaricomycetidae (Agaricomycetes)
- Order: Agaricales (Agaric or Lamellar)
- Family: Pleurotaceae (Oyster mushrooms)
- Genus: Pleurotus (Oyster mushroom)
- Species: Pleurotus cornucopiae (Oyster mushroom)
Other names:
Oyster mushroom abundant
Cap of oyster mushroom horn-shaped: 3-10 cm in diameter, horn-shaped, funnel-shaped, less often - lingual or leaf-shaped (with a distinct tendency to "bend up") in adult specimens, convex with a tucked edge in young specimens. The color of the oyster mushroom is quite variable, depending on the age of the fungus and the growing conditions - from light, almost white, to gray-ocher; the surface is smooth. The flesh of the cap is white, fleshy, elastic, with age it becomes quite tough and fibrous. It has no special smell and taste.
Oyster mushrooms horn-shaped: White, twisting, rare, descending to the very base of the leg, in the lower part they often intertwine, forming a peculiar pattern.
Spore powder: White.
Pedunculate oyster mushroom: Central or lateral, usually well defined in comparison with other oyster mushrooms; length 3-8 cm, thickness up to 1.5 cm. The surface of the leg is covered with descending plates almost to the tapering base.
Distribution: Oyster mushroom grows from early May to mid-September on the remains of deciduous trees; the mushroom is not rare, but the addiction to hard-to-reach places - windbreak, dense bushes, felling - makes it not as noticeable as other oyster mushrooms.
Similar species: Of the popular oyster mushrooms, the pulmonary oyster mushroom is similar, but the horn-shaped form is not peculiar to it, and you will not find such a pronounced leg.
Edible: Like all oyster mushrooms, horn-shaped is edible and even tasty in a way.
Author's notes: Horny - oyster mushroom is in many ways mysterious to me. Even now, I'm not sure I really know her; perhaps the beautiful and convincing mushrooms that everyone can observe in the photo above are just a game of chance that did not spare some oyster mushroom. But what long legs! What deep funnels! Is it a mistake?
It is possible, of course. Always possible.