Pale oyster - Pleurotus pulmonarius
- The Foraging Course Company
- Jun 2
- 2 min read
Edible mushroom - novice Season - spring to autumn Common names Pale oyster, summer oyster, Italian oyster, Indian oyster, lung oyster, phoenix mushroom
Scientific name meaning: The genus name comes from the Greek Pleura, meaning a rib or the side, and in reference to how the stem is at the side of the mushroom. Pulmonarius is from the Latin Pulmo, meaning pertaining to the lungs, and a reference to the shape of the fruit body
Habitat  The pale oyster is a saprobic, sometimes weakly parasitic, fungus living on dead or dying deciduous wood. |
Overall structure and growth  The pale oyster is a saprobic, sometimes weakly parasitic, mushroom living on dead/fallen deciduous wood. It grows in groups of overlapping fruit bodies. |
Cap  The cap is 2 to 10cm across, white to pale cream in colour, and shaped like a fan or shell. The edge of the cap can become wavy. |
Gills and spores  The gills start off white, becoming a pale cream colour. They are crowded and adnate (broadly attached to the stem) todecurrent (running down the stem). The spore colour is pale cream. |
Stem The stem is short and to the side of the cap or offset. It is somewhat woolly. |
Flesh, smell and taste The flesh is white and has a mild aniseed odour. The taste is mild or faintly bitter. |
Possible lookalikes  Could be confused with angel wings (Pleurocybella porrigens), which is believed to be toxic. But, this is white colour and grows on coniferous wood. It is unusual to find south of Scotland in the UK. Oysterlings may also be confused with pale oysters but the largest of these reaches around 6cm with the exception of one that has lilac then brown gills. |
Use as a food A popular cultivated as well as a wild mushrooms, the pale oyster is used in a wide range of mushroom dishes
Hazards None known
Use in herbal medicine and medicine The pale oyster has been/is being studied for its medicinal benefits including analgesic and antihistamine effects, preventing the proliferation of cancer cells and in aiding in the treatment of colitis
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner Other uses None known Importance to other species Provides food for a the larvae of a number of fly species
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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