Description
Ecology
Oyster mushrooms grow from autumn to winter depending on the region, in clumps on living or fallen hardwoods. It is a parasite of injury but it is also saprophyte .
Edibility
It is an honorable edible, if one is not put off by the flaccidity of its flesh. Unlike porcini mushrooms or chanterelles , it is not really enough for itself to be pan-fried, it will largely benefit from being cooked in a more elaborate way, in mixture or accompaniment.
Culture
The crop seems to have started in Hungary and has now spread to Europe , America and Asia , without however overly competing with the Paris mushroom . It is rather sold as wild mushrooms
Initially practiced on seeded and buried logs, it is now carried out on a sterile substrate of plant wastes maintained at the appropriate temperature and humidity, which allows more abundant production in a very short time.
Another species of oyster mushroom is cultivated: it is the panicose roach .
Nearby species and likelihood of confusion
The closest species is the pleurot cornucopia , Pleurotus cornucopiae , earlier (May to July) and having decurrent blades to the base of the foot where they form deep cells.
Pleurotus pulmonaris , which is lighter, whitish and yellowing, with non-deciduous cream-colored cells, may also be mentioned .
The possible confusion is safe, as these species are also edible.
Antitumor properties
A dimeric lectin was isolated from the fresh edible sporophores of the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus . Lectin exerted potent antitumor activity in mice bearing S-180 sarcoma and H-22 hepatoma . The survival of these mice was prolonged and the increase in body weight reduced after lectin treatment
