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Oyster

Pleurotus spp.

Description:

My initial reaction when first spotting these was Pleurotus spp., now I am just not sure. This clump was growing from a hemlock snag in a very moist area, the last two photos are of another specimen growing from the base of the snag.

Habitat:

mixed woods

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7 Comments

chesterbperry
chesterbperry 11 years ago

That sounds like very real possibility then, this was in a very wet area. I did not even see that specimen at first and had to pull back leaf litter to take the pictures.

gully.moy
gully.moy 11 years ago

Yeah, well mushrooms are essentially made up of mycelium that just grows into a specific shape (morphology). In fact if you put a fresh mushroom in a blender each of the many tiny particles of mushroom you have created have the potential to replicate the whole organism all over again, if left in an environment which that fungus favours. Providing of course that your chosen speck of mushroom still contains some living cells.

You can see larger chunks of mushroom sprouting fuzzy mycelium when left in damp conditions and it is one method used to cultivate mushrooms. It is in fact quicker than using spores as you skip germination.

Personally I don't know about the specific tendencies of individual mushroom species to show mycelial shoots above the growth medium, but it seems entirely possible that this is what we are seeing. Perhaps the fungus is seeking new food and water in a bid for survival, it certainly doesn't look too healthy... Perhaps...

chesterbperry
chesterbperry 11 years ago

One more thing, I have seen many wild Pleurotus and never noticed any with a hairy stipe.

chesterbperry
chesterbperry 11 years ago

Wow, thank you for all the info gully, I will look it over. One more possibility is the specimen with the hairy stipe was growing very near to the soil, possibly an extension of the mycelium?

gully.moy
gully.moy 11 years ago

Yeah I wondered if that's what it was. I have no personal experience with wild Pleurotus sp. so I'm not really sure. I did a little searching though and found
Pleurotus dryinus which could be a possibility, but I'm not entirely convinced:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/images/kuo...
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotus_...

There's also this which looks close:
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat...

The expert consensus seemed to be Pleurotus but Panus was also suggested, here's another Panus conchatus:
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_qu...

Then there's this spotting which is apparently Pleurotus:
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums...

And this page claims that Pleurotus have hairy stems...
http://www.fungikingdom.net/mycology-edu...

But of course there's also Lentinus Levi:
http://mycomagnet.com/picview.php?pid=27...

And probably plenty more Pleurotoid fungi to check out...
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/pleurotoid...

I don't know, you can draw your own conclusions! :-)

chesterbperry
chesterbperry 11 years ago

It was the hairy stipe, visible in the last two photos that threw me.

gully.moy
gully.moy 11 years ago

I think you were correct with Pleurotus, what makes you unsure?

chesterbperry
Spotted by
chesterbperry

Tennessee, USA

Spotted on Mar 1, 2013
Submitted on Mar 2, 2013

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