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Project Noah Nature School
Pleurotus ostreatus
Pleurotus is a genus of gilled mushrooms which includes one of the most widely eaten mushrooms, P. ostreatus. Species of Pleurotus may be called oyster, abalone, or tree mushrooms, and are some of the most commonly cultivated edible mushrooms in the world.] Pleurotus fungi have been used in mycoremediation of pollutants such as petroleum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Pleurotus means "side ear", from Greek
Spotted on Aug 21, 2011
Submitted on Aug 21, 2011
1 Comment
"It has been recently found that, even though the commonly
cultivated oyster mushroom is saprophytic, it
has its carnivorous side. The mushroom has been
found to produce cells which bear tiny droplets of a
substance that is toxic to nematodes (a tiny worm). If
one of these hapless worms gets splashed with this
poison, it becomes paralyzed. The mushroom
hyphae have been seen to home in on the worms
and eat them alive! This doesn't have a whole lot to
do with the process of cultivating mushrooms, but it
does point out the fact that we are constantly learning
new things about how mushrooms live.