Pleurotaceae

About

Family: Pleurotaceae

The fungi in this family are important decomposers in the environment and will feed off of dead wood as well as nematodes and bacteria, thus they can often be seen growing on both dead trees and logs. They have light colored spores and generally have a stem which is off center relative to the cap of the mushroom. These mushrooms have gills which are present underneath the cap and then run down the stem.

Genus: Pleurotus

The genus Pleurotus is a group of mushrooms which most commonly grow directly on the wood of a tree or log. These mushrooms have white spore and are semicircular in shape to kidney shaped, growing in overlapping clusters along the substrate. The mushroom caps are concave and turn brown with age.

References:

Kuo, M. (2005, February). Oysters: Pleurotoid mushrooms. http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotoid.html. October, 2017. Web.

Midwest American Mycological Information. Pleurotus species. http://www.midwestmycology.org/Mushrooms/Species%20listed/Pleurotus%20species.html. October, 2017. Web.

DO NOT EAT WILD MUSHROOMS WITHOUT IDENTIFICATION BY AN EXPERT. THESE ARE ONLY IDENTIFIED TO THE LEVEL OF GENUS AND ARE THEREFORE INADEQUATE TO DETERMINE EDIBILITY. EATING WILD MUSHROOMS CAN KILL.